Podcasts are one of my favourite ways to unwind. I’ve written before about my love of true crime podcasts, but lately, I have extended my interests beyond the dark and dreadful. Not that they’ve got anywhere (as you’ll see in my list), but having lots of light in there too helps me to get an upbeat side to life! Here’s what podcasts I have been listening to most of late – unless stated otherwise, they’re available on most of the podcast apps so you should find them wherever you listen to yours.
Mother Of Pod
My most recent discovery (I am late to this game) has been this really funny warts-and-all parenting podcast from the lovely Sophie White and Jennifer O Dwyer. I love it. From vivid tales of the delivery room (perhaps beware of that if you’re pregnant on your first!) to toddler tantrums and pelvic floor problems, they’re covering it all with the brutal honesty that really only true close friends would normally have about this whole parenting thing. So if your kids are acting like demons or you’re still getting used to the mum bod three years in, this is definitely the podcast you should check out.
How To Be Sound
Another Irish podcast, this time from blogger and writer Rosemary MacCabe. The concept of this is simple: talking to lots of people that Rosemary considers to be sound and asking them how they do it. The result is some really interesting conversations including feminism, education, career choices, body confidence and a million other topics. Current favourite is her chat with Rebecca Flynn who blogs here about body positivity, attitudes towards food and privilege.
Motherboard
The lovely people at Family Friendly HQ have launched a parenting podcast showing the ups and downs of motherhood! Their first episode aired at the start of July, including some of my favourite parenting bloggers – Kellie from My Little Babóg and Tracey from Love Of Living. Chatting about birth stories, anxiety and that dreaded term “geriatric pregnancy”, it was a really great start and I can’t wait to tune in again.
Casefile
I wrote about Casefile in a previous blog post about podcasts but it’s just so good that I can’t leave it out again! The anonymous host is an interesting storyteller, giving facts and no opinions. This differs from quite a few other podcasts about true crime where it’s more presenter focused than subject focused. Recently the podcast covered the case of Elaine O Hara which took the Irish media by storm a few years back. I found it really interesting to hear a retelling from an international podcast. It’s also opened my mind up to so many other tales that have caught my interest like the Amy Allwine case, which is an absolute mind melter. I’ve got a lot of back catalogue to catch up to and it just keeps getting better.
An Irishman Abroad
Hosted by comedian Jarlath Regan, An Irishman Abroad is a weekly interview podcast with various personalities either Irish or who have Irish links. The interviews can be funny, serious and in places emotional, discussing various careers and lifestyles both in Ireland and abroad. Some of my favourites have been with Mario Rosenstock, Caitriona Perry and Chris O Dowd. I’ve got the episode with Ibrahim Halawa lined up to listen to next. Definitely, it’s one to check out to get to know the people we feel we know from being on our screens each day a bit better. The interviews get into the nitty-gritty that others might not!
Real Crime
From Audible studios, this podcast series has come out since my last True Crime roundup. Unlike other podcasts where you can dip in and out, Audible does it slightly differently – you have to be a member (you can sign up for a free trial here, and cancel afterwards if you wish – and you can download a free audiobook in that membership too), and when you want to listen, you download the whole lot of the series. In this case, it’s 10 episodes, with four different narrators. You don’t have to download them all to your device at the one time. I’ve been downloading from the cloud as I listen which saves space. Each one tells the harrowing tales of true crime stories from the UK. I’m halfway through the series now, having listened to episodes about the murder of James Bulger, The Philpotts, Sarah Payne and The Hungerford Massacre. Make sure you have something light to listen to afterwards, they are a tough listen in parts. However, for those who do like true crime, or if you liked the Audible Original series, West Cork, it’s a great series to check out.
Mothers Of Invention
Something slightly more light-hearted than all the true crime, and uplifting despite serious content for the last spot on the list! Mothers Of Invention is a joint podcast between comedienne and writer Maeve Higgins and former Irish President Mary Robinson all about climate change and the feminist solutions that are set to save us all. If you’re not exactly up to date with all the climate change goings-on (which aside from the crazy weather – hello snow and drought within six months – I wasn’t), don’t worry, they’re very explanatory and not in any condescending way. It’s a fascinating look at what has happened, what IS happening and how exactly each of us can do our part.
Don’t be put off by thinking it’s going to be a preach fest, it’s just a brilliantly researched and personable six-part podcast showing how women around the world are changing our world for the better.
So, those are the 7 podcasts that have been lining up my To-Listen list lately . What have you been listening to? I’d love to hear any recommendations you’ve got, or what you think of the ones I’ve mentioned. Give me a shout in the comments below, or chat to me on Facebook or Twitter. I’m also over on Instagram, I’m getting into Stories lately, so make sure to check that out too!
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