From true crime to comedy, health and wellbeing – there are lots of options this week for listeners.
1. Feel Better, Live More
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Health and wellbeing
Feel Better, Live More is hosted by GP and author Dr Rangan Chatterjee who offers stories from leading health experts and personalities providing advice and debunking popular health myths to help listeners figure out how they eat, sleep, move and relax.
In this week’s episode, Chatterjee is joined by gut health expert and gastroenterologist Will Bulsiewicz as they speak about the importance of looking after the gut and how it plays a part in all overall health. The episode opens with the long-lived statement of ‘all disease begins in the gut’, which Bulsiewicz says he agrees with.
Together the two speak about how the gut links to all parts of health and Bulsiewicz states after research, he found that 130 different health conditions were linked to inflammation and the gut. Through this they explain that gut lining, gut microbes and the immune system are important things to look after and keep on top of.
The pair also speak about how relationships can impact gut microbes as can sleep, exercise and the popular topic of the brain-gut connection. With the topic of fibre being at the forefront in today’s society too, Bulsiewicz explains the types of fibre that should be eaten and why.
For those curious about their gut and how to make changes sustainably with an understanding as to why, this is a great listen.
(By Sara Keenan)
2. I’m Not A Monster – Where is Austin Tice?
Streaming platform: BBC
Genre: True Crime
Josh Baker, the creator of the BBC’s two award-winning investigative podcasts I’m Not A Monster and The Shamima Begum Story, has returned with a new series from BBC Radio 4 and NPR’s Embedded.
This time, Baker investigates the disappearance of American journalist Austin Tice, who vanished in Syria in 2012. With conflicting accounts over what happened to him – some suggesting he is still alive, while others claim he died years ago – Baker sets out to uncover answers.
The first episode opens in Washington DC in 2024, where Baker attends an event marking 12 years since Tice disappeared. We hear from his mother, who speaks directly to her missing son during an emotional speech, saying: “Stay strong. Keep the faith.”
The story then moves to the end of 2024, when the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime brings renewed hope that prisoners held in Syria could finally walk free. Baker and his long-time friend and journalist Sara Obeidat travel to the country themselves in search of answers.
It’s a compelling opening to an incredibly mysterious case, with Baker approaching Tice’s story with both empathy and curiosity while making the complicated investigation easy to follow.
(By Sara Keenan)
3. Routes
Streaming Platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Health and wellbeing
Jenni Falconer is back with another episode of the award-winning travel podcast, in association with train company LNER. This week she is joined by Olympic cycling champion Victoria Pendleton to discuss her life, career and how travel has inspired her sporting journey.
Pendleton’s love of cycling was borne from childhood holidays spent with her father in the hills of the Lake District and Peak District, instilling her competitive side and learning how to turn nerves into strength.
In the years that followed, competitive racing took her all over the world, turning travel into a necessity rather than a pleasure. Global competitions and training facilities saw her travel the world in search of the next podium place.
So, in her retirement, it makes a change for her to enjoy travel just for the pleasure and her favourite places to explore are UK-based, including the aforementioned Lakes.
But don’t be fooled, this is no quiet retirement for Pendleton… skiing, horse riding, mountaineering and sky diving are just some of her current pastimes. There’s no rest for the Olympian, and she wouldn’t have it any other way!
(By Rachel Howard)
4. The Skewer
Streaming Platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Entertainment
The Skewer is back for its 17th series, and episode two proves Jon Holmes’ distinctive brand of audio satire is still as sharp – and bizarre – as ever.
This week, Nigel Farage and Reform UK are firmly in the firing line, with Holmes splicing together news clips, political speeches and pop-culture moments to create a surreal snapshot of the week’s headlines.
From Farage’s encounter with undercover reporters to protests in Portsmouth and the woman who was pulled out of the Reform UK conference, the episode jumps rapidly between some of the biggest talking points. Social media influencers Andrew Tate and his brother also make an appearance, while discussions around women and consent are woven into the chaotic 15-minute collage.
It shouldn’t work quite as well as it does. Clips collide, voices overlap and serious political moments are suddenly placed alongside completely unexpected cultural references. Yet Holmes’ razor-sharp editing manages to turn the chaos into something clever and strangely cohesive.
(By Sara Keenan)
5. Gift List
Streaming Platform: YouTube
Genre: Entertainment
Gift List at The Box Studio is hosted by presenter Angela Scanlon, who sits down with famous faces to uncover never-before-heard stories through the gifts they have given and received over the years.
This week’s guest is documentarian Louis Theroux, who talks Scanlon through some of his favourite gifts – both to give and receive. Early in the conversation, Theroux admits that Lego is still one of his favourites, prompting Scanlon to surprise him with a set at the end of the episode. “This could bring the whole family back together,” he jokes.
Other standout moments include Theroux confessing that he once accidentally tried to swipe a silver spoon from Joan Collins’ birthday party, only to be caught by her sister-in-law.
He also recalls his grandmother’s 100th birthday, which saw her receive a gift from Tom Cruise, and offers an interesting insight into the origins of his manosphere documentary, explaining how hearing his sons joke about a handful of YouTubers first drew his attention to the online world.
It’s an easy, entertaining listen that uses the simple premise of gift-giving to uncover some unexpected stories from one of Britain’s best-known documentarians.
(By Sara Keenan)
