Welcome to The Listening Post, where every fortnight 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 Listening Post.
Our previous Listening Post was provided by Dannii Evans. Dannii is the founder and director of OneTaste, a music and spoken word collective which was helped launch the likes of Newton Faulkner, Jamie Woon, Kate Tempest, Scroobius Pip and many more of the UK's most talented underground artists. You can view her recommendations here.
Our next Listening Post comes from Bridgette Amofah. Bridgette is a singer and writer and sings live with Rudimental. She is currently working on her debut EP with her project DANSU.
Check out her recommendations below...
Read moreA bloody classic!
1. Classic FM
"What can I say? It's a bloody classic! When I first passed my driving test (literally last year) this was the ONLY station that I could listen to in the car. I was obviously shit scared of crashing, running someone over, scraping someone's car (I did... twice), and this was the only thing I could listen to to keep me feeling calm and sane. Not only is the music mostly soothing, it's also hugely repetitive. So much so that after listening to it for a week I could recite the names of Mozart's sonatas to anyone who cared to listen. The presenters' voices are also really soothing and they often make really good 'Dad' jokes in between segments. When you're hurtling the wrong way down a roundabout, trust me it helps to tune into Bach's Cello Concerto in A Minor and drown out all the sounds of other irate drivers beeping at you in anger. Bliss."
>>Listen here
A Brilliant Podcast About Terrible Films
2. How Did This Get Made? - Earwolf Network
"My mate Michael introduced me to this podcast recently and it is BRILLIANT. The presenters, who are all actors themselves, get together and discuss films that they think are terrible and the reasons why. The reason why it's so good is because quite often a film will come up that you actually thought was pretty good, but then they'll deconstruct it and leave you going, "Oh yeah, it is odd that an '80s musical about teenagers set in the '50s was made, with actors over 30, who don't actually sing or dance..." (Grease 2). I would recommend finding an episode where they discuss a film that you've already seen. FUNNY."
>>Listen here
Hugely Informative and Topical
3. Our Man In The Middle East - Radio 4
"I LOVE Radio 4 in general. But more recently they produced a show called 'Our Man In The Middle East'. Hugely informative and topical, the programme explores one of the world's most troubled regions, The Middle East. It's narrated by Jeremy Bowen and it's more reflective than documentary style, which is why I love it. His accounts feel so personal and the first-hand accounts from people on the front line are incredibly touching too. I listened to this in the car once and was instantly hooked. If you want to know more about the region I highly recommend this programme."
>>Listen here
Nothing Else Out There Like It
4. Two Dope Queens - WNYC
"Two Dope Queens is an amazing podcast hosted by Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams. These ladies are so hilarious! I don't think there's anything else out there like it. I was hooked by the first episode. They discuss their lives, their crushes, careers, the mundane - like buying stuff in Walmart - and manage to make EVERYTHING sound hilarious. They also explore more sensitive topics such as racism, the elections, and homophobia too, but they still manage to be informative, funny and light. They also bring in other stand-up comedians to do segments, so you get to discover other hilarious people who you may not have heard of. The other incredible thing about the show is that they ALWAYS feature comedians who are of colour or LGBTQ in order to represent people of these backgrounds and promote diversity. Oh, and they talk about sex. A lot."
>>Listen here
(Not so) Guilty Pleasures
5. Encore Radio
"OK. Ahem. I don't believe in naming things as guilty pleasures. But if there ever was a guilty pleasures radio station, this be it. Hours and hours of songs from your favourite musicals. Yeah, I said it. Musicals. It's soooooo good! I recommend listening to this on a long car journey and blasting it out really, really loudly."
>>Listen here
Bonus Podcast
Seincast
"A podcast about Seinfeld. Nothing more needs to be said. Unless you don't like Seinfeld. In which case we can't be friends... or acquaintances."
>>Listen here
