The Allusionist (theallusionist.org)
Imaginary Advice (imaginaryadvice.com)
The Body Genius: The Truth (thetruthpodcast.com)
Yet another week when the news has seemed overwhelmingly awful. I am so grateful for non-topical podcasts in these days of post-poll triumphalism and social media screeching. Who cares what’s going on in the world when you can put your earphones in and go for a walk with the dog (not a euphemism)?
Speaking of euphemisms, and acronyms, and slang, it’s a big happy birthday to The Allusionist, a podcast about language: what it means, how it develops, how it affects us, where its tendrils reach. The Allusionist hit 100 episodes last week, and the show’s wonderful presenter/researcher/producer/promoter Helen Zaltzman announced this fact by admitting that making the shows has nearly killed her. She also put out a special 100th episode, made up of 100 interesting facts from all those past episodes. And yes, the facts are interesting, nerdy wordy fans… Did you know that the word woman does not have its stem in the word man? Or that swearing has been proved to make you feel good? Or that literally doesn’t mean literally any more? Or that if you have a small vocabulary, you think differently?
The 100th episode is fun, and an antidote to those facts-as-entertainment shows such as QI that do their jobs well, but patronisingly. The Allusionist never talks down. However, if you’re not yet a regular Allusioneer, I wouldn’t start with that episode. Scroll one back, to 99, about the secret gay language Polari, or to 95, where David J Peterson explains how he invented the Games of Thrones languages, Dothraki and Valyrian. (Apparently, we’ve all been pronouncing Khaleesi wrong and it’s doing his head in.) Or go to 58, which tells the tale of Lauren Marks, who has a brain aneurysm and has to find her vocabulary all over again.
Yes, you learn things from this podcast, but more importantly, you do so in a delightful, human way. Zaltzman’s interviewing is great, her voice gorgeous, but it’s her editing that makes this show. Not a second is wasted. Every show is the correct length (meaning, just a bit shorter than you want). It should be prescribed listening for all BBC “prestigious podcast” producers. When Zaltzman pitched this show, she said she wanted to make 99% Invisible, but for language. Personally, I would never have thought that language had so many episodes in it, but every week Zaltzman finds something new and utterly fascinating. What’s more, though, she seems to have been on a world tour of the live Allusionist show, No Title, for the past two years (currently in Australia). She has stalwartly provided a podcast every week. She even put one out when she was in hospital.
For that episode her voice was done in, so she teed up and played her favourite recent episode of someone else’s show. S.E.I.N.F.E.L.D. was the episode, Imaginary Advice the show. S.E.I.N.F.E.L.D concerned a robot who was trying to be a standup comedian, and it was brilliant. Imaginary Advice won Best Fiction Podcast at the 2018 British Podcast awards, but back then, I was in my audio fiction-refusnik mode and so didn’t bother. I was wrong. The show is experimental, funny, very varied, with great production. Presented by the wry writer (wryter?) Ross Sutherland, Imaginary Advice showcases new storytelling – poems, monologues, interviews – and I have found myself utterly absorbed. Start with Six House Parties.
More recently, The Allusionist has recommended another great podcast, The Truth. I’d lapsed as a Truth listener, but its new five-part mini-series, The Body Genius, is terrific. It’s the story of Evan, Hollywood’s most sought after personal trainer, and how he turns detective when an actor is discovered dead in his gym. The Body Genius is properly snort-out-loud-and-scare-the-dog funny, but also as gripping as any LA whodunnit. The last episode came out a couple of days ago, too late for me to review, but it means you can binge the whole lot in one go, you lucky people. Do it. and forget all those horrible headlines. The world is better – weirder, funnier, kinder, more interesting – than the news would have us think.
Three good Radio 2 half-term stand-ins
(in for Vanessa Feltz)
Oduba is known, primarily, for being the greatest ever winner of Strictly Come Dancing (I brook no argument on this). Which doesn’t automatically qualify him to cover for Radio 2’s most gifted and outre presenter, Vanessa Feltz, but he was doing sterling work last week in Feltz’s 5am to 6.30am slot. Oduba is smoother than Feltz, but very warm; his introduction of the contact-the-show topic of “what jobs do you do that go unappreciated?” on Wednesday was done with charm and a commendable lack of macho bluff. Nice and easy on the ear.
(in for Zoë Ball)
Cotton gets a lot of grief in certain circles, for some reason, though I have always thought her to be a fine presenter. Her Happy Place podcast is immensely popular and she has improved as she has got older and decided to open up about her mental health problems. She’s also a good listener, as her interview with Harry Hill on Tuesday proved. Though not quite as bubbly as Zoë Ball, Cotton can do upbeat with the best of them and her in-show chat has been friendly and on the money. A safe pair of hands for the biggest radio show in the UK.
(in for Steve Wright)
Steve Wright hardly ever takes any time off, so Borg only got one sit-in show last week, on Tuesday, following his shift last Friday. I’m not that familiar with Borg’s presenting (he does the late-night Radio 2 slot plus a lot of cycling stuff), but he was engaging, quick-witted and, thank God, not too old school Radio 2 (this may have upset Wrighty’s fans). When interviewing Michael Sheen and David Tennant, he risked an opener of silly, cheeky questions that worked pretty well, before getting into the proper stuff, which was speedy and informative.
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