Talking points

The podcast boom continues apace, with an impressive number of people in the UK listening to an audio show each week according to new figures. Ofcom’s latest report shows around 7.1 million of us – or one in eight people – are tuning into pods, a 24% rise on last year. It’s unsurprising given the big investments currently being made in the medium (more on that here).

Meanwhile, it’s five years this week since Serial restarted the podcast movement, making amateur sleuths of its listeners. While not without its ethical controversies, like much true crime, this early hit remains a truly impressive feat of storytelling.

Picks of the week

Dear Joan and Jericha

Julia Davis and Vicki Pepperdine’s judgmental, disgusting and thoroughly convincing agony aunts return for another series of the hilarious podcast. Cringe-inducing wisdom is the core of their business, whether they’re telling women over 35 not to have wrinkly babies or warning them to tend to their husband’s “physical needs”. The chat veers from the absurd to the filthy, all perfectly delivered in the prim way of two know-it-alls who are qualified in “psycho-genital counselling” and sports journalism. HV

You’re Dead to Me

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Making history more exciting ... You’re Dead to Me. Photograph: BBC

This amusing new podcast follows TV outings such as Drunk History and Horrible Histories in making the past that bit more exciting. Historian Greg Jenner, who helped to make the latter show, hosts alongside experts including Dr Helen Castor, a medieval historian who helps to explain the remarkable story of Joan of Arc. Of course, there are comedians, too – among them Suzi Ruffell, who considers her own identity as a gay woman as they assess the continuing arc of LGBT history. HJD

Guardian pick: Science Weekly

As part of the Guardian’s ongoing campaign on menopause awareness, last week’s Science Weekly podcast revealed the exciting new insights scientists have uncovered when it comes to hot flushes – insights that could one day give women a much-needed alternative to hormone replacement therapy. As Hannah Devlin finds out, the menopause has historically been a mystery for scientists – but could this all be about to change? Max Sanderson

Chosen by David Waters

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kapow! ... the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company. Photograph: Randy Duchaine/Alamy

Calling someone a master of radio, you can be accused of hyperbole. But in the case of superproducer Cathy FitzGerald – the self-described ‘caretaker’ of the Strange & Charmed school for audio storytellers, which is churning out a new generation of fellow superproducers – that is literally the case.

Her latest documentary is an explosion of sound and joy from the very first minute. We’re immediately transported to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company which, it turns out, is part of an American non-profit company (826 National) that uses various ‘cover stories’ across the US to capture the imaginations of children. From pirates in San Francisco to ghosts in New Orleans and robots in Detroit, various tropes are deployed by the organisation’s nationwide chapters. And once under their spell, children can access free tutoring and homework help plus workshops for budding authors. Like FitzGerald’s own audio school, 826 National is more than just education: it’s about confidence, creativity and empowering people to tell stories.