Picks of the week
Beautiful person Gorilla
Audible, all episodes available now
Koko was the superstar gorilla of the 80s and 90s who counted William Shatner and Peter Gabriel among her famous friends. But how did the “famous talking monkey” end his life overweight, depressed and “a gorilla shell”? Lauren Ober asks how being stuck with one foot in the human world affected Koko, from taking laxatives to being accused of sexual harassment because of her fascination with nipples.
Hannah Verdier
Covered with cork
Apple Podcast, weekly episodes
True crime meets winemaking in this comedy podcast, featuring Anthony Gioe playing a public radio host sent to Napa Valley on the trail of con artist Lyle Le Monde. “Don’t ask questions, sugar chick,” warns a local in one of several menacing notes, but in true-crime tradition, the host is unfazed as he grills tattoo artists for the small-town murder. HV
Shine a Turd
From Tuesday, widely available
As someone who has lived with stage four cancer since she was 23, CoppaFeel! founder Kris Hallenga knows a thing or two about making the most of a difficult situation, and she brings her warmth and wisdom to a new podcast for others doing the same. Rosie Jones, Nadiya Hussain and Giles Duley are among those who don’t hold back in their conversations. HV
Notes on a scandal
Widely available, episodes every week
The true crime podcast set in 1970s Pakistan opens its second season with the trial of Shahnaz Gul, accused of murdering disgraced bureaucrat Mustafa Zaidi. Brilliant gossip journalists Saba Imtiaz and Tooba Masood-Khan uncover major parties, societal issues and a relationship with Christine Keeler as they delve into “Pakistan’s first jet-set murder”. HV
Who was Michael X?
BBC sounds
This comprehensive podcast tells the intriguing story of Trinidad and Tobago-born Michael de Freitas, who grew up to become black power leader Michael X in 60s London. Hamza Salmi goes back to his beginnings, talking to experts, using dramatized fragments to bring the activist’s story to life. Hollie Richardson
There’s a podcast about that
From an honest look at microaggressions to a podcast that debunks sex talk taboos, Sadia Nowshin picks five of the best podcasts in the British Asian experience.
Brown girls do it too
With a candor that would make some South Asian aunties swoon in disbelief, best friends Rubina and Poppy tackle perhaps the biggest taboo among Asian women: sex. Discussing everything from toys and BDSM to the learned instinct to judge others and the pressures of identity, the pair shed light on the experience of being sexually active and speaking up despite their cultures’ disapproval. They are joined by a dynamic cast of British Asian women – including actress Nina Wadia and author Sadia Azmat – who are equally open to ‘doing it’, and happy to shock the community in the name of greater understanding. .
But where are you from?
Created by besea.n (Britain’s East and South East Asia network), But where are you from? seeks to throw into sharp relief the lived reality of these communities in Britain. Fusing deeply honest discussions of discrimination, identity and childhood trauma with light and personal conversation, each episode is rooted in the microaggression of the title; the guests discuss how aspects of their cultural identity are connected to or changed by the experience of trying to identify as British, in a society that constantly questions their legitimacy to do so.
Masala Podcast
What is it like to defy cultural expectations of gender and sexuality to become Britain’s first Muslim queen? In the enlightening sixth episode of Masala, founder of South Asian feminist network Soul Sutras, Sangeeta Pillai, talks to Asifa Lahore to find out. This is just one example of how Pillai sensitively focuses on typically taboo subjects; other important conversations include culturally enforced silence about periods and survivors living with the stigma of colonial rape. With multiple British Podcast awards to her name, Masala gets to the heart of the issues that quietly affect the lives of British Asian women behind closed doors.
Brown Don’t frown
After examining her relationship with mainstream feminism and finding that it excluded the experiences of women in her own life, British Bangladeshi Tania Sultana Hardcastle set out to create a platform to diversify who can tell their stories. With a mission to reach people beneath cultural stereotypes and highlight underrepresented voices, she invites guests from various walks of life to talk about their relationships with intersectional feminism, shedding light on the experiences left in shadow. Topics covered include everything from workplace tokenism to the gentrification of East London’s Brick Lane.
Comic sanskrit
“You’re saying follow your gut, and my gut says the steak is absolutely lush.” Comedian Raul Kohli takes to the microphone to navigate his meaning, relationships with, and questions about the Hindu religion of his upbringing. Kohli is candid about aspects of his faith, whether admitting a pandit has tried beef (sparking the joke above) or considering the paradox of identifying as an atheist Hindu. In addition to exploring the world’s oldest religion, the episodes also cover hidden histories. Highlights include a fascinating look at India’s hijra community, which, as Kohli points out, was experimenting with gender long before the talk of modern Western society.
Why not try…
Surreal schoolyard comedy The Rubber Room, featuring famous faces including Arrested Development’s David Cross and Tony Hale.
