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Top Ten Podcasts of 2018

Podcasts are a big part of my day, or rather night.  I go to sleep every night listening to one of them.  Quite why I find the spoken word so soporific I'm not quite sure.  Surly I'm not the only one who listens to podcasts.  Anyway here's my top ten for 2018.  What's yours?

1. Rhod Gilbert. I've been a fan of Rhod Gilbert for many years now even before the prize-winning mince pie encounter.  His podcasts are extracts of his weekly show on BBC Radio Wales.  Pure gold.

2. Inside Europe.  A weekly hour long English language news programme from German broadcaster Deutche Welle.  There is a lot more happening in the world than what we see on the TV news programmes.  Helps you see the world from other people's perspectives.

3. Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4. Rotates between the News Quiz, a satirical look at the weeks news (my favourite), the Now Show, and Dead Ringers.

4. Geogearheads.  A weekly American podcast on the technical aspects of geocaching. They tackle different topics each week.  Who would have thought that you could make an interesting podcast about finding tupperware in the woods. How they keep going I never know. 

5. The Danny Baker Show. I'm sure I remember watching Danny Baker on TV in the 80s.  He somehow manages to keep talking for two hours every Saturday.  The Sausage Sandwich game is usually one of the highlights - if I haven't fallen asleep by then.

6. Global News Podcast from BBC World Service.  Another news podcast that helps you appreciate that there is more going on in the world than Brexit and Trump.

7. From Our Own Correspondent.  BBC's foreign correspondents given an opportunity to be more prosaic than they are normally allowed to be in times of reporting of a crisis.   After all they have to be given something to do to justify their salaries in quiet times.  A successful and long lasting formula.  The spinoff From Our home Correspondent is also worth a listen.

8. The Podcast Show.  A monthly UK geocaching podcast.  Worth a listen if only for the lovely accents the hosts have.  I don't always find all the content gripping and the variable sound levels can make me jump just as I am drifting off to sleep.  Worth tuning in though if you are a cacher.

9. PodQuiz weekly trivia quiz.  I never know why there aren't more quiz podcasts.  This one has been going for ages.  The trouble is that if you drift off to sleep before the end you miss the answers.

 

10. Desert Island Discs.  The podcast version suffers from the fact that the music is shortened because of rights reasons.  This has slipped down my list in the past year but still makes the top ten.  I find some episodes are enthralling whilst others can make me squirm.