Wholehearted solidarity with Diane Abbott? Amber Heard lost and Johnny Depp was vindicated, but what if Amber was actually the victim of an organized trolling campaign? The UK's reputation as a global investment destination hit rock bottom last April – will there be more shocks for the UK economy this year?
The best podcasts of the week
1. Who trolled Amber?
Transmission platform: All streaming platforms
Gender: Society
Think ahead to 2022 and the Depp v. court case. Heard, when Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation.
Even if you had no interest in the case, the people involved, or celebrity culture as a whole, you'll have heard about it, probably through the nasty posts viciously criticizing Heard and strongly supporting Depp that flooded social media. this year.
That's exactly what investigative journalist Alexi Mostrous, responsible for the excellent 2021 podcast Sweet Bobby, discusses in his latest series, Who Trolled Amber?
He dives into the avalanche of anti-Amber Heard posts on social media and discovers that large swathes of them could be the work of robots, while examining who would wage this kind of online war and why.
The story isn't always linear: there are fascinating side quests that inform the main narrative, such as the case study of a teenage murderer, which shows on a smaller scale how bot campaigns work. It's a fascinating and well-explained story about how online campaigns can change people's minds, without them realizing it happened.
(By Prudence Wade)
2. Your aunts could never
Transmission platform: All streaming platforms
Gender: Society
Aunt AK, Aunt Farrah, Aunt Nana, and Aunt Sade are four friends who come from different walks of life.
But on the latest episode of Your Aunties Could Never, guest host Marianne Sunshine (who covers Auntie AK) and Nicky, also co-host of The Laid Bare Podcast and The Borough Section Podcast, join them to talk honestly about what's happening. happening in the UK and around the world, pop culture and, towards the end, they solve some very interesting dilemmas.
The conversation begins with the ladies discussing the current situation surrounding the passage of a bill by the US House of Representatives that could ban TikTok nationwide. Then they talk about how Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in just two rounds.
But the most important part of this episode was his heartfelt solidarity with Diane Abbott, who has been the target of racist comments from conservative donor Frank Hester. She is reported to have said that the parliamentarian made her want to “hate all black women” and that “they should shoot her.”
They talk about how these comments have left them genuinely disheartened and angry, and rightly so. But it's not that they are surprised, but really exhausted, begging people to recognize their humanity.
At a time when Black women's trauma is publicly used as a pawn in and out of politics, the unfiltered, witty and funny voices of the Your Aunties Could Never podcast are important and necessary.
(By Yolanthé Fawehinmi)
3. Baby, this is Keke Palmer
Transmission platform: All streaming platforms
Gender: Entertainment
How do we find our purpose? Do we need a purpose at work if we already find a purpose in life? That's the question artist Keke Palmer asked her mother Sharon on the latest episode of her podcast Wondery, Baby, This is Keke Palmer.
She is later joined by Academy Award-nominated actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who recently starred in Origin, a new biographical drama film written and directed by Ava DuVernay, based on the life of author and New York Times journalist Isabel Wilkerson.
“Someone saw something in me before I could see it in myself,” Ellis-Taylor said, as she explained why her pursuit of acting, despite being booked for roles, was a bit stagnant and unsatisfying at first.
But when roles began to allow her to truly communicate how she felt (particularly The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of the Gospel), she began to see the impact and purpose of her performance.
My favorite part of this episode was when Ellis-Taylor talked about being in the dark, feeling invisible, and the recent viral moment she had online: handing out flyers for her new movie Origin outside a movie theater.
“I did it because it needed to be done,” Ellis-Taylor said.
And I think it's a beautiful lesson in why it's important to do purposeful work.
(By Yolanthé Fawehinmi)
4. Bloomberg UK Politics
Transmission platform: All streaming platforms
Gender: Policy
Last April, the UK's reputation as a global investment destination was tarnished when Microsoft chairman Brad Smith said the European Union was a more attractive place to start a business.
According to Bloomberg Radio presenter Caroline Hepker, who has spent the last two months speaking to a number of chief executives and chairmen of UK companies, from insurance to asset management, advertising, property and retail, confidence is recovering.
Official figures also indicate that the United Kingdom remains the main investment destination after the United States, even surpassing China. But are there more optimistic arguments for Britain?
In an election year, it's important to have clear, unbiased coverage that shares the facts about the current state of the UK economy (outside of bills and household expenses) alongside analysis that really breaks things down. And that's what makes Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe so easy.
It's not something to listen to while doing dishes, because there are a lot of important little things that I think you might miss as a listener, especially to someone who doesn't come from an economic background.
Let's hope there are no more shocks in store for the UK economy this year.
(By Yolanthé Fawehinmi)
Focus on…
5. Deadly Silent Podcast
Transmission platform: All streaming platforms
Gender: Health
Almost eight in 10 men are silent about the symptoms of prostate cancer, says long-time BBC Midlands Today presenter Nick Owen, who was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of the disease in April 2023. Now , is on a mission to break any taboo men feel when talking about symptoms, with private care company GenesisCare, which is behind the podcast.
In the first of the series, Owen, 76, is joined by Dr Kanti Patel, who has also battled prostate cancer. It's an important issue, addressed gently and honestly by Owen, who urges other men to get tested, whether they have symptoms (such as difficulty starting to urinate or needing to urinate more frequently) or not.
In an attempt to discover ways for men to feel more comfortable opening up, Owen and Patel meet on a golf course, and it's strangely comforting to listen to, with the sound of clubs swinging and balls hitting in the background as the men share a game. and at the same time be candid and informative, ending with another expert Q&A session.
A song that every man over 50 should listen to, as they are more likely to be diagnosed than their younger peers. Black men and anyone with the disease in the family are also at higher risk, according to Prostate Cancer UK.
(By Lauren Taylor)
6. Educating Margarita
Transmission platform: All streaming platforms
Gender: Letters
Audible's Original Educating Daisy is basically where actress and writer Daisy May Cooper meets new literature she probably won't read.
Cooper would love to read more if he had the time, but he often doesn't know where to start.
Back for a second season launching on March 14, the host is joined by comedian and actor Greg Davies, who is also not a big reader. “[But] “Life is a little better when you read,” he admits to May. And she couldn't agree more.
He goes on, quite passionately, about the four books he quickly read during a recent vacation, prompting a hearty laugh between the couple.
Cooper has five more famous friends, including Tom Davis, Sindhu Vee, Rylan Clark, Danny Robins and Kerry Godliman, who try to turn her into her favorite books by telling her all about their favorite classics. She promises that she will definitely read one of them at the end of the series. But from the sound of the first episode, I'm not sure if listeners would believe him.
(By Yolanthé Fawehinmi)
