Recommendation Engine: Electoral Dysfunction

Welcome to this week's Recommendation Engine from Podcast Rex, rounding up the week in podcast reviews. Get this in an email each week by signing up to be a supporter of Podcast Rex from £3.99.

Apple Podcasts New & Noteworthy:

• Style & City Diaries
• Who Trolled Amber?
• Olivia Attwood’s So Wrong It’s Right
• The Sports Agents
• The Spy Who

Spotify New & 🔥

• The Sports Agents
• Who Replaced Avril Lavigne?
• Now We’re Talking Baby
• Olivia Attwood’s So Wrong It’s Right
• Radio Rufus

Fiona Sturges in the FT

• Three Million - “Puri does her utmost to unearth the stories of the dead, no easy task since they were the most impoverished people in India. When she finally finds a name, her no-nonsense BBC tone slips and her voice wobbles with emotion.”

James Marriott in the Times

• Electoral Dysfunction - “A recent spate of disapproving articles on the rise of the “dadcast” cite names such as Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart on The Rest Is Politics, Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland on The Rest Is History, George Osborne and Ed Balls on Political Currency, and Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer on The Rest Is Football. Electoral Dysfunction from Sky News is an effort to put an end to this blokeish dominance."

Miranda Sawyer in the Observer

• Electoral Dysfunction - “Think The Rest Is Politics or Political Currency, but with three women who actively work in news and politics, as opposed to two men who used to.”
• Black Box - “Safi makes us understand the beauty and the horror of AI. “The smartest computer scientists in the world have no idea what these things are thinking,” he says.”
• The Price of Music - “With the calm and informative Dredge as its breadhead, and Lamacq asking the questions, this is an intelligent primer for the biz part of the music biz.”

Patricia Nicol & Clair Woodward in the Sunday Times

• A Muslim and a Jew Go There - “This pair are impressively confident (possibly over-confident in Baddiel’s case, who seems to assume charge) and fluent clear-thinkers, intent on promoting discussion not division. But two alpha centrists reaching a consensus could become predictable — the format might benefit from listener questions and one-off guests who reflect other generations and perspectives.”
• Electoral Dysfunction - “Phillips and Davidson, both principled politicians with non-partisan reach, are impressively robust broadcasters.”
• Terribly Famous - “This time the life of George Michael is in the spotlight, and while there are no startlingly new revelations, it’s a breezily presented series.”
• The Sports Agents - “Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman, who have a deep knowledge of a huge variety of sports, giving an insider’s perspective on the biggest stories in sport on the twice-weekly show.”

The Guardian’s Hear Here column recommends

• Who Replaced Avril Lavigne? - “Very funny comedian Joanne McNally has become obsessed with the internet’s wild decade-long conspiracy that Avril Lavigne was replaced by a doppelganger.”
• Terribly Famous - “It’s ideal for those who don’t remember how tough it was at the height of his 80s fame.”
• Where to Be a Woman - “In a time when wellness is marketed as something that can be bought, they get to the heart of what women need.”
• The Sports Agents - “They promise to bring big-name guests and analysis to the packed sporting calendar.’”
• Cover Up: The Anthrax Threat - “How would it feel to know you could die just by opening your post?”

And in the Guardian’s Guide newsletter

• Three Million - “Puri brings light to a catastrophe that hasn’t even been deemed worthy of a plaque or memorial anywhere in the world.”

Highlights from the Radio Times

• The Tao of Muhammad Ali - “This is a fine way to show how hero worship can lead to positivity and progress.”
• Political Fix - “Some of the most illuminating discussions I’ve heard about the forthcoming election.”
• Chris Skinner’s Countryside Podcast - “One of the most popular shows axed in last year’s BBC Local Radio cuts, given a new lease of life.”
• Eddie Hearn: No Passion No Point - “He probes the psychology of top sportspeople.”

Plus the Radio Times interviews Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver about tomorrow’s new release, Miss Me?

Heat’s Top of the Pods

• Terribly Famous ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• A Muslim and a Jew Go There ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Plus Heat interviews Joanne McNally about both My Therapist Ghosted Me and Who Replaced Avril Lavigne?.

Scott Bryan in Great British Podcasts

• The Sports Agents - “Expect it to have the same breeziness but level of insight as its sister podcast The News Agents.”
• A Muslim and a Jew Go There - “At a divisive time, it is refreshing to hear hosts thoughtfully discuss important issues.”
• Who Replaced Avril Lavigne? - “McNally is perfectly placed for this series.”
• The Spy Who - “This series features storytelling with immersive sound production and the hosts acting the various characters.”