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11 December 2019

The best podcasts of 2019

By Antonia Quirke

The Daily, New York Times

Everything from impeachment to a romantic investigation of a royal family living in the jungle.

Brexitcast/Electioncast/Reflectioncast, BBC Radio 5 Live

The BBC politics team prove that they can talk and talk, gaining energy over details that should exhaust.

Unexpected Fluids, BBC Radio 1

“Real-life, embarrassingly honest stories about sex” that are marvellously full of heart.

Kevin Pietersen: Beast Of Man, BBC Radio 5 Live

Pietersen “stars”, but his subjects (poachers, conservationists, rangers) are this podcast’s darkly beating heart.

The Missing Cryptoqueen, BBC Sounds

Fabulously entertaining investigation into the villainous founder of cryptocurrency OneCoin.

The Dream, Spotify/Stitcher/Apple Podcasts

A deep dive into the vastly under-investigated and outrageous world of multi-level marketing schemes.

In Our Time, BBC Radio 4

The “extra chat” in the podcast of this long-cherished show is more interesting than all that came before.

Death in Ice Valley, BBC World Service

The lonely chill of this true crime podcast casts a mystical spell.

Digging Deep with Robert Plant, Spotify/Stitcher/Apple Podcasts

Plant insists he won’t talk Led Zeppelin music: but by episode three, he’s happily doing just that.

Athletico Mince, Acast

What began as a football podcast in March 2016 has by now become broader and more gloriously anecdotal in scope.

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