It was in the Autumn of 1972, that I bought my first radio.
I had taken leave of my parental home in Newry, Co.Down and by boat and train had been cast adrift into a new life, installed in a hall of residence, as a student at Reading University. Early in my first term, the purchase of a radio felt like a rite of passage into the adult world.
A good many of my fellow students were proud possessors of a hifi, but such glamour was beyond my means. When I did eventually purchase one, with earnings from a summer job, it never really came to have the same importance as my radio. The hifi and the record collection were really just a form of display, and there was in any case never a shortage of people happy to introduce me to the more arcane corners of their prized vinyl, whether stacked neatly or scattered tastefully about them like they were Bob Dylan on the cover of Bringing it all Back Home. There was in fact a feast of music available for me without any requirement to own a record collection or the means to play it.
Television at the time seemed only good for watching Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and every Thursday night the hall of residence common room would fill, to welcome each new and extraordinary episode. Radio however, was my secret pleasure; it impressed nobody, but over the years its importance for me has grown.
What did I listen to? I can barely remember, though I am pretty sure, news, first thing in the morning, was a staple. Radio was never something I sat and listened to; it was just on in the background when I was going to bed or getting up, or not well or waiting for someone to come calling. Apart from the news, my listening was pretty middlebrow: the comedy slot on Radio 4 before the 7.00 o’clock news; a dip into Radio 1 for John Peel and Andy Kershaw, and probably not much else, but as time has gone by, my listening has developed and become more eclectic. I have particularly enjoyed radio plays, both those written specifically for the medium, or adaptations of stage plays or novels. Having struggled at school with A Tale of Two Cities — I don’t believe I ever read it from cover to cover — I have, to a large extent through radio adaptations, developed a love for the work of Charles Dickens, and indeed listened recently with enjoyment to an abridgment of Claire Tomlins fine biography of Dickens, read for Radio 4’s book of the week by Penelope Wilton. Abridgement is doubtless a dirty word amongst the literati, but abridgements have been a source of enormous pleasure to this particular middle brow. I remember with special fondness, Laurie Lee’s As I Walked out one Midsummer Morning, abridged for BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week by Katrin Williams and read hauntingly by Tobias Menzies.
I mentioned the weekday comedy slot, before the 7 o’clock news bulletin, and the Archers. It was there that I first heard Knowing me, Knowing you, with Alan Partridge, the original, and for me unrivalled, radio incarnation of Steve Coogan’s comic creation. Other shows I have enjoyed in this slot have remained firmly embedded in the radio format, but have nevertheless acquired a cult status: I am Sorry I haven’t a Clue; Just a Minute, The News Quiz; but there have been many others, some forgettable but many deserving of greater attention.
When I first came to Scotland in the early 1980’s, I spent my first year or so labouring on the renovation of an old sandstone house, purchased by my brother Peter and his partner Deirdre. Whilst they were out at work, financing the project, I was earning my keep on the basis of an endless series and variety of odd jobs. However charming this may sound, the work was from my point of view, often tedious, yet it was my pleasure each day to be educated for an hour by my discovery of, McGregor’s Gathering, a BBC Radio Scotland production, in which Jimmy McGregor, with a leavening of music and wit, introduced me to every aspect of Scottish landscape and culture.
The point of course is that work did not stop whilst I listened, and this is the beauty of audio broadcasts; they are a perfect accompaniment to those tasks and activities which can be accomplished without unbroken attention. I hear some voices in the background scoffing at this point, as if to suggest that had my attention to the assigned task been more complete, then a variety of imperfections or other insults to the finished article, might have been avoided. I cannot disagree, but in balance I think the trade off has been satisfactory to all concerned.
The development and miniaturisation of recording technology permitted me increasing control over when and how I listened. Before I took the pledge and committed to cycling to my work in Dumfries and Galloway College, it was my pleasure to listen to a recording of Start the Week during my daily commute. The frustration of interruption was gone as, on arrival, the programme was paused for the return journey.
Start the Week is a favourite to this day, a discussion featuring a selection of authors and recently published books, generally with some loose theme hanging them together. I started listening when Melvyn Bragg hosted the discussion, maybe even Russell Harty; I saw out Jeremy Paxman, and am now in the safe hands of Andrew Marr. I see Amol Rajan as the coming man — or will the slot be filled in the future by a woman? Kirsty Wark does fill in very capably from time to time. The format is simple and though it requires something heroic from the presenter in terms of getting to grips with the content of each programme, I am confident its future is safe, whoever the presenter may be. Now I download the programme as a podcast and listen on my phone. In my days as a commuter I did not disdain the more usual fare of Radio 1 or Radio 2 breakfast offerings, and it was generally to these that I would tune my dial when my tape had run out, to enjoy the whimsy of Terry Wogan, or the wit of Ken Bruce or the madness of the Radio 1 offering.
As the technology has progressed, so I have been more able to explore a broad range of programme genres, and though the BBC still forms a large part of my listening, it has been a pleasure to explore the whole gamut of podcasts available free of charge from other sources. The original purpose of writing this piece was to provide a list of those which I particularly enjoy in the hope that others may experiment with and enjoy the pleasures of listening to podcasts. It’s not for everyone, I know, but for some of you this format will open a gateway into a garden of delights.
General Podcast Advice
Download a podcast app onto your phone, search for podcasts and subscribe to the ones which catch your interest. I use Doggcatcher, but there are many others.
My Personal Podcast Recommendations
Authors discuss their recently published books, generally grouped according to a theme or themes.
A different presenter each week, and a collection of politicians from across the House of Commons. If you are fed up with politicians dodging questions, the discussions hosted by The Week in Westminster bring together politicians past and present from across the political spectrum, and in general manage to keep the discussion open and avoid petty confrontation and obfuscation.
This is the radio version of Question Time, which, since the departure of David Dimbleby, has, in my view, gone into decline though for my taste, the audience was always too dominant. I want to hear what the guests have to say, not the ill informed and attention seeking. Let’s be honest: panelists can also be ill informed and attention seeking, but Any Questions strikes a better balance than Question Time. There is a follow up programme, Any Answers, in which the public phone in with their take on the questions and answers of the main programme. I generally find this post match analysis pretty uninspiring, though occasionally those who phone in have something really important to say, and say it well.
Malcolm Gladwell makes superb podcasts, beautifully written, produced and presented and always with interesting ideas. His subject matter is diverse, from Elvis and his inability to sing one particular song without error, to an inquiry into mass hysteria, and much more. If you haven’t listened before, a treat awaits.
Deconstructed with Mehdi Hasan
This is a great for keeping up with US politics. Mehdi, originally from the UK, is very well informed and networked and gets great interviewees and does great interviews. He is a bit over focused at the moment — in my view — on taking down Donald Trump. That’s a perfectly understandable objective, but I fear, feeds the polarisation of US politics, which is the real obstacle to political progress in the States.
This podcast is from the Guardian, and covers a variety of topics but generally is focussed on the main issues of the day, though often looking at them from an unusual angle. Standards of journalism, presentation and production are all very high, as one would expect from the Guardian.
This is an independently produced podcast, hosted by Professor David Runciman, Professor of Politics at Cambridge University. This is my current favourite politics programme, very focussed on current UK issues, but with an international perspective. It is full of historical detail, interesting guests and an impressive panel of academics to inform the discussion. The associated History of Ideas podcast is also excellent.
This podcast offers excellent coverage of politics and other current issues in the Irish Republic. Distinguished journalists from the Irish Times, including Fintan O’Toole, a frequent contributor to British media, discuss the politics of the Republic but also feature commentators from north of the border and commentary on UK, European and US politics.
I am a long time devotee of Desert Island Discs, and find it an enjoyable way of learning about a range of guests, some of whom I have heard of but many of whom I have not. I am rarely disappointed by their personal stories, and often surprised, impressed . The music in the podcast is shortened for rights reasons, but though the musical choices do interest me, it is the biography of the guests which I find engaging. Lauren Laverne, the most recent presenter, has come in for some criticism, suggesting that she is a bit light-weight where guests may be from the fine arts or the sciences, but I find her excellent, and she always seems well prepared and knowledgeable of the work and achievements of those she interviews, regardless of the field in which they have been successful.
This is a variant on the Desert Island Disc format, but adapted for radio three, with greater attention given to discussion of the musical choices. It is introduced by composer, Michael Berkeley. I enjoy it for the same reasons as I enjoy Desert Island Discs, but in addition find the more serious approach to the musical choices interesting. The choices are wide ranging and absolutely not confined to the classical genre. A recent episode featured Jools Holland, who impressed Michael Berkeley with his choices of obscure classical recordings. Again, the podcast version shortens the musical element for rights reasons.
I’ve started listening to this recently. I am pretty illiterate in classical music, but this programme is a great way into what, for someone such as myself, is fairly daunting territory, given the long history and progressions of music from the baroque to modern jazz. Donald McLeod is a wonderful presenter, and the programmes generally have a biographical and therefore historical structure, which is in itself of interest. Donald McLeod seems genuinely to appreciate his subjects, whether the composer is Mozart, Harrison Birtwhistle or Thelonious Monk. The programmes are immaculately researched, unflinching in their attention to the less appealing aspects of some composers’ lives, and told with great warmth and humour. Modern composers often feature an interview with the subject, Harrison Birtwhistle being a fascinating and engaging example, though I’d have to admit. I haven’t sought out any of his music since listening though I have found my way to Radio 3’s New Music Programme, where the playlist forsakes all orthodoxies and glories in the non instrumental noises of the world…it’s an oddly relaxing experience when the demands of daily life have been getting a little out of hand.
There is a huge Composer of the Week archive, though once again the musical elements are shortened for rights reasons.
This podcast has been the source of some controversy and a lawsuit, perhaps not surprising in that the John B McLemore, who is at the very centre of its enquiry, commits suicide at an early stage of the research on which the narrative is constructed.
Gay Alcorn, in the Guardian, considered the podcast “morally indefensible” and “voyeuristic”. She also says however: “ it is a good story, powerfully told with the best of intentions…. it has purpose. Occasionally something a bit like S-Town can nudge close to art in the way it peels away the layers of life.”
“John B McLemore… approached This American Life to urge the program to investigate what he believed was the cover-up of a murder in his hometown in Alabama in America’s south. That town is Woodstock, or “Shit Town”, as he called it.” [1]
The story I thought admirable for its penetration beneath the conservative shell of a small rural community to reveal a reality that is both disturbing and redemptive.
References
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