iPM (R4 podcast) | iPlayer
Mo-Joe: An 18-Week Marathon Diary | audible.co.uk
The Retro Hour | theretrohour.com
First day back at school and a full-on Brexit barney between Tony Blair and John Humphrys. Lovely. It is rare that I actually switch off Today, but I’ve had two weeks of the kids bickering and, to be honest, any more “so you mean this/ no I never/ but you said you did”, and I’ll be reaching for the bleach. It’s hard to stay interested in the news when compromise is seen as lily-livered. Also when everyone on there is such a plum.
Still, there’s news and there’s news, isn’t there? Radio 4’s PM understands this. Its longstanding feature, Your News, has listeners send in a single sentence of their own personal news, and then gets a famous person to read a few out. Sometimes those single sentences develop into bigger stories, for the excellent weekly iPM podcast. I meant to mention iPM before Christmas for its wonderful mid-December episode on deathbed promises but, well, I forgot. However, over the break I went on a huge iPM binge, and God, it was great. There are several episodes worth checking, such as the two about sexual assault, or the short series about kids and drugs, but two of the most fascinating are also the most recent: After the Affair, the Wife and After The Affair, the Husband.
Here’s the backstory. Around 18 months ago a listener wrote into Your News with the sentence: “I found out this year that my husband has been having an affair for three years; I’m diminished, on the floor, I still love you, husband.” iPM followed this up and, over Christmas 2016, broadcast a compelling Eddie Mair interview with the wronged wife, followed by an equally gripping Manveen Rana interview with the woman’s husband. (iPM has provided a catch-up episode.) Now, a year later, the wife and husband, who are still together, have been interviewed separately again, and the new interviews are even more absorbing than the first. The break caused by the affair was real and, though it’s healing, it seems to be setting a bit wonky. Both wife and husband are looking to the future, but things are not what they were… Their voices rattle around your brain long after you stop listening.
New Year, New You? Hardly, but perhaps you’re embarking on a new fitness regime. There are plenty of podcasts to help you with your admirable aims, and Audible’s Mo-Joe is one. Presenter George Lamb has committed to running a marathon in April, and Mo-Joe is the weekly podcast that follows his progress. He has two major assets to help him: Sir Mo Farah, who’s his running coach; and healthy YouTuber Joe Wicks, who’s sorting out Lamb’s exercise regime and nutrition. Farah only pops up briefly each week, to give Lamb his thrice-weekly run regime. Wicks is more of a presence, though as he admits he messed up his own marathon attempt, finishing “behind a man dressed as a pair of testicles”, having knackered his hip, I’m not sure that he’s quite the expert for the job.
Still, his recipes sound nice. Each episode also features Lamb meeting relevant people such as a New Balance shoe expert, or Dame Kelly Holmes. I like Lamb as a presenter – he’s funny and engaging – but I wonder how long this podcast can sustain interest. I suppose if you listened every week while out for your own run it might make sense, but otherwise it may well go the way of all New Year resolutions.
Finally, just room for a surprisingly fab gaming podcast. The Retro Hour comes from three Nottingham gaming enthusiasts, Dan Wood, Ravi Abbott and Joe Fox, who – this is the surprise – understand how to make podcasts interesting and engaging. They can interview too, as their recent chat with Atari founder Nolan Bushnell shows. There are more than 100 episodes to choose from, and I’ve enjoyed every one I’ve heard. Which is a lot, coming from someone whose gaming chops never progressed past Pac-Man.
