Talking points
Comedian Sara Pascoe is launching a new podcast looking at the knotty relationships between sex and wealth. Named after her new book, the Sex Power Money podcast will feature interviews with sex workers, health experts and those involved in the porn industry to tackle subjects seen as traditionally taboo.
Perhaps it’s because she’s a rare, universally-beloved figure in these polarising times, but there seems to be much interest in Dolly Parton at present. Ahead of a terrific-sounding Netflix anthology drama based on the characters in her songs, the nine-part podcast, Dolly Parton’s America, will look at the country singer’s role as the United States’ “great unifier”. It will be presented by Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad and launches in the autumn.
Picks of the week
This new storytelling podcast from BBC Radio 1 promises a glut of topical human tales from across the UK. The next episodes, due early next month, focus on gay conversion therapy in Northern Ireland, hosted by podcasters A Gay and A NonGay. Before then, there’s a three-parter on how the “very wholesome” amateur wrestling community helped Connor from Grimsby cope with mental health issues, and the challenges he faced when partner Cole came face to face with a steel chair. Hannah J Davies
“What if no one knew who you were … ” – cue mysterious music – “ … and you had lost the ability to tell them?” And so begins the story of “Sixty Six Garage”, the mystery man who was left unconscious after a crash near the Mexican border. Investigative reporter Joanne Faryon spent two years trying to find out who Garage really is, but, as she says, that’s the easy part. This is by the team who made Dirty John, so you can expect a good story, but Faryon also raises questions around how to treat unresponsive patients. Hannah Verdier
Guardian Pick: Chips with Everything
The opening story in this week’s Chips with Everything is one of the more surprising covered on the show. A family have been selling a very lifelike doll of one of their children - ‘Baby Jace’. The real Jace is the young son of successful YouTubers, The Inghams, who have documented their lives – and those of their four children – online, in what some call “sharenting”. The internet may offer more autonomy and freedom to children to document their own lives than ever before, says author Kate Eichhorn in her new book The End of Forgetting. But, as she tells presenter Jordan Erica Webber, the flipside of a childhood lived online is the possible legal ramifications for parents in the future if their children choose to sue them for oversharing without their consent. Eichhorn offers an essential consideration of the rights of the child in the internet age. Katherine Godfrey
Producer pick: Nocturne
Chosen by Olivia Davies
“Peering into the dusty corners of the night,” as the tagline of KCRW’s Nocturne podcast tells us, host and producer Vanessa Lowe opens our ears to the plethora of experiences we miss after the sun goes down. Atmospheric and intriguing, Nocturne takes its listeners on a sonic journey into the overlooked and under-explored side of life that takes place under the cover of darkness. At the top of each episode, you’re pulled into the night – crickets chirp and owls hoot – a reminder that life keeps ticking after the glow of twilight fades away. No two episodes are the same and its blended form of storytelling strikes a beautiful balance between audio documentary and sound art. C No matter what time of day you listen, Nocturne is the perfect guide to the loneliest hours of the night.
