Welcome to The Listening Post, where each week we get an insight into the radio listening habits of a guest contributor. Once each person has made their picks, we ask them to nominate someone for the following week's Listening Post...
Last week after being nominated by Jennifer Keogh - an Assistant Producer at BBC Radio 1, Dexter Batson - an Assistant Producer within the BBC Radio 1 music team provided his listening recommendations. Dexter's choices included FIP Radio station, and the On The Media and Song Exploder podcasts. You can view his full selections here.
For this week's Listening Post we've flown right back to the Folded Wing nest courtesy of our very own Lucy Dearlove's selections. Lucy currently works as a Producer on Monki's show on BBC Radio 1/1Xtra and is Assistant Producer on Jamie Cullum's show on BBC Radio 2. As well as being a big fan of music radio, Lucy also listens to an awful lot of speech content!
Check out Lucy's recommendations below...
Read moreBlurring the line between fact and fiction
1. Limetown (Podcast)
"I’ve always liked creepy audio science fiction – I’ve dipped in and out of Welcome To Night Vale for years but it wasn’t until Limetown started last year that I properly understood how huge the potential for modern audio drama is. It’s so gripping and the style of it really blurs the line between fact and fiction – it’s very much based on classic US radio production in the style of This American Life and Radiolab but voiced by actors and the storylines are fictional. Since it finished I’ve had to get my fix elsewhere – The Message was also brilliant but far too short, so at the moment I’m relying on The Black Tapes, which might be even more terrifying than Limetown."
>> Listen to more here
Absolutely knocking it out of the park
2. The Heart (Podcast)
"The Heart, a super intimate podcast about peoples lives, loves and heartbreaks, has always been great, but recently they’ve been absolutely knocking it out of the park. As well as a personal audio essay from a woman who went through FGM (a story which was then picked up by This American Life), they’ve just put out a four part mini series where a woman who was molested as a child comes to terms with what happened to her and returns to confront her abuser and attempt to bring him to justice. A very difficult subject obviously, and maybe not one for anyone who might find this sort of thing triggering, but an incredible, moving listen."
>> Listen to more here
Give this woman a talk show
3. Zoe Nightingale (Podcast)
"I bang on about Zoe’s podcast to anyone who’ll listen but it really is that good! I think she’s a real inspiration in terms of hunting down amazing stories rather than waiting for them to come to you. She approaches strangers constantly and chats to them on the street, on public transport, in Uber Pools, at Burning Man, anywhere. She’s such a great interviewer – people warm to her straight away, and open up about things you’d never expect them to. It’s genuinely fascinating to hear about ‘normal’ people’s lives like this. Her ‘proper’ interviews are really worth listening too as well; the Michael ‘Party Monster’ Alig one is really open, frank and moving. Give this woman a talk show."
>> Listen to more here
Inspiration for your twenties (or 30s!)
4. Millennial (Podcast)
"Like Zoe, Millennial’s Megan Tan is a woman who’s done it all herself. A former Radiolab intern (so maybe she’s got a slight advantage in the talent stakes!), she graduated from college and then didn’t know what to do next. So she started a podcast to document her journey trying to make a living out of making radio as well as generally figuring out her life. It’s now in its second series where she’s branched out into sharing other people’s accounts of being a bit adrift in their 20s and it’s been picked up by Radiotopia, which is an endorsement you can’t argue with. It’s beautifully produced, and super relatable and inspirational for anyone who’s ever felt like Megan in their 20s (or 30s!)."
>> Listen to more here
One for binging
5. Criminal
"Honestly this has been so difficult to narrow down to five! It’s cheating but honorable mentions go to Short Cuts, More Perfect, Love Me, Literary Friction, Call Your Girlfriend, Love + Radio, Strangers and My Dad Wrote A Porno. But my final choice is something I’ve been binge listening to recently – Criminal. The cases are all really interesting, there’s often unexpected twists, and Phoebe Judge is a great host. A very obvious listen for fans of Serial - I think this podcast deserves to be much bigger than it is!"
>> Listen to more here
Next Week's Listening Post
Next week's Listening Post selections will come from Alannah Chance - Lead Producer of the Late Junction on BBC Radio 3.
Check back next Friday for Alannah's selections...
