Saturday 19th March 2022
In more recent times, a handful of people have thanked me for sharing podcast choices on social media, so I thought I'd list a few of my current 'go to' shows here too, just in case anyone might be interested...
I should stress that I primarily use such services for when I'm out walking, or just happen to 'need a little entertaining, moderately informative, company'. I tend to HATE, with a passion, superfluous chat and banter, which, in my humble opinion, only really ever serves to detract from the supposed focus of the show. (I say 'supposed focus' there, as a great many such concerns do seem purely intended as a, attention-seeking, noise platform for a lot of people!) As a result, all but one of my current (and also long standing) favourite podcasts adopt a one-on-one, 'talking directly to the listener' format...
For the sake of giving examples of the shows in question here, I shall just link directly to simple 'listen online' sources, though I suggest that anyone interested in following shows and discovering more in the world of podcasts should certainly bung a service like the 'Spotify' app on their phone - the one I use - which instantly opens up a world of exploration opportunities! Click title for link to shows listed below.
'The Unexplained' Podcast: One of the first programmes that I ever began listening to, which almost instantly became my favourite show. Not entirely dedicated to paranormal / supernatural topics, it features a wide array of topics covering pretty-much everything from murder mysteries, to bizarre tragedies... and, yes, of course, tales of haunting too! A fascinating book, entitled 'Unexplained', was also released a couple or so years ago by the podcast creator, Richard, Maclean - Smith, which covers an array of intriguing topics and cases not featured in the show. (*Word of warning on this front: I picked up my own hardback copy of this volume from 'The Works', for £4.99, around 4 months after it's initial release. At that very same time, a friend bought his identical copy, online, for £16.99! This was a while ago, however, so I obviously can't comment on current prices and rates for the book. always best to shop around, of course!)
The only downside to this show that I can really list is that the running time for each episode is a touch short for my taste, usually coming in at around the 30 minutes mark. I know 'bite size' stuff can be quite an appeal for many, but, for what I tend to use such programmes for, this tends to entail a lot of downloading and / or fiddling about every half hour or so. Otherwise, still one of my top 2 podcasts after a few years of regular, avid listening!
'Dark Histories' Podcast: My other, 'joint-top' listening choice! Lol! All-too-clearly, show host, Ben Cutmore, puts an impressive amount of research into each episode, which are invariably delivered clearly and in great detail. Again, an array of subjects are covered - 'mystery' oriented topics, ranging from murders, disappearances... to cryptic history... and, of course, paranormal-related subjects too. A huge plus with Dark Histories is the simple fact that - unlike others - you get an impressive running time with each offering. This is generally anything between an hour... to an hour and a half... and even longer on occasion!
The only downside to this show is the bi-weekly format, as it always leaves me chomping at the bit for the next release! Lol!
As with 'The Unexplained', I'll readily admit that there's seldom an episode 'skipped' when it comes to 'Dark Histories'... even if the subject matter being covered is of little - or even no - interest to me. This basically outlines the general entertainment value and appeal of these shows...
'Monster Talk' Podcast: LONG running, with a really impressive back catalogue of episodes to choose from, this show could easily be 'the perfect podcast', if not for a couple of issues! Created with scepticism and critical thinking at the core of the programme, the listener is presented with a massive array of - mostly paranormal related - topics that, by far, transcend the limits intimated by the show's slightly misleading title. The real joy of 'Monster Talk' is the utterly refreshing, sceptical approach... but presented by people who clearly have a great love for the subject matter. The 'really would love to believe, but don't, because...' tone of the podcast is wonderfully overwhelming... certainly so for me, as this perfectly echoes my own, long-standing, attitude to paranormal matters! Lol! Whether you're a devout believer or sceptic yourself, please don't let the latter-mentioned put you off giving the show a chance, as there is just so much, thoroughly enjoyable, variety to this podcast!
Downside - and I must admit that this is a BIG issue for me - is the chatty, banterish presentation of the show! An immediate killer for me, when looking at a podcast, is a jovial, 'radio show' style format, purely because a considerable portion of the broadcast is inevitably going to be superfluous waffle that detracts from what is supposed to be the focus of the show. More that one presenter is almost inevitably going to result in unnecessary attempts at jocular repartee... and - lets face it - there really is nothing worse than someone who won't stop trying to be funny when they're not, or just can't seem to avoid releasing redundant, unfunny, 'one liners' sporadically!! (Come on... we've all met that one person!! Grrr....!!) As a result of the latter, I must admit that I do personally tend to spend a lot of listening time muttering such things as, "Oh, FFS... just get on with it!", "Bloody shut up, will you!" and generally rolling my eyes a fair bit!
'The Conspirators' Podcast: Another that I've followed for some time now, this is a nice, little - generally 30 minute long - show dealing with general 'mystery' and plain-old 'weird' topics such as murders, historical strangeness and, of course, some paranormal content. It can be a touch repetitive in view of other podcasts - you often find the same topics sometimes being covered by numerous shows within a relatively short period of time - but I do like Nate Hales presentation. (Not his real name, BTW!) Within more recent years, Nate has also undergone some quite devastating issues with his health, something which could have put pay to a lot of things in his life, including 'The Conspirators'. Over the period concerned, he still endeavoured to keep his show running, however, and has now, thankfully and to his credit, returned to continue presenting his cool podcast again....
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