20

Catch and Kill

Ronan Farrow details the harrowing process of investigating the infamous sex abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein in his documentary series. Combining the grim realities of true crime with a thriller-like pace, its third instalment is particularly enraging, detailing the process by which Italian model Ambra Gutierrez participated in a police sting against the movie mogul – only to find serious allegations levelled against her.

What we said: Farrow hosts this illuminating, terrifying audio accompaniment to his book about a network of high-powered Hollywood abusers, chief among them Weinstein. Having won a Pulitzer for his work in bringing the story to light, Farrow’s credentials are evident. Here, however, we discover just how menacing a process it was.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

19

Anthem: Homunculus

A musical about a man with cancer who is crowdfunding for treatment might not sound like a barrel of laughs. But this series from John Cameron Mitchell – creator of rock opera Hedwig and the Angry Inch – is a heartrending and hilarious combination of music, theatre and drama, with standout performances from Glenn Close and Cynthia Erivo.



What we said: The junction where podcasts and musicals meet is not a place for everyone, but Mitchell’s new creation is definitely worth a listen. Yes, it’s strange, but the songs would stand up on any stage and the story’s a compelling one.

Available on Luminary

18

Kurupt FM Podkast

Lovingly ludicrous ... the Kurupt FM podcast. Photograph: Kurupt FM

2019 saw the end of BBC Three’s always hilarious and often harrowing sitcom People Just Do Nothing, which was indebted to the UK’s suburban garage scene as much as it was to The Office. But the Kurupt FM crew weren’t off the airwaves for long, swiftly returning with a podcast. From music to relationships to “the supernatural” (featuring DJ Beats’ “sixth seventh” and a market-stall Ouija board), it’s a lovingly ludicrous ride.

What we said: If People Just Do Nothing’s faux-interview segments and cold sweat-inducing cringe comedy strongly recalled The Office, the podcast sees the lads draw from a different giant of the sitcom world. Bathos-laden broadcasting, aimless chat filler and awkward phone-ins: there is a lot of Alan Partridge’s DNA here.

Available on Audible

17

Hunting Warhead

The story of how a Canadian man, Benjamin Faulkner, masterminded a huge ring of dark web paedophiles is chilling, but this brutal and brilliantly-told story of how police and journalists teamed up to stop him is more unbelievable still.

What we said: An undercover journalist travels almost 10,000 miles to confront two men who, he has reason to believe, are responsible for hosting some of the most horrific and disturbing imagery on the internet – and is met with two unlikely suspects. So begins this often difficult to stomach yet compelling six-part podcast from Canadian broadcaster CBC and Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

16

Griefcast

Comedian Cariad Lloyd’s podcast about death and what it means for those left behind has become a cult favourite over the past three years. Alongside famous faces – from fellow comic Aisling Bea to actor Susan Wokoma – Lloyd has explored often unspoken death-themed topics, including child loss and death doulas. It’s the perfect antidote to taboo, with a forthcoming companion book recently the subject of a 15-way bidding war between publishers.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

15

Outrage and Optimism

Greta Thunberg delivers a speech at a climate change protest march. Photograph: Javier Barbancho/Reuters

A riveting podcast that tackles the issue of our time: the ticking time bomb of climate change. Helmed by Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UNFCCC, it cuts through the fear while emphasising the severity of the emergency. It also has impressive form when it comes to guests, having featured everyone from David Attenborough to Greta Thunberg.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

14

You’re Dead To Me

According to host Greg Jenner, You’re Dead To Me is “a history podcast for people who don’t like history … or at least people who forgot to learn any at school”. That means finding out about more than just the world wars, with the historian covering everything from gay conversion therapy in 1950s America to pyramid demolition during the Crusades. An ideal alternative to trawling through history books.

What we said: This amusing new podcast follows TV outings such as Drunk History and Horrible Histories in making the past that bit more exciting. Historian 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.

Available on BBC Sounds

13

Ear Hustle

A hit podcast made in the most unlikely of settings: California’s San Quentin prison. Created by university professor Nigel Poor and inmate Earlonne Woods, the show explores everything from dating after several years inside to the reality of ageing behind bars. Intriguing, different and frequently moving, the podcast is now hosted by Poor and another San Quentin resident, Rahsaan “New York” Thomas.

What we said: It has been a while since the last season of the podcast that takes you behind bars in San Quentin prison and that’s because things have changed, with host Earlonne Woods now released.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

12

Sex Power Money with Sara Pascoe

Following on from the success of her non-fiction book, Animal, Sara Pascoe’s second tome, Sex Power Money, saw the comic dissect the sex industry – from the ethics of sex work to the science of male sexuality and the racial dynamics of porn. This companion podcast is equally insightful, taking in themes as divergent as the history of that much-feared medical instrument, the speculum, and sugar babies, whose lifestyles are funded by wealthy, often older partners.

What we said: At the beginning of comic Sara Pascoe’s podcast about sex work, stripping and porn, she admits she doesn’t know enough about it. Which means she asks a lot of pertinent questions as she investigates further, hitting just the right tone. Her interview with social historian Hallie Rubenhold, ostensibly about Jack the Ripper’s crimes, is far-reaching and fascinating.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

11

The Receipts

‘The older sisters you’ve always wanted’ ... The Receipts. Photograph: Suki Dhanda/The Observer

Helmed by a group of confident, smart, hilarious young women of colour, The Receipts has rightly become a runaway success, going from independent hit to a Spotify cosign with a TV pilot in the works. From mental health to sex, with confessions from hosts and listeners, it’s the most fun you can have without seeing your actual friends. Bonus points for the episode titles, which include The Art of Dry Humping and How Do I Tell My Boyfriend to Clean His Toilet?”

What we said: Audrey (AKA Ghana’s finest), Milena and Tolly T of The Receipts podcast have become the friends you never had, and the sisters you’ve always wanted. And this summer they have become familiar faces thanks to the billboards that have been popping up since their recent transfer from BBC 1Xtra to Spotify. Exploring pop culture, social issues affecting women of colour and random thoughts that capture the humour in the mundane.

Available on Spotify

10

Where Should We Begin

Imagine a counselling session where the audience isn’t just a single person but an infinite number of listeners: that’s the premise of Esther Perel’s Where Should We Begin. In it, the couples therapist navigates issues from infidelity to illness and sex addiction with a no-nonsense but empathetic approach. She has also recently extended her advice towards coworkers with a new show, How’s Work?

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

9

Adam Buxton

Is there anyone more nerdily charming than Adam Buxton? To listen to his podcast introductions, delivered nonchalantly while walking his dog, is to feel instantly relaxed. The comic’s off-the-wall interview podcast started 2019 with David Mitchell and ended it – as if things couldn’t get more surreal – with Jeff Goldblum. Setting the gold standard for comedy podcasts, expect only the most glorious waffle.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

8

Slow Burn

‘All the ingredients of a good hip-hop story’ ... Slow Burn.

The first two series of this podcast by US news site Slate told the story of the Watergate scandal and the impeachment of Bill Clinton. But the third series branched out into an altogether different kind chapter in US history: the unsolved murders of rap titans Tupac and the Notorious BIG. Dark, ambitious and full of insight from the people who were there, this was the opposite of a slow-burn hit.

What we said: In the new series of Slow Burn, Joel Anderson describes in vivid detail the events surrounding the shooting of Tupac Shakur at the Quad Recording Studios in 1994. But this is not a eulogy. In the opening lines, Anderson reminds us that on the night of his shooting Shakur was on trial for sexual assault. Episode one fuses feuds, legal battles and brash masculinity – all the expected ingredients of any good hip-hop story.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

7

Have You Heard George’s Podcast?

Spoken word star and rapper George the Poet returned this year with a second series of his smash pod that combines drama, poetry, music and politics. Touching on rap stars, Grenfell, estate turf wars, the slave trade and much more, his show moves from fantastically funny to intensely emotional, while always remaining intriguing.

What we said: The winner of five British Podcast awards, spoken-word performer and writer George the Poet delivers an experimental, stereotype-busting, immersive audio shows. In the first episode, he considers in verse how mainly white audiences are used to mining black artists’ trauma as if it were “a fossil fuel”, before taking a look at a test case via Reaganomics, rap and blaxploitation.

Available on BBC Sounds

6

Off Menu

Ed Gamble and James Acaster continue to enthral listeners with their foodie Desert Island Discs, in which guests talk rapturously about their favourite grub and fond food memories. From Observer food critic Jay Rayner to soon-to-be Marvel star Kumail Nanjiani and Fleabag’s Sian Clifford, they’ve had a huge range of guests – and a glut of heartwarming, hunger-inducing chats.

What we said: Ed Gamble and James Acaster host this delightful podcast all about imagining your ideal meal, a concept which lends itself nicely to conversations on everything from identity and class, to whether the “share” in “tear and share” garlic bread is optional, as Scroobius Pip suggests.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

5

The Last Days of August

Adult film actress August Ames, subject of The Last Days of August, with husband Kevin Moore. Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Best known for his deep dives into everything from psychopathy to public shaming, Jon Ronson made a foray into porn with his 2017 podcast The Butterfly Effect. He returned to the adult industry with this dark, disquieting take on true crime, examining the mysterious suicide of a young porn actor, August Ames, just a day after she was accused of online homophobia.

What we said: A sparing, delicate and at times harrowing series, ostensibly about the suicide of August Ames, who killed herself at the age of 23. If The Butterfly Effect humanised an unknown industry for its listeners, this seems more willing to confront the dark side of that world.

Available on Audible

4

The Missing Cryptoqueen

A confident entrepreneur, a hard-working young woman with a degree from Oxford, an audacious scam artist: as Jamie Bartlett and Georgia Catt find out in their gripping podcast, Ruja Ignatova was all of these things and more. A wild ride through the wild west of cryptocurrency combined with a personal tale and held together by a specially composed score by the London Bulgarian Choir.

What we said: Dr Ruja Ignatova was the polished entrepreneur with an impressive CV and an even more impressive claim: that her OneCoin cryptocurrency would overtake Bitcoin and make its investors rich. Unfortunately for those who did invest, her business turned out to be a scam, leading to the “very very very scary” tale our podcasters explore.

Available on BBC Sounds

3

Dolly Parton’s America

‘Love, care and unparalled access’ ... Dolly Parton’s America. Photograph: Mark Metcalfe/Getty

She’s the rhinestoned superstar known for a string of country-pop hits, but Dolly Parton is also an American icon, and a symbol of unification in an increasingly fractured society. Radiolab host Jad Abumrad helms this exploration of Parton’s personal journey as “a quivering mass of irreconcilable contradictions”, made with love, care and unparalleled access to the woman herself.

What we said: Dolly Parton’s America is the result of much digging, research and time spent speaking to the star herself. Abumrad has also interviewed Parton’s confidantes and managers, celebrities such as Jane Fonda (with whom she starred in the film 9 to 5) and ordinary Americans “who have taken her into their souls”. The podcast is as much about Parton as it as about the nation.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

2

Dear Joan and Jericha

The all-out grossness and thoroughly grim goings on in the wickedly judgmental therapists’ office was a podcast highlight of 2019, with an increasingly not-safe-for-work feel. Incest, unexpected fluids, nonplussed bereavements and workplace wanking all featured, with a special mention for the husband breastfeeding from the au pair. Foul, in the very best way.

What we said: 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”.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

1

The Dropout

‘A frightening cult of personality ‘ ... Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of Theranos. Photograph: Jeff Chiu/AP

Elizabeth Holmes was a young, highly successful entrepreneur whose company, Theranos, was valued in the billions and looked set to transform the world of medical testing for the better. There was just one problem: her company was a sham. Wall Street Journal writer John Carreyrou was one of the first to cotton on to the truth behind the woman billed as the next Steve Jobs, countering her claims with a series of dynamite articles and later writing a book – Bad Blood – about Holmes. The Dropout, hosted by ABC News reporter Rebecca Jarvis, takes Carreyrou’s story and builds it into a high-octane tale of mass deception, a frightening cult of personality and a fraud that even drove a wedge through one investor’s family and sucked in the medical industry. A feat of investigative journalism, the six-part series serves as a stark reminder of the malleability of truth, and the arrogance and hubris that can reinforce it.

Available on Apple Podcasts