New & Notable Podcasts You’ll Want To Download This Year

With an increasingly diverse range of topics being tackled, it’s little wonder the popularity of podcasts is going from strength to strength. From true crime to politics to sex to Jonathon Van Ness on Brexit (yes, really) here’s the low-down on the best podcasts you should be downloading in 2019…

Fks Given

Lauded for helping bust the taboo around sexual histories and experiences through genuine, funny and educational conversations and concepts. Created by YouTubers Come Curious (aka, Florence Barkway and Reed Amber), Fks Given discusses everything from inclusive sex education to the first, last and best sex their guests have had. Guests on the series include sex and relationships author Hannah Witton and dominatrix Mistress Bliss, so expect this candid show to cover every sexploration you can imagine.

Listen to F**cks Given here.

The Gurls Talk Podcast

Fresh on the podcast circuit is Adwoa Aboah’s Gurls Talk, taken from her successful site of the same name, which allows young women to discuss everything from education to mental health. For the podcast, she’s teamed up with Nike to create a safe space for women to chat about and debate the topics that really matter to them. From singer Mabel discussing our social media addiction to Manchester City striker Nadia Nadim revealing how football saved her life, no conversational stone goes unturned here.
 

Listen to The Gurls Talk Podcast here.

Getting Curious With Jonathan Van Ness

Yaas queen! Our favourite fifth of the Fab Five has his own podcast and it pretty much does what it says on the tin. Jonathan Van Ness goes on a weekly exploration of all the things he’s curious about – and it’s not just superficial stuff (let’s give JVN some credit, people). From the Muller investigation to astronomy to marginalisation, Jonathan has great debates with experts on each subject – and every episode has the best titles (‘What’s The Cutest Way to Fight Climate Change?’; ‘What’s Really Going on with Recycling, Hunny?’). In fact, many Brits were surprised to learn last year that JVN seems to know more about Brexit than any of us. Plus he called the NHS “kinda fierce”.
 

Listen to Getting Curious with Jonathon Van Ness here.

The Butterfly Effect

This podcast came out in 2017, but if you haven’t listened to it yet, where have you been? You need to give it a go. Jon Ronson’s non-judgemental podcast takes on the massive topic of pornography – or rather, how one man got rich from free online porn. The seven-episode series takes some truly strange twists and turns – in episode two, we hear from three women who were paid to destroy a Norwegian man’s prized stamp collection.
 

Listen to The Butterfly Effect here.

The Impact

The Impact is Vox’s narrative podcast examining the consequences laws have on real people’s lives around the world. Presented by senior editor Sarah Kliff, who is joined by occasional guests, she covers everything from robot uteruses to segregation, to paid paternal leave in Denmark.
 

Listen to The Impact here.

How To Fail

Elizabeth Day’s philosophy in life is we should all embrace failure – the biggest moments of crisis in our lives make us who we are. This principle has spawned three series of her podcast How To Fail, in which she speaks to a vast number of people from different background about how they handle failure, from politicians to comedians to people who have been pulled back from the brink of suicide. Sometimes funny, sometimes inspirational and sometimes heartbreaking, Elizabeth aims to take the taboo out of failing.
 

Listen to How To Fail here.

In The Third Person With Mike Skinner

Hosts Mike Skinner (of The Streets fame) and rapper Murkage Dave invite different inspirational celebrities into their studio to get them to explain what they do and why they do it. The podcast features the likes of Alexa Chung, Dizzee Rascal and Jamal Edwards – but it’s the first episode with Liam Gallagher that really grabbed people’s attention. The Oasis frontman revealed he can’t sing if he doesn’t have his autocue, and will literally read anything anyone puts on it: “If they put fucking fish and chips [on there], I’d sing that as well. It’s terrible, leaving my fucking shit in other people’s hands, but yeah, I need the autocue, man.” Interesting…
 

Listen to In The Third Person here.

The Adam Buxton Podcast

If you were a fan of the Adam and Joe show on Radio 6, then you need The Adam Buxton podcast in your life. With friends in high places, Adam’s episodes with Louis Theroux, Simon Pegg, Charlie Brooker, Jon Ronson - and, of course, his old showmate, Joe Cornish - are some of the best, funniest and forthright interviews around (listening to Theroux singing Yes Sir, I Can Boogie is a particular highlight).
 

Listen to The Adam Buxton Podcast here.

About Race With Reni Eddo-Lodge

From the author behind the bestselling Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race comes Reni Eddo-Lodge’s podcast that aims to take the conversation a step further. Featuring key voices of anti-racist activism from the last few decades, like Riz Ahmed, Dianne Abbott and Nish Kumar, Reni joins her guest to look at the recent history that lead to the politics of today.

Listen to About Race here.

This American Life

An oldie but a goodie, This American Life has been an institution on the podcasting scene for a long time but if you’re yet to discover it, 2019 is the year to acquaint yourself. Presented by veteran journalist Ira Glass, each episode tackles a different subject, each one as contrasting and compelling as the next. From surviving the mishaps of love, to crime scenes and the stories they tell, this podcast will answer the questions you’ve always wanted to ask and open your eyes to ways of life you’d never considered before.
 

Listen to This American Life here.  

This Podcast Will Kill You

Ok, so the podcast can’t actually kill you, but it covers many things that can. Each episode deals with a different disease, from its history to its biology and finally, how petrified you need to be. Presented by ecologist and epidemiologist, Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke, the two Erins make infectious diseases acceptable dinner party conversation and provide the perfect cocktail recipe to match.

Listen to This Podcast Will Kill You here.

The Purrrcast

Love cats? Like, really love cats? Hosts Sara Iyer and Steven Ray Morris (also the producer for popular podcast My Favourite Murder) talk to cat people because they can't talk to their cats. That’s it. Is this the most wholesome podcast ever? We think so…
 

Listen to The Purrrcast here.

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