Best podcasts of the week: paranoia and espionage in the tobacco industry theguardian.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theguardian.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Greystone Kids
Inside in: X-Rays of Nature’s Hidden World by Jan Paul Schutten, illus. by Arie Van ‘t Riet, trans. by Laura Watkinson (Oct. 12, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-77164-679-6), provides a look at creatures and their natural habitats using x-ray techniques and photographs. Ages 2–7.
How Beautiful by Antonella Capetti, illus. by Melissa Castrillon (Nov. 2, $17.95, ISBN 978-1-77164-853-0). A curious caterpillar searches for the true meaning of the word
beautiful. Ages 4–8.
Little Narwhal, Not Alone by Tiffany Stone, illus. by Ashlyn Anstee (Oct. 12, $17.95, ISBN 978-1-77164-620-8). In a tale inspired by real events, a lost narwhal in search of other narwhals finds a pod of beluga whales instead. Ages 4–8.
Last modified on Fri 2 Apr 2021 01.01 EDT
Picks of the week
Another characteristically slick, ripped-from-the-headlines series from market leaders Wondery introduces us to Russian gun activist Maria Butina, who â as one does â fell in love with her fatherâs shotguns as a child and subsequently became an arms lobbyist. In 2015, she started travelling to the US, improving inter-country relations and entering in to a relationship with a conservative activist â but was later arrested for spying. What was the truth about her life in America, and the relationships she forged?
Hannah J Davies
The 1970s had no shortage of widely-reported serial killers and The Doodler â who stalked the gay bars of San Francisco â is one of the lesser-known criminals. He would sketch his potential victims on napkins before making his move and striking them down. Reporter Kevin Fagan is determined to find answers in a case that went cold nearly 50 years ago, as he invites lis
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With the arts world “largely in hibernation”, the launch of a major podcast is “as close as we get to a big cultural event these days”, said Robert Jackman in The Spectator. The Apology Line, from Amazon-owned Wondery, was released last week and shot straight to the top of the “most downloaded” charts. It is about a conceptual artist named Allan Bridge, who in the 1980s invited New York’s criminal classes to record anonymous confessions on an unmanned phone line. The idea was to shed voyeuristic light on the city’s darkest corners. It is narrated by Marissa Bridge, Allan’s widow. She has a slightly “wooden” delivery, said Fiona Sturges in the FT, but that doesn’t matter: this is a gripping tale, grippingly told – and the recordings alone make for “remarkable” listening. “Some are tinged with sadness and shame; others carry the sound of a weight being lifted. A handful are downright chilling.”
Chosen by Madeleine Finlay
What scares you? Spiders? Climate change? Getting too close to the edge of a cliff and accidentally falling off? This question provides the premise of this podcast from WNYC Studios, where someone lists â you guessed it â ten of their fears. It might sound trite, but listening to peoplesâ anxieties, it turns out, gives a fascinating insight into the human psyche. Seemingly all of us are scared of a range of serious and silly things. In fact, pushing the big and small together is one of the things that makes the podcast so enjoyable (and reassuring during a time when it feels like thereâs a lot to be scared of).