10 Podcasts To Listen To This Month

Calm It Down

Hosted by pianist and composer Chad Lawson, Calm It Down is the new podcast which enables listeners to take 15 minutes out of the stresses of modern life, by guiding them through meditation and breathing techniques, while also exploring subjects like how to handle our emotions and process our thoughts in more efficient ways. At a time when uncertainty has never seeped its way into the public subconscious more, new episodes of the show drop every Tuesday, with accompanying Spotify playlists for each session.

Episode Highlight: You’re Not Alone

Fresh off National Suicide Awareness Week, this bonus episode (sandwiched between episodes two and three) looks at the sobering statistics around this still-taboo topic. While Chad admits he doesn’t have all the answers, he does provide listeners will helpful tools and resources to help them come to terms with potentially destructive thoughts.

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The Mid Point

Gabby Logan is middle-aged and unashamed. But what does it mean to be at the halfway stage of your life? Join her via this new Spotify podcast as she talks candidly to well-known faces about their own midlife challenges and expectations, drawing on the advice of experts from sleep gurus, nutritionists, and doctors specialising on hormone treatment.

Episode Highlight: Claudia Winkleman

Listen in as Claudia Winkleman explains to Gabby why she can’t wait to turn 50 – suffice to say the Cambridge educated, Saturday night TV host refuses to fight the ageing process. And because she believes the key to a successful life is the ability to power nap, Gabby and Claudia are joined by sleep guru Nick Littlehales.

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Divorced Not Dead

Host Caroline Stanbury wants you to know one thing: she’s divorced, not dead. Whether it’s co-parenting, getting back out on the dating scene or understanding pre-nups, Caroline hopes to tackle each topic in turn via her new podcast. With her marriage ending at the age of 44, she’s here to prove that life isn’t over, it’s only just beginning.

Episode Highlight: Why Dating Younger Annoys Men Not Women

Since the Ice Age, men have been dating younger women and no one has ever questioned it. So why is it when women do the same, society has a serious issue with it. An interesting sociological deep dive on this sexist issue, Caroline attempts to show listeners it’s men who tend to have the issue when it comes to dating younger.

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Grand Casino

Podcast aficionados will probably already be familiar with This Sounds Serious, the makers of the eponymous first season and follow up The Record Club. Now, they’ve returned to the airwaves with Grand Casino. In 1991, TV producer Kirk Todd was supposed to direct his first movie, Grand Casino, but the movie was never made. Kirk disappeared with the film’s budget and was revealed to be a con man named Jeremy Weaver. Follow host Gwen Radford as she tracks down the victims and puts together the pieces of this con three decades later.

Episode Highlight: How To Make A Fake Movie

In order to pull off the Grand Casino con, Kirk had to convince the studio and the crew that he was making the movie. How did nobody catch on? In the third instalment of this entertaining and mind-boggling podcast, Gwen looks at how Kirk span a web of lies, which everyone around him failed to detect.

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Freezing Time

Ever considered freezing your eggs? Sophia Money-Coutts (who is 35 and having her eggs frozen) is here to share everything you need to know. What does it involve? What are the success rates? Will the hormones make you sad? And is it really true that a woman’s ovaries swell to the size of melons? Consider this new podcast her audio diary, from choosing a fertility clinic to the operation itself, along with the ups (and downs) of undergoing an emotional and hormonal procedure. She also investigates the science behind egg freezing and its rapid growth in popularity.

Episode Highlight: Let’s Talk About Eggs, Baby

The stigma around egg freezing is a very real thing. In this episode, Sophia talks to three women who've had very different experiences: Love Island's Amy Hart, Reem Mehanna who shocked her home country of Egypt when she announced she’d frozen her eggs in 2019, and Reniqua Allen-Lamphere, American author of a brilliant New York Times article entitled "Is Egg Freezing Only for White Women?" An important listen.

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Last, Past And Blast

Last, Past & Blast is the new series from TV and radio host, Charlotte Hawkins. Each week the podcast will delve into the musical lives and memories of a different guest through their choice of three key pieces: the last piece of classical music they’ve been listening to; a significant piece of classical music from their past; and a blast: their wildcard – so keep an ear out for guilty pleasure.

Episode Highlight: Myleene Klass

Not only is Myleene Klass a classically trained musician and former pop star, she’s also a mother. In this episode, she chats to Charlotte about her musical leanings, as well as her lockdown experiences, including home-schooling and how it spurred her to set up her own online music classes.

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Super Brain

Dubbed ‘The Podcast for Everyone with a Brain’ join host Dr Sabina Brennan for a second season of this compelling show as she talks to an eclectic mix of inspiring guests about thriving and surviving in life – and a global pandemic. In addition, Sabina injects a weekly booster shot packed with practical tips to transform your everyday brain into a healthy, happy, Super Brain.

Episode Highlight: Special Investigation: What is Covid-19 doing to our brains?

In this special edition episode, Sabina looks at what the ongoing pandemic and virus is doing to our brains and neurological health. Includes expert insights from medical professionals like Dr Lucy Cheke, Dr Ron Daniels, Dr Patricia Mc Namara and Dr Adrian Owen. Fascinating.

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Blueprint By Ballymore

A new podcast looking at how we can build better cities, tune in each week as the hosts of The Blueprint by Ballymore speak to urban innovators from around the world to discuss everything from what makes a liveable neighbourhood to health boosting landscapes, and community culture to sustainable design. If you’re interested in how we can all live better, more fulfilling, healthier lives in the city (at a time when city-living has never been less desirable) this is one for you.

Episode Highlight: The Blueprint: Work

At a time when our professional lives are changing dramatically, with an increasingly permanent move towards flexible working, this episode looks at why people will always need physical spaces to come together – and what the office of the future might look like. Timely stuff.

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Twenty Twenty

Launching on 6 October, Twenty Twenty is the new podcast delving into pop culture’s biggest moments, trends and figures from the noughties, exploring them with the added benefit of 20 years’ hindsight, by culture critics currently in their 20s. Journey back into the new millennium – a period of change and optimism, and examine the surprising, funny and poignant parallels between then and now. The world of entertainment is re-examined by hosts Simran Hans and Tara Joshi, two self-proclaimed fangirls who grew up on the internet. Film critic, Simran, and music critic, Tara, explore how it feels to return to the defining songs, shows and sleepover movies of their childhoods, and what they tell us about pop culture today. Special guests will be joining the hosts each month, with new episodes landing every Tuesday.

Episode Highlight: n/a

At present, only a trailer exists for this highly anticipated show. But with topics slated to include everything from Destiny’s Child to High Fidelity, Big Brother to Zadie Smith, we can’t wait to dive in.

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You And Me Both With Hillary Clinton

iHeartRadio is about to launch an upcoming podcast with former Secretary of State, First Lady of the United States, and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The 24-epsidoe series will feature conversations between Clinton and a range of guests, from Gloria Steinem to Samin Nosrat and Patton Oswalt. Other interviewees will include Stacey Abrams, Ann Friedman and Sarah Cooper, all of whom will cover a number of topics, including the political issues of the moment, faith and grief.

Episode Highlight: n/a

Another upcoming launch, this one is still shrouded in mystery – hardly surprising given the recent launch of Michelle Obama’s own podcast just weeks ago. Out of the special guests due to appear, we’re probably most excited to see what Queer Eye host and ‘Fab Five’ member Tan France has to say.

“You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton” will be available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms from 29th September.