The favourite podcast thread

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Basualdo
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The favourite podcast thread

Post by Basualdo »

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 :D ),
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" :D .
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.
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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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True Crime.

There are a few more of these that I like than the previous subjects, and the podcasts can range from a series concerned with one particular crime, murder, disappearance or mystery to a different one every week or just a look at a partcular type of crime.

Gangland Wire:

A pretty idiosyncratic show from Kansas City, Missouri presented by a radio presenter alongside an ex KCPD Intelligence unit sergeant with a proper Good Ol' Boy accent. The ex cop, Gary Jenkins was instrumental in the Operation Strawman investigation in the 70s that brought down the mob in Vegas for skimming the casinos that was featured in the movie Casino.
It focuses mainly about crime in the KC and Missouri area - and that can be interesting enough with shows concerning:
The rise of the Yardie gangs in Kansas City in the 80s and 90s (who knew?),
Busting up the Klan in Missouri in the 70s,
Serial Killers Bob Berdella and Richard Grissom,
The mob family of Nick Civella and their rise, crimes and fall,
The story of the amazing conman Craig Glazer who made a career ripping off drug gangs and lived to tell the tale and is now a comedy club owner in KC.
Otherwise they cover all sorts of crimes mainly in the midwest from Chicago to Vegas.
Lots of Chicago and Milwaukee mob stuff,
DB Cooper, they think theres a chance they themselves might know who he is - and he's still alive and kicking if they are right.
The I-70 killer,
And Todd Kohlhepp and the Superbike murders in South Carolina in 2003, an crime that had an investigation so bizzare with some frankly jaw dropping twists that left law enforcement utterly baffled until its astonishing solution just a couple of months ago.

https://ganglandwire.com/category/blog/ ... mestories/


Crimetown:

You wouldn't have thought that a show about the mob, corruption and crime in the relatively small and mainly Italian American city of Providence, Rhode Island would be interesting, but by fuck, it is.

https://gimletmedia.com/crimetown/


Stranglers:

A compelling series of 12 shows about the reign of terror of the Boston Strangler, Albert Desalvo....or was he?
The only flaw in this whole show is the occasional contribution of some mouth foaming feminazi Yank Millie Tant spouting her 'all men are rapists' bullshit.
Apparently we men cannot be trusted because even the word 'testament' derives from 'testes'... I know.
Nevertheless the rest is a very worthwhile and intriguing listen.
Interviews with,
Relatives of the victims,
Survivors of Desalvo's other earlier sexual attacks,
The legendary F Lee Bailey - Desalvo's lawyer still with us and living proof that the Devil looks after his own,
Desalvo's ex cellmate - a vicious murder and possible Boston Strangler suspect still, thankfully, rotting inside a max security hellhole in his late 80s,
And the ex cop son of the chief detective assigned to the case at the time who has made his father's private notes available. Among others .

It also has as presenter one of the best named media people ever, even for the States, Portland Helmich, who from the name you would never guess actually looks like this...





Image

And was Albert Desalvo the Strangler? Did he commit one, two or even any of the murders? And if he did , did he work alone?
Listen and find out.

The series has just finished but all 12 episodes are available.

http://www.earwolf.com/show/stranglers/



True Murder with Dan Zupansky:

An apparently deliberately under-produced for effect weekly show of about an hour or so long where the host will interview a different author of a true crime book. Pretty damn good though. In the past month two of the books featured have been about the mysterious death of Sonny Liston and the still unsolved murder of Hogan's Heros star , the actor Bob Crane. Murky and depraved as fuck that one.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dan-zupansky1


Generation Why:

A sort of sister show to the aforementioned Thinking Sideways. Different hosts but they will have each other on as guest presenters from time to time. Ninety percent of the time 'Gen Y' , as they call themselves, will be covering unsolved murders and other crimes, but occasionally something just plain weird. About a half hour to forty minutes long usually and comes out weekly. Good fun and interesting.

http://thegenerationwhypodcast.com


True Crime Garage:

Two hosts, one of whom can get a little annoying at times, host the show that will look at particular murders and crimes and review beer from around the world. Interesting and enjoyable enough.

https://www.truecrimegarage.com/podcast



The Trail Went Cold:

I just started listening to this one. Just hour long show about unsolved murders and disappearances.
Well presented and worth listening to.
The one about the strange murder of the wonderfully named Artemis Ogletree is excellent.
As are those about weird Hollywood deaths. Movie and TV charcter actor, Albert 'Dr Cyclops' Dekker in 1968. The kinky bitch, its still unexplained how he ball gagged and hogtied and strangled himself while in leather gear and had lipstick written words on his exposed flesh like, 'cocksucker' and 'slave' then locked himself in the bathroom of his house.
And the unconnected and quarter of a century earlier murder of B movie actor David GG Bacon, found on crashed into a beanfield outside Venice Beach stabbed to death in his car in only a pair of tight denim shorts.

http://trailwentcold.com



Casefile: Truecrime:

Australian based hour to two hour long show concerned mainly with down under stuff but a good portion of UK and US mysteries too. The episode about the famous outback murder of Brit Peter Falconio and the two parter about the Yorkshire Ripper are excellent, especially the Ripper one.

http://casefilepodcast.com



There a few other decents one too such as:

The Week in Scary ( a UK one),
Strange Matters,
My Favourite Murder,

and others but that will do for now.


I'll post decent History podcasts next.
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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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History podcasts.

Lets start with the daddy of them all, the hard to beat:

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History:

Not for just browsing through or a casual quick listen. Each episode is at least three, and sometimes over four, hours long and he may take three, four or more episodes to cover one subject. But never boring and so well researched that there are maybe only two or three shows a year. Subjects he has covered vary widely and range from the Reformation, The First World War including the cause and aftermath, the rise of the Persian Empire (excellent one especially in conjunction with Daniel Bolelli's wonderful podcast about the Greek "Ten Thousand" see below).
A word of warning though, his earlier archived stuff is pay to listen only but if your not going to do that then his more recent stuff is still available for free.


http://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/

PS, just noticed that he has a new one just up about the Manhattan Project! :D Thats my shift for tonight sorted then.




History on Fire:

The wonderfully liquid voiced Italian history professor and Kung Fu black belt, Daniel Bolelli presents hour to two hour long shows, sometimes stand alone, and sometimes in a series about different subjects.
They tend to be American history-centric - and personally I could not give a singular fuck about Teddy Rooseveldt, Crazy Horse, or Custer and the Little Big Horn, but you might - but still a very very good podcast series.
I cannot recommend enough the two parter about Carvaggio, not the raving queen Derek Jarman would have had us believe, far from it.
And the one about 'The Ten Thousand"?(see post above) Well what can I say?!
What a film that would make, never mind that cartoony The 300 bollocks, this was real life and was like an impossible quest written by Tolkein, and all true.
And I had never ever heard of the Greek Ten Thousand before.

http://historyonfirepodcast.com/episodes/



The Art Detective:

Presented by one of my current crushes, the lovely, zaftig, gothy looking medievalist and art historian Dr Janina Ramirez.
Each show looks at a different piece of historical art , from the Lasceaux cave paintings to Turner's The Fighting Temeraire, the Sutton Hoo helmet to Jackson Pollock and discusses the work and its context with a historian who specialises in that period. Weekly and around 20 minutes long. A nice little antidote to the long slogs of the first two that I mentioned.

http://www.janinaramirez.co.uk/podcasts/
(Her link is a bit awkward to navigate so i will post the itunes links for her show, which is just a lot easier to use)

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/art ... 37767?mt=2


The History of Rome:

It does exactly what it says on the tin.
A history of Rome from it origins as a swampy hideout for ne'erdowells and scum on the run from the Etruscans, through to the early Republic, the Plebs vs Patricians, The Punic wars, Scipio, Caesar, Augustus, the Imperial dawn, the debauchs, the good, the mad as a tin box full of rats and its decline and fall.

Lots and lots of 'em. Its now finished and the Yank guy who did it is probably still resting. Surprisingly easy to follow given the subject.
Egalabalas, is a personal favourite emperor of mine. He made Caligula look like a Wee Frees minister. Stuck it in anything but mainly charioteers - or the other way round, he wasn't fussy. Even made the Romans embarrassed and did it all in only 4 years before his ineveitable hacking to death by his bodyguard at the age of 17!

All archived now but available for free here:

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the ... hives.html

or Tunein and itunes.



History of English Podcast:

Another American produced very long running usually fortnightly show, but this one is still running.
The history of the English language from its Indo-European origins on the Ukrainian steppe to, well I think so far he's at the Plantagenets.
So Chaucer and Shakespeare still to come, and thats where the meat is.
He's only been at it for 4 years so far.
I'm still catching up and I'm at just before the conquest, William the Bastard and his Norman scum.
I'm actually not looking forward to the vicious French bastards oiling their way into our glorious Anglo Saxon tongue, to be honest. :)
Lots of side digressions into other languages and their links with English where necessary.
And the history of the Indo European language family , which is covered extensively, is fascinating.

http://historyofenglishpodcast.com/episodes/



Other history podcasts worth listening to are:
The British History Podcast,
The Bletchley Park Podcast,
The History of WWII,
Medieval Archives,
Our Fake History
(not any conspiracy bollocks)
The Vinyl Guide (stories and Interviews behind classic records and artists)
The Lesser Buonapartes (forgotten figures of history, not really about Napoleon's kith and kin)
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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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Some excellent shouts in here, Bas! And a great thread. Lots of detail, information and ideas for new poddys. Thinking Sideways and Crimetown sound supoib. Along with the history ones mentioned. One thing I struggled to find is good historical podcasts - I was listening to the two ladies for a bit (forget their name) and it's alright - perfect timing/about 30 mins - but found their topics a bit dull.

Big fan of Hardcore History - the latest nuke one is brilliant. Any idea why he raises his voice when quoting someone? Maybe it's an old broadcasting technique?

The Joe Rogan Experience - on to his 900th odd episode now. The guy is a machine and churns out 3-4 hr podcasts twice/thrice a week. Not a big MMA fan, so I tend to avoid those ones, but he can get some interesting guests on. I don't find his comedy that funny, but he's a genuinely good interview and asks excellent questions especially if its a subject he's 'bro-sciened' up on or knows a little about. His last one with Gavin McInnes was very good. Heard an older with Jesse Ventura a few weeks back and there was probably about a minute of silence between them in 3hrs - constant rabble rousing.

The Dollop - sounds a bit similar to the Thinking Sideways. Two comics look in to strange or bizarre American (or British/worldwide) historical incidents. Can be very funny. There's a very funny one covering an old wildman of a basbeall player called Rube Waddell. One of the presenters, Dave Anthony, used to host a podcast ''Walking The Room'', if anyone knows of/who he is.

The Mental Illness Happy Hour - released every Friday, once a week. Similar to Rogan in length - about 2-3hrs. Starts off with the host talking about his life and is very open at times, then he reads some reviews, surveys from his website followed by roughly an hour or more interview with a guest - sometimes reasonably prolific or just a listener - and their battles. Can be fairly depressing, sad, disturbing - and funny though! I don't listen weekly, but more of a pick and choose podcast going by the synopsis of that week's episode.

Nick Di Paolo - a brilliant comedian who's probably to the right of Mussolini. Don't agree with his Dipaolitics much, but he's fucking hilarious. Has 1 free podcast a week followed up by 2/3 extra for subscription of around $4/5 a month. Often he'll rustle through the news - lots of Trump, Hollywood stuff of recent - and rip in to them with the odd soundbyte from a film. I almost pished the bed at him reading a rather mundane article about Tiger Woods injury issues (probably from something as exciting as Golf Monthly) yet every so slightly he faded up the Kenny Loggins - I'm Alright (Caddyshack) music; I guess you had to be here. The guy is great at one-liners too, although if you are easily offended it's probably not for you.

WTF - it's alright. I used to listen a lot and he gets some great guests - James Taylor, Huey Lewis were excellent - he has even bigger stars than those two aging crooners though, he even had Obama last year; but can't take that much to Maron as a person - whiny, woe-is-me/I didn't play sports, I have a cat etc.
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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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Im a big Joe Rogan fan myself.
He had James Hetfield on recently and he opened up unlike any interview Ive heard in years.
And, of course the now famous one a few weeks ago when he got Alex Jones high as fuck on dope or drink or something and Jones (whose a personal friend of his despite their different politics) just let loose with all sorts of conspiracy stuff. Names, places the lot, fuck any libel laws. :D
If that had happened in this country then they'd both be inside by now.

When its MMA talk though I dont bother.
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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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I got into the Astonishing Legends podcast when you recommended it before, Bas.

Oddly enough this very week I'd dropped in on it for the first time in ages, and had listened to Part 1 of The Sludge Entity, ending on the most worrying 'cliffhanger' imaginable. I've since listened to Part 2... won't be forgetting all that in a hurry. Likewise The Devil in the Diner. How are the images so vivid on this?

Scott Phillbrook needs to stop clattering it with jokes, but I still love it. It's a piece of work. They have sponsors now hey, and it looks like they're making shows more often.
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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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I found JIM HAROLD'S CAMPFIRE podcast via A.L. when they mentioned it.

Just people speaking to nice old Jim about their experiences, relating to anything paranormal. A phone-in, essentially, stories pre-recorded and played. He is gentle, doesn't interrogate or dominate, just giving the stories room to breathe which is what makes the show. You get a bit of everything - terrifying, moving, the head-scratchers, always something memorable.

New show every week, with a free last-90-days feed on itunes. He has several other podcasts too which I'm about to look into.
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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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Rainbowmonkey wrote:I got into the Astonishing Legends podcast when you recommended it before, Bas.

Oddly enough this very week I'd dropped in on it for the first time in ages, and had listened to Part 1 of The Sludge Entity, ending on the most worrying 'cliffhanger' imaginable. I've since listened to Part 2... won't be forgetting all that in a hurry. Likewise The Devil in the Diner. How are the images so vivid on this?

Scott Phillbrook needs to stop clattering it with jokes, but I still love it. It's a piece of work. They have sponsors now hey, and it looks like they're making shows more often.
Have you listened to the one I mentioned earlier in the thread, 'The Laughing Indian'?
Jesus, that actually gave me nightmares.

Funnily enough the Sludge Entity ones are 2 that I have missed. I must try to catch up. Ad I've heard other people - including Scott and Forrest on AL - recommend Jim Harold's stuff. I must try to listen soon.
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Re: The favourite podcast thread

Post by Rainbowmonkey »

Basualdo wrote:
Rainbowmonkey wrote:I got into the Astonishing Legends podcast when you recommended it before, Bas.

Oddly enough this very week I'd dropped in on it for the first time in ages, and had listened to Part 1 of The Sludge Entity, ending on the most worrying 'cliffhanger' imaginable. I've since listened to Part 2... won't be forgetting all that in a hurry. Likewise The Devil in the Diner. How are the images so vivid on this?

Scott Phillbrook needs to stop clattering it with jokes, but I still love it. It's a piece of work. They have sponsors now hey, and it looks like they're making shows more often.
Have you listened to the one I mentioned earlier in the thread, 'The Laughing Indian'?
Jesus, that actually gave me nightmares.

Funnily enough the Sludge Entity ones are 2 that I have missed. I must try to catch up. Ad I've heard other people - including Scott and Forrest on AL - recommend Jim Harold's stuff. I must try to listen soon.
I did hear The Laughing Indian. Creepy in the big house, but compared to some of the others I found it quite underwhelming really, but I feel I've not given it a proper chance. I had it on in the background of an afternoon while doing something else. It definitely matters how you listen to this sort of thing and how you let it settle. I will listen to it again. The subject matter of The Sludge Entity makes The Laughing Indian seem like a picnic at this point.

I think it was the Shadow People episode where I heard them mention Jim Harold's Campfire, and I've listened to every episode since I found it. I think you will love it. There'll be about 10 free episodes on itunes right now, each about an hour long. Go get em. I think he podcasts for a living.
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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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Nice one Bas

Only one I watch is Joe Rogan .. I don't like him personally but agree he has some good guests for sure

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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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Not exactly a podcast but the whole 6 hours of the latest Partridge;
I HEAR YOU KNOCKIN', BUT YOU CAN'T COME IN...

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Re: The favourite podcast thread

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Bad Blue 2000 wrote:Not exactly a podcast but the whole 6 hours of the latest Partridge;
Oh God!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D 8) 8) 8) 8)


Thank you, thank you so much!

Ive read it but it will be much better in the man himself's own tones.

I doubt it will stay up for long.
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Re: The favourite podcast thread

Post by Bad Blue 2000 »

It's been there for a couple of weeks already.
I HEAR YOU KNOCKIN', BUT YOU CAN'T COME IN...

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