Everyone’s favourite filthy agony aunts are back! Podcasts of the week – The Guardian

Talking points

The podcast boom continues apace, with an impressive number of people in the UK listening to an audio show each week according to new figures. Ofcoms latest report shows around 7.1 million of us or one in eight people are tuning into pods, a 24% rise on last year. Its unsurprising given the big investments currently being made in the medium (more on that here).

Meanwhile, its five years this week since Serial restarted the podcast movement, making amateur sleuths of its listeners. While not without its ethical controversies, like much true crime, this early hit remains a truly impressive feat of storytelling.

Dear Joan and JerichaJulia Davis and Vicki Pepperdines judgmental, disgusting and thoroughly convincing agony aunts return for another series of the hilarious podcast. Cringe-inducing wisdom is the core of their business, whether theyre telling women over 35 not to have wrinkly babies or warning them to tend to their husbands physical needs. The chat veers from the absurd to the filthy, all perfectly delivered in the prim way of two know-it-alls who are qualified in psycho-genital counselling and sports journalism. HV

Youre Dead to Me

This amusing new podcast follows TV outings such as Drunk History and Horrible Histories in making the past that bit more exciting. Historian Greg Jenner, who helped to make the latter show, hosts alongside experts including Dr Helen Castor, a medieval historian who helps to explain the remarkable story of Joan of Arc. Of course, there are comedians, too among them Suzi Ruffell, who considers her own identity as a gay woman as they assess the continuing arc of LGBT history. HJD

As part of the Guardians ongoing campaign on menopause awareness, last weeks Science Weekly podcast revealed the exciting new insights scientists have uncovered when it comes to hot flushes insights that could one day give women a much-needed alternative to hormone replacement therapy. As Hannah Devlin finds out, the menopause has historically been a mystery for scientists but could this all be about to change? Max Sanderson

Chosen by David Waters

Calling someone a master of radio, you can be accused of hyperbole. But in the case of superproducer Cathy FitzGerald the self-described caretaker of the Strange & Charmed school for audio storytellers, which is churning out a new generation of fellow superproducers that is literally the case.

Her latest documentary is an explosion of sound and joy from the very first minute. Were immediately transported to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company which, it turns out, is part of an American non-profit company (826 National) that uses various cover stories across the US to capture the imaginations of children. From pirates in San Francisco to ghosts in New Orleans and robots in Detroit, various tropes are deployed by the organisations nationwide chapters. And once under their spell, children can access free tutoring and homework help plus workshops for budding authors. Like FitzGeralds own audio school, 826 National is more than just education: its about confidence, creativity and empowering people to tell stories.

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Everyone's favourite filthy agony aunts are back! Podcasts of the week - The Guardian