I remember when driving on long car journeys, when there was nothing good on the radio music wise or if I wasn't into the topic they were discussing on Radio 4/5 live that I always used to wish there was some radio station for interesting discussion that wasn't sports related! And of course, now here are podcasts with everything you'd ever want to listen to. 

Over this past year I’ve enjoyed them more than ever, discovering how insightful they can be, filling the time whilst I’m cooking, driving or out on a walk. I’ve always enjoyed reading blogs and newspapers but I find podcasts are perfect audio versions for when you need to be hands free. I think there’s a podcast for just about every topic imaginable, some entertaining, some educational, some that you just relate to, some super interesting, especially interviews with people who fascinate me. I'm sharing some of my favourites below and would love to hear any of yours.


A few favourites;

• The High Low. With Dolly Alderton & Pandora Sykes, two incredibly intelligent journalists who discuss the news this week with a slight feminist slant. It's everything from fashion to books they recommend to interviewing Mother of Daughters. Whilst I enjoy this, I find this series better to listen to as close to the most current week as you can as it tends to be fairly topical, which can be a little annoying if you want to go back through some that you've missed!
• The Mother Kind podcast by Zoe Blaskey. Although some of the motherhood side of this doesn’t relate to me yet, I love the discussion and focus on mental health and wellbeing. Listening to Clemmie Telford discuss her anxiety felt like a therapy session for me and reminded me so much of myself. I also enjoyed Zoe {who's a life coach herself} interviewing Madeline Shaw. 
• Serial. Onto its long awaited third season now, this investigative series unfolds a true story across the whole season. Sarah Koenig, a former New York Times journalist, looks into a particular issue and explores it over 12 episodes. The first season was a true crime investigation which led to the murder case being re-examined. The second looked into the abandonment of Bowe Bergdahl in Afghanistan and the issues it raised. This latest season just released looks at the justice system in America and courts which I think will be fascinating but we haven't got around to starting it yet, this is the only podcast I wait for my husband to be around to listen to it with me.
• Desert Island Discs. A Radio 4 classic. I never listen to radio 4 at the time this is aired so catch up with people I want to listen to. Although you only hear shortened versions of the music they choose on the podcast but I’m not too fussed on that. Particular memorable episodes for me have been Jimmy Carr, Jo Malone and David Beckham. I do love Kirsty Young’s soothing voice too {although sadly just this week she's had to take a medical break for a while}.
• How To Fail with Elizabeth Day. My friend Emma sent me this to listen to and it's a really good lesson in celebrating when things haven't got right, bringing positivity into a time where you think you've failed, which quite frankly we could all do with hearing more of. I particularly enjoyed the episode with Dolly Alderton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge who wrote Killing Eve that we recently binge watched!
• Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place. My friend Faye loves Podcasts too and we're often sharing favourite episodes we think the other will like with each other, she went to Fearne's Happy Place Live recently and I keep meaning to listen to the podcast about happiness, interviewing a range of famous people. I used to LOVE listening to her on Radio 1. 
• Alison Perry’s Not Another Mummy podcast, as she asks women a whole range of topics and gets such honest answers. She also interviews a lot of people I follow and am a fan of on Instagram and talks such sense about this sometimes crazy social media world so I like these episodes most. 
• Walking The Dog from The Times with Emily Dean. I first found this recommended through The Times and an interview with Jimmy Carr. Emily takes her dogs and famous friends for a walk and they catch up whilst literally walking their dogs which is both cute & funny. I often listen to these whilst I'm walking my dog which makes it all the more funny and meta. 
• Again, whilst parenthood focused, I’ve long been a fan of Marina Fogle and her podcast The Parent Hood has opened my eyes to so many 100% honest, warts & all aspects of motherhood, pregnancy, birth and parenting which I find really interesting for when we do decide/if we’re lucky enough to take that leap at some point. 
• Deliciously Ella. Whilst I adore her recipes, I personally find her and husband a little annoying and gushy/I’ve heard their personal story a million times, but their new joint podcast will cover some topics that interest me nutrition wise. I liked the interview with Amelia Freer on all things food and nutrition.
• I just learned that there's a GOOP podcast! How did I not know about this?! I'm off to investigate right now.

I’m sure if you’re reading this blog, you all know what podcasts are but I know some of my family have asked me to explain how to access them. If you have an iPhone/iPad there will be an app called Podcasts where you can search for series/most popular and then either stream or download episodes to listen to offline. I think there’s also an app called Acast which is another way to tune in.

Do you have any favourite podcasts I might like? Would love to hear your recommendations.

R <3 xx