Do you want the good news or the bad news? The good news is I am not hungover this week. The bad news is I am recovering from staying awake for 24 hours straight to cover the local elections (I know. I used to be cool, once), which has had pretty much the same effect on my brain. You know when you see the inside of a cement mixer in the rain? That’s basically what’s going on in my frontal cortex right now. I suppose the other good news is there are some really good podcasts to recommend this week. Here they are:
Crypto Island (PJ Vogt)
I have a complicated relationship with crypto. I fundamentally think it is extremely lame and a big scam, but then I also frequently worry that I will end up in the future on the wrong tier of a two tier society: those who invested in crypto currencies and those who didn’t. It feels a bit like when I woke up and realised that all the cool kids are actually into Dungeons and Dragons now. The nerds are inheriting the earth. All very concerning.
Anyway, sorry, you aren’t here for my neuroses. This podcast covers a series of strange stories from the world of crypto: including an attempt to buy the US constitution by a large group of strangers, and the setting up of an island nation for those who just love crypto so much they want to live it. But of course - and brace yourself for an absolute steam train of a cliche - it is actually about people, art and power. Pretty low budget production compared to some of the stuff I recommend here - but the story telling more than carries it.
Five Women, This American Life (Chicago Public Media)
Can’t believe we have got to edition eight without a This American Life episode. This is my favourite one, and I return to it every time we have another merry go round of sexual harassment stories in the news which changes little.
This podcast interviews four women who were all sexually harassed by one man, their employer, and also interviews the man’s wife. It is the most nuanced description of how these things actually work that I have encountered. It looks at everything from consensual relationships which later feel very ick, to out-and-out harassment, to what it is like to love someone who turns out to be a serial cheater and harasser. I am not doing it justice: it is truly remarkable. Listen listen listen.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/640/five-women
The Backstory with Andrew Neil (Tortoise Media)
Andrew Neil’s new project. This week’s episode is an interview with Fiona Hill, a woman from the north east of England who went on to be the director for Europe and Russia at the US National Security Council. Hill is hugely insightful on Russia and what actually motivates Putin.
I am a big Andrew Neil believer. He covered our drive time show a year or so ago (my actual job is being political correspondent at Times Radio, nobody pays to hear about podcasts, sadly) and honestly replying to his questions was the most interesting I’ve ever been. It was bizarre. We had never met (and still haven’t) but he somehow knew how to get the absolute best answers out of me. Good to see him back with a good well produced project.