WE ARE often subjected to media narratives decrying the failure of young men in England. This podcast, however, is an antidote. In Move Over Mother Theresa, the episode “Bailey Greetham Clark, on reimagining growing older”, released on 25 September last, we meet a northern powerhouse — an unusual mix of passionate fitness coach for the elderly in care homes, social entrepreneur, and mass-media influencer — all at just 25 years old. He defies expectations, having grown up with his grandparents, which fostered a desire for older people to thrive.
If you are interested in how to find the time to appreciate podcasts, look no further than Mel Robbins, released on 2 February: “Stop Wasting Your Time: The scientific way to stop procrastination and get control of your day”. This very friendly host’s guests and conversations more than compensate for an audio style that might be too tactile for some tastes. In this episode, a mother of five who works full-time describes how we can find and create time to do the things that we want to do, not just the things that we need to do.
One groundbreaking concept that she introduces is to think in terms of weeks rather than days. Given 168 hours in a week, and accounting for average sleep and full-time work, we have about 72 hours left for other activities. She encourages listeners to consider pockets of time within a week instead of just searching for time within a day. Her argument is that we often fail to schedule our discretionary time, which can lead us to miss out on important opportunities. The podcast is filled with common-sense wisdom for busy people.
The first par of a two-part podcast from The Slow Newscast delivers a blistering criticism of the cultures created by powerful men, and the women who suffer from their abuse and arrogance. While the settings could vary, this instance focuses on the world of surgery, in which high-powered men exert control over female colleagues. Some even develop inappropriate relationships with their patients, and, when called out, have powerful legal defences to hide behind. They may use their connections to continue working in private while destroying the career hopes of female whistle-blowers.
“The God Complex: Part 1”, released on 20 January, makes for troubling but heartfelt listening. We hear from those who have found the courage to tell their stories, bringing the focus back to the impact on the victims and survivors, instead of allowing the narrative to shift toward the perpetrators.
If you manage to get through the above, you might want something lighter. You’re Dead to Me: “Early medieval papacy” (also on Radio 4) offers a comedic take on chaotic political intrigues and petty rivalries. It features an outrageous tale of one pope being tried in a court. If that is not bad enough, the pope was actually already deceased. The exhumed body was made to answer charges, the penalty being the revocation of all the actions that that pope took — essentially, a powerful form of medieval cancel culture.