Maverick Life Podcast Review
Shows to bring us closer
Here is our weekly review of podcasts that might inspire, surprise or bring you some joy. This week, we look at podcasts that have blossomed out of the current pandemic.
Many podcasts have turned their focus on the Covid-19 outbreak and the pandemic. But today, we’re not talking about episodes detailing the worrying death toll and affected cases growing numbers, or the ones dissecting and analysing the news.
We’re talking about podcasts that have risen to the occasion in other ways. The ones that have emerged or reinvented themselves to shrink the distances between us. In these times when we long for connection, having a friend whisper in your ear, tell you stories or sing you to sleep can feel like the right dose of comfort to make the day manageable. Some days, just getting through is enough. Below are some audio comfort blankets for the coming weekend.
Life on Lockdown – Cathy Fitzgerald (BBC Radio 4)
Length: 28 minutes
Listen on: BBC Sounds
“It’s the very way that we perceive that has changed. What we hear and what we see and what we feel.” These are the words of Orla O’Neill in Northern Italy. Hers is one of a tapestry of voice messages collected for this piece. We also hear from a five-year-old stuck at home, a dad who’s taken to dancing in the nude around the house and a musician composing songs on request. Producer Cathy Fitzgerald’s own lockdown story of navigating long-distance love is the thread that runs throughout. The result is a comforting patchwork quilt that you can tuck yourself under.
A Poem in Gratitude for Health Care Workers – Poetry Unbound (On Being Studios)
Image Poetry Unbound, onbeing.org
Length: 12 minutes
Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or any other podcast app or streaming service
Poetry feels like the antidote to the world right now. “Poetry helps me breathe,” says host Pádraig Ó Tuama, talking about struggling with the twin maladies of chronic asthma and anxiety about his health. Here you can escape into the gentle world of poetry accompanied by original music composed for each episode. This episode pays tribute to the heroes of the moment: the healthcare workers on the frontlines. It is beautifully meditative and brimming with gratitude.
Love in the time of Corona – Don’t Shoot The Messenger with Rebecca Davis (The Daily Maverick)*
Length: 20 minutes
Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or any other podcast app or streaming service.
What a comfort to hear local voices in the American dominated podcast landscape! Whose voice could be better than Rebecca Davis, her witty and self-deprecating style no doubt familiar to many of us from her days on Cape Talk’s Plan B with Rebecca Davis. Her newest audio venture is both timely and reflective. Instead of joining the glut of informational podcasts about the coronavirus, Rebecca and her team dive into the stories behind the news, bringing us voices we don’t often listen to, but perhaps should. In this episode, we take a peek into homes under lockdown in South Africa to see how families are managing. One particularly sweet story takes us to visit grandparents who, separated from their two-year-old granddaughter, make a DIY activity book to connect with her. Using humour and humility, this new local podcast both informs and delights.
Here’s What Else You Knead to Know Today – Home Cooking with Samin + Hrishi
Home Cooking with Samin + Hrishi
Length: 53 minutes
Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or any other podcast app or streaming service
Have you joined the quarantine baking brigade yet? If not, this might just be the show that pushes you over the edge. This podcast is a charming stripped back conversation between Samin Nosrat (author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat) and Hrishikesh Hirway (producer of Song Exploder, The West Wing Weekly and Partners podcasts) about cooking during lockdown. These two have a lot of chemistry, welcoming you to join them in their shared audio kitchen where a lack of ingredients leads to equally delicious and hilarious results. Press play and join a dinner party brimming with food, creativity and joy.
Everything is Always Keep Changing – Sugar Calling (The New York Times)
Everything is Always Keep Changing/ Sugar Calling
Length: 41 minutes
Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or any other podcast app or streaming service
Advice columnist and author Cheryl Strayed, also known as Sugar, hosts this new show from The New York Times. Instead of giving advice, here Cheryl is seeking wisdom from the writers who have inspired her. In this inaugural episode, she calls up her mentor and celebrated author, George Saunders. Listening to their conversation feels like sitting around the fire with old friends. Saunders reads an email composed for his students, and it feels like he’s speaking to every one of us when he says, “this is when the world needs our eyes and ears and minds”. Keep your ears open for the second episode of the show where Cheryl talks to Margaret Atwood.
If you’re wondering how to listen to these audio gems, local podcast organisation, Sound Africa, has prepared a handy guide to show you how.
Happy listening! DM/ ML
*Disclaimer: The author is not involved or affiliated with this podcast.
To read the previous review, click below!
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