What links Lennon to Lenin? An addictive new history pod will open your eyes. Plus: the hilarious dangers of autocorrect, the cultural clout of your Sunday roast and fake news – debunked!

Pick of the week: The Thread with OZY

“What makes someone kill their own hero in cold blood?” That’s the question asked by The Thread with OZY (iTunes), an addictive podcast that takes a short and snappy journey through history. “We turn back the clock one story at a time to reveal how various strands are woven together to create a historic figure, big idea or an unthinkable tragedy,” says narrator Sean Braswell.

The Thread is one of those podcasts that you can’t dip in and out of: start at the beginning, with the murder of John Lennon. Braswell keeps each episode tight, so within 20 minutes he gives enough information to hook listeners in as well as make them want to read up on the facts.

“Mark David Chapman was a nobody until he was in every channel,” he says, before embarking on an evocative description of the day Lennon was shot, interspersed with news footage from the time.

Hearing how Lennon had just made a musical comeback after years of being a stay-at-home dad makes his death seem all the more untimely. He could finally go about his life largely undisturbed as people in New York were “too cool” to bother him – and didn’t fear death because he believed it was like “getting out of one car and into another”.

The Thread also explores Chapman’s obsession with The Catcher in the Rye. “Dig a little deeper … and you’ll find it’s darker and more complex than people realise,” says Braswell before examining JD Salinger’s time as a soldier, where he watched his comrades freeze to death and suffer on the frontline. Writing was his escapism and The Thread draws parallels between protagonist Holden Caulfield’s angst and Salinger’s misery during those years.

The writer mixed with the kind of “phonies” both he and his character hated, and was crushed when his lover Oona O’Neill married Charlie Chaplin (the podcast also looks at how she influenced Truman Capote and Orson Welles). The Thread spans six episodes, revealing “a series of interlocking histories” eventually connecting back to Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution, and it sounds like there’ll be no shortage of revelations along the way.

Your picks: from Nicki Minaj raps to an astounding true-crime tale

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rachael Brown of Trace.

Trace

Trace is an investigative journalism podcast about the real-life murder cold case of Maria James in Melbourne in 1980. As an avid armchair detective, I find it extremely compelling. Trace’s creator, Rachael Brown, leaves you constantly gripped and desperate for answers ... and unlike other documentaries of this nature, you genuinely feel like you’re on the verge of getting them. You follow Rachael in “real time” as she tries to solve the case. It’s a true-crime story handled with sensitivity, while also structured to deliver twist after twist. You often have to remind yourself that you’re not listening to a fictitious whodunnit bestseller. Those who loved Serial or Making a Murderer will be more than satisfied ... and those who are new to this type of podcast will not be disappointed. The claims in episode three will truly astound. What is alleged to have happened will be hard for most to believe, especially when you remember this was all taking place “in our backyard”. But that’s exactly why it’s an important Australian story: Maria’s murder needs to be solved, her family deserves the truth, and the more who listen – the closer we get. Recommended by Shane Isheev

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Amy and Sophie from Podcast Goals.

Podcast Goals

Every Tuesday morning, Podcast Goals makes me feel like I’m sitting in the pub with two hilarious mates instead of stuck on a sweaty train. Sophie and Amy are straight-talking, quick-witted and unbelievably honest. There’s no pretence – they’ve nailed the perfect balance of piss-taking and self-deprecation to make you feel like you’re always welcome to listen in and hang out. My favourite episode is #AutocorrectGoals, because there is no occasion when an autocorrect isn’t funny, and listening to Sophie trying to rap Nicki Minaj into her phone was way funnier than it should have been! These brilliant twentysomethings have brought a new joy to the most depressing day of my week. Recommended by Neha Lakhani-Dhir

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Not another Fake NewsCast. Photograph: Gary McCann

Not Another Fake NewsCast

Two sardonic Glaswegians named Paul and Gerry try to unravel the gossamer thread of truth deep within the dark labyrinth crafted from nonsense, rumour and outright propaganda of fake news. Researched with a jaw-dropping level of detail (all sources are presented on their website), and with topics ranging from the war on drugs to who really controls the modern UK press, coupled with shades of Frankie Boyle’s grim humour and righteous fury, NAFNC is carefully crafted, leftish leaning and always eye-opening. Recommended by Paul Roberts

Guardian pick: the changing face of British mealtimes

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Cultura RM Exclusive/Brett Stevens/Getty

Let’s Eat …

What does Sunday lunch mean to you? A never-ending mountain of roast potatoes, time to catch up with friends and family or a chance to spend all day grazing? When you eat your favourite meal, how does it make you feel, where does it transport you to and how has this British institution changed over time?

In Let’s Eat … presenter Hersha Patel welcomes guests into her kitchen to celebrate typical British mealtimes and explore what they mean. From Sunday roasts to TV dinners, first-date romancing and the ubiquitous dinner party, we hear what makes the perfect spread for each situation, and how the preparing (and eating!) of food brings us closer together.



With guests including Edd Kimber (The Great British Bake Off, Stir the Pot podcast), Pit magazine editor and cook Helen Graves and Matt Burgess, head chef at Caravan restaurants, you’ll have a great time devouring this. Recommended by Ivor Sims



If you’ve got a podcast that you love, send your recommendations to rowan.slaney@theguardian.com