My Favourite Podcast Episodes From 2024
I make a big thing of the 20×12 annual musical lists, 2024’s list was a nice conversation starter online and with Bluesky taking over the role of the Web 2.0 Water Cooler (even though the Web 1.0 watercoolers were far nicer), it was a chance to get some chat going. My top podcasts don’t have as much oomph or accessibility. It also is a bit shorter at five, not tweleve, entries and the time tends to run out as the year comes to an end for a more comprehensive breakdown.
As the bells march ever closer, I’ll pick out a few episodes from the shows I regularly listen to, why I enjoyed each one, and where you can listen to that specific episode.
Commando (90 Minutes Or Less Film Fest),
For all the marathon films on the streaming services, the epics stretched over multiple releases to maximise revenue, and my bladder’s wish for a return to the delights of the Intermission, Sam Clements’ podcast promise is to put all that aside and only talk about films that take up less than an hour and a half of your time.
Many of the guests do have their own films to promote, but once you get film-makers talking about their passion for cinema, magic can happen.
That was definitely the case with Jeff Wadlow’s appearance in March as part of the promotional tour for the film ‘Imaginary.’ His chose ninety-minuter? ‘Commando.’
It’s the arguable peak of the 1980s lone vigilante hero, packed with one-liners, stunts, infinite IDKFA’d ammo clips, and classic physical stunt work. It’s also a film that may or may not be under ninety minutes long… yes, discussing paperwork and filing information for distributors is much more fun than it has any right to be.
(Link).
Shirley Manson (Joy, Craig Ferguson)
Sometimes, a podcast episode is memorable for deep thoughts or moments of revelation. Sometimes, it’s just about the banter.
“Joy” is allegedly a podcast about people finding joy in life. In reality, Craig Ferguson shows that the few minutes he had with his late-night talk show guests were never enough. Regularly stretching to the hour mark, he is inquisitive, awestruck, passionate, and importantly, an excellent listener.
And that leads to (ahem) moments of joy. No episode typifies this better than his time with Shirley Manson. Two Scottish voices, with all the attitude and self-depreciation, comfortable in each other’s company, with the typically Scottish attitude to swearing, make this a riot of an interview.
That both of them have managed to survive the meat grinder of showbusiness somehow and are utterly upfront about the highs and the lows just adds a raw honesty to the episode
(Link).
Robin Askwith (Full Disclosure, James O’Brien)
Everyone’s story lasts a lifetime, but most people may only have a fleeting moment when their story reaches out beyond their own circle of friends. For those who do capture that moment on a scale of millions, the moment rarely lasts long.
Yet the story continues. So James O’Brien’s interview with Robin Askwith looks at the marathon that happens before becoming “an overnight sensation” and what happens when the sunrise and sunset shine on someone else? Askwith has worked in theatre, film, and TV for decades, but for many, he’s little more than “that bloke who did the bawdy ‘Confessions Of A… ‘ series of sex comedies in the seventies.
It’s a frank look at stardom, the world leaving you behind, and still finding a way to do what you love.
(Link).
The British Board Of Film Censors (Origin Story)
This podcast format stands on the trust between the hosts and the listener. Several successful podcasts follow this format; I recall enjoying another podcast in this genre right up until an episode on a subject that I was intensely familiar with, and… they lost my confidence.
That has not happened yet with ‘Origin Story,’ and I think much of that comes from the chosen topics, which never stray too far from the interests of host Dorian Linsky and Ian Dunt. The two political reporters started out explaining hand-wavey terms used in politics, the history of the theme, and how we have arrived at their current concept.
The latest season pushes the envelope regarding the subjects. I’ve picked out their episode on censorship through the eyes of the British Board of Film Classification. Why were films censored in the UK, how has the film industry censored itself, and what impact did the ‘video nasties’ of the 1980s have on popular culture?
(Link)
The All-Up Stack That Is ‘16 Sunsets‘
‘Thirteen Minutes To The Moon‘ is one of my all-time favourite podcasts—an in-depth look at the Apollo 11 moon landing minute by minute. The lunar module descent took thirteen minutes, so each minute was its own podcast episode.
The team followed up with ‘Apollo 13’. The same time slice format didn’t work, but the in-depth nature still drove the story of the ill-fated mission over several episodes.
Those shows were all on the BBC. When Kevin Fong and Rami Tzaber turned to Kickstarter to fund their third project, it got instant backing from me. ‘16 Sunsets‘ was released this year. That title is a nod to the 16 times you see the sunset each day when in the Space Shuttle Orbiter’s natural habitat, the Shuttle being the subject of the project.
I can’t recommend a single episode. Much like the Shuttle program, it is a multi-layered and barely controlled beast that makes perfect sense and has its own brutal emotional beauty. This recommendation is for the full show.
(Link).
Featuring Me
Given I do podcasting myself, I have produced, hosted, or guested on quite a few during 2024. I’ll pick out three if you want to explore my podcasting during the last twelve months.
Going behind the scenes with BBC Eurovision Transmission Director Stephen Neal to find out how the television pictures get from the Eurovision stage to your screen; discussing my Eurovision podcast history with Rob Lilley-Jones; and exploring the history of the early days of podcasting with Cameron Reilly.
And in a tiny bit of self-promotion (which I think I am allowed, given it’s my website), I’m always available for guest spots, podcast production, consulting, etc, etc. My contact page is here.
(Photo: The Space Shuttle Enterprise during the Approach/Landing Tests, NASA Image and video library).
