Grounded with Louis Theroux
Although Louis Theroux is used to spending a generous amount of time with his subjects, he covers a good bit of ground with his new interview podcast. First up is the documentary maker’s “professional doppelganger” Jon Ronson and they waste no time getting stuck in to 5G conspiracy theorists, Twitter pile-ons and Ronson’s time spent with the hapless-sounding Ku Klux Klan. Theroux is a skilful listener rather than an interrupter and guests such as Boy George, Lenny Henry and Miriam Margolyes promise to be interview gold. Hannah Verdier
A terrorist. A ruthless villain. Evil. Pablo Escobar is described in the most damning of terms by former law enforcement officers in the first part of this new podcast, which tells the story of the folk hero and all-powerful drug lord, and the people charged with hunting him down. High-adrenaline escapism, even if it’s liable to further mythologise Escobar and the other infamous narco-criminals it profiles, among them El Chapo and Griselda Blanco. Hannah J Davies
Producer pick: The Dave Chang Show
Chosen by Jonathan Fisher (audio producer)
One of the few joys I’ve found in lockdown has been indulging further in my love of food: I’ve started an online course in the science of cooking, I’m learning how to cook dishes approximating those I miss from favourite restaurants and, perhaps most importantly, using food tourism TV shows as pure escapism, immersing myself in cultures which exist far outside of these four walls.
Ugly Delicious, the Netflix show American chef David Chang created, produced and starred in, is part-food porn, part-oral history of food culture. Chang takes concepts – barbecue, stuffed dumplings, baby food – and deconstructs them, re-learning the basics from scratch to better understand them and visiting locations key to their stories.
He brings this methodical and thorough approach to his podcast which, in these extraordinary times, has pivoted from relaxed interviews to stay at home content: a film club, mailbag episodes and a series celebrating dads who step up.
The best episode so far was made with fellow chef Eddie Huang, who moved from LA to Taiwan “the day Tom Hanks got corona”. It’s a smart chat between two people who readily admit they’ve not always been friendly, but who clearly respect each other a lot. Neither of them hold their tongues and neither of them have confidence in how the crisis is being handled in their country – from either end of the political spectrum. They also discuss protecting their shuttered businesses, and how Taiwanese culture is adapting to the new set of circumstances. I’m already planning my trip.
Talking points
Could the CIA have used a 90s power ballad as a piece of Cold War propaganda? Find out in the hotly-anticipated new podcast Wind of Change, out on Monday 11 May.
Why not try: The Tracy Beaker Podcast | Mark Thomas: The Things About Us | Closing the Distance
