The favourite podcast thread
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 10:02 am
I've been pretty much addicted to podcasts for the few years or so, especially true crime and mystery, paranormal bollocks and history podcasts.
And I know a few of you are into these as well, so I thought a thread where you could recommend podcasts of any subjects might be welcome.
There was a similar thread a year or two ago but I've been unable to find it.
So if you're into podcasts to help wile the time away in work or home here are some I can recommend from personal experience.
Many of the times some of the mystery podcasts I listen to cannot be placed in one particular subject as the subject might vary from week to week from true crime to unsolved crime to paranormal to just weird mystery, so they can't be really said to be about one theme. But here are a couple of podcasts that I can recommend that sort of fit that description.
Thinking Sideways:
A reasonably lighthearted US podcast from Portland Oregon that is usually an hour long that just looks at strange shit from all over.
Happily the trio of hosts do not concern themselves with purely US based stuff and I'd say that nearly half the time their subjects come from Blighty.
In the past couple of months they have covered:
Harold Wilson's resignation,
The "witchcraft murder" in rural Warwickshire in 1945 (fuck all to do with witchcraft , by the way, press sensationalism going into overdrive in the war years),
The strange and little known disappearance of a young British high flying diplomat called Benjamin Bathurst in 1809,
Alexander Litvinenko's murder in London,
and the strange and still unsolved Wychwood Elm murder outside Brum in 1942 (they just love that wartime West Midland stuff it seems).
And in the past they have covered diverse UK things as:
The Edinburgh voodoo/murder dolls,
The Glasgow Effect of early mortality (which I know Kev might like - and <spoiler alert > rain , alcohol and lard is their probably not inaccurate conclusion),
The Jack the Stripper murders in London in the early 60s, (was it boxer Freddie Mills? Was it a mad giant Scots drunk? Who knows)
The Eilean Mor Lighthouse mystery and many others worldwide as well.
On the whole though they seem to go for unsolved crimes and disappearences some of which are just plain baffling.
I emailed them last year as they asked for recommendations, suggesting Jill Dando's murder as a topic - which is very recently making news again - and they kindly replied that they have been planning that one for a long time and hope to do it early this year sometime.
A new show every Thursday.
http://thinkingsidewayspodcast.com
Astonishing Legends:
Another US one from LA. Covers a lot of similar themes as Thinking Sideways but where Thinking Sideways is mainly crime and mystery with the odd paranormal thing, Astonishing Legends is the other way round....no, maybe half and half. But they do go into more depth...way more depth. A normal show is usually up to 2 hours long and a subject can run for maybe three or four shows. But its never uninteresting.
Recent subjects they have covered have been The Count of St. Germain ( a three parter which ended with an interview with actor/broadcaster Kevin Pollack admitting he's the Count ),
The Nazi Bell - a 2 parter,
Mothman - God knows how many parts,
Skinwalker ranch,
Coral castle - weird as fuck non paranormal, non crime mystery about an old Lithuanian moving tons of rock about by himself in the dark to build a castle in the 50s in Florida...twice,
And the frankly brilliant 3 parter about the mysterious death of 'The Somerton Man' in Adelaide in 1948.
In the past their shows about Amelia Earhart and the Dyatalov pass deaths have been gripping.
Its not all stretched out over three or four parts though. Interspersed with these are one of shows which range from just strange occurances to interviews with people about paranormal shit they have experienced.
Whether you tend to believe that stuff or not, its usually (but not always) pretty good.
They did an interview they with a TV producer friend of theirs
The story of his alleged encounter with "the Laughing Indian " ghost when he was left alone for the first time at home in the midwest woods as a 16 year old while the rest of the family went on vacation, was truly terrifying.
I listened to that on the night shift....bad move. Even as a sceptic it was a fucking scary story. The hairs on my neck actually rose up in parts of that. I still get shivers thinking of it. Just an excellently told ghost story if nothing else.
Just a little caveat. Even though the two hosts, Scott and Forrest, try and largely succeed to be open minded, there tends to be a little confirmation bias creeping in on occasion, especially where ghosties are involved, but none the less highly recommended.
Again one for Kev, as one of the shows catchphrases is "all mysteries lead back to Scotland" .
A new show anything between a fortnight and a month or more, they are long though so you can't expect one every week.
http://www.astonishinglegends.com/podcasts/
I'll post my true crime recommendations later.
And I know a few of you are into these as well, so I thought a thread where you could recommend podcasts of any subjects might be welcome.
There was a similar thread a year or two ago but I've been unable to find it.
So if you're into podcasts to help wile the time away in work or home here are some I can recommend from personal experience.
Many of the times some of the mystery podcasts I listen to cannot be placed in one particular subject as the subject might vary from week to week from true crime to unsolved crime to paranormal to just weird mystery, so they can't be really said to be about one theme. But here are a couple of podcasts that I can recommend that sort of fit that description.
Thinking Sideways:
A reasonably lighthearted US podcast from Portland Oregon that is usually an hour long that just looks at strange shit from all over.
Happily the trio of hosts do not concern themselves with purely US based stuff and I'd say that nearly half the time their subjects come from Blighty.
In the past couple of months they have covered:
Harold Wilson's resignation,
The "witchcraft murder" in rural Warwickshire in 1945 (fuck all to do with witchcraft , by the way, press sensationalism going into overdrive in the war years),
The strange and little known disappearance of a young British high flying diplomat called Benjamin Bathurst in 1809,
Alexander Litvinenko's murder in London,
and the strange and still unsolved Wychwood Elm murder outside Brum in 1942 (they just love that wartime West Midland stuff it seems).
And in the past they have covered diverse UK things as:
The Edinburgh voodoo/murder dolls,
The Glasgow Effect of early mortality (which I know Kev might like - and <spoiler alert > rain , alcohol and lard is their probably not inaccurate conclusion),
The Jack the Stripper murders in London in the early 60s, (was it boxer Freddie Mills? Was it a mad giant Scots drunk? Who knows)
The Eilean Mor Lighthouse mystery and many others worldwide as well.
On the whole though they seem to go for unsolved crimes and disappearences some of which are just plain baffling.
I emailed them last year as they asked for recommendations, suggesting Jill Dando's murder as a topic - which is very recently making news again - and they kindly replied that they have been planning that one for a long time and hope to do it early this year sometime.
A new show every Thursday.
http://thinkingsidewayspodcast.com
Astonishing Legends:
Another US one from LA. Covers a lot of similar themes as Thinking Sideways but where Thinking Sideways is mainly crime and mystery with the odd paranormal thing, Astonishing Legends is the other way round....no, maybe half and half. But they do go into more depth...way more depth. A normal show is usually up to 2 hours long and a subject can run for maybe three or four shows. But its never uninteresting.
Recent subjects they have covered have been The Count of St. Germain ( a three parter which ended with an interview with actor/broadcaster Kevin Pollack admitting he's the Count ),
The Nazi Bell - a 2 parter,
Mothman - God knows how many parts,
Skinwalker ranch,
Coral castle - weird as fuck non paranormal, non crime mystery about an old Lithuanian moving tons of rock about by himself in the dark to build a castle in the 50s in Florida...twice,
And the frankly brilliant 3 parter about the mysterious death of 'The Somerton Man' in Adelaide in 1948.
In the past their shows about Amelia Earhart and the Dyatalov pass deaths have been gripping.
Its not all stretched out over three or four parts though. Interspersed with these are one of shows which range from just strange occurances to interviews with people about paranormal shit they have experienced.
Whether you tend to believe that stuff or not, its usually (but not always) pretty good.
They did an interview they with a TV producer friend of theirs
The story of his alleged encounter with "the Laughing Indian " ghost when he was left alone for the first time at home in the midwest woods as a 16 year old while the rest of the family went on vacation, was truly terrifying.
I listened to that on the night shift....bad move. Even as a sceptic it was a fucking scary story. The hairs on my neck actually rose up in parts of that. I still get shivers thinking of it. Just an excellently told ghost story if nothing else.
Just a little caveat. Even though the two hosts, Scott and Forrest, try and largely succeed to be open minded, there tends to be a little confirmation bias creeping in on occasion, especially where ghosties are involved, but none the less highly recommended.
Again one for Kev, as one of the shows catchphrases is "all mysteries lead back to Scotland" .
A new show anything between a fortnight and a month or more, they are long though so you can't expect one every week.
http://www.astonishinglegends.com/podcasts/
I'll post my true crime recommendations later.