Gary Lineker and friends team up for a new football show | Podcasts

Best podcasts of the week

The Match of the Day presenter joins Alan Shearer and Micah Richards for The Rest Is Football, just in time for the new season. Plus: five of the best summer podcasts

Thu 10 Aug 2023 09.45 BST

Who here was also too distracted by the Nigeria-England penalties to do any work first thing on Monday? The Women’s World Cup is in full swing again, even if the unpredictable British weather and other-side-of-the-world kick off times are somewhat dampening our usual football fever this year.

Over the weekend, I listened to a brilliant podcast series that reminded me of exactly what this incredible women’s tournament means. In Maisie Adam: The Beautiful Game, a zippy four-parter available on BBC Sounds, the comedian reads out an essay about her own relationship with football. After taking on teenage boys in her village, and booting the ball in the back of the net, she fell in love with the game – but went on to feel more and more excluded from taking part as she grew up.

It’s a great listen. I learned a thing or two (both she and Lioness Rachel Daly trained with the Killinghall Nomads – the village my mum lives in, which admittedly probably isn’t as exciting to anyone else), and I laughed throughout (World Cup anthems “piqued at Shakira’s Waka Waka”, says Adam). And there were even moments when I sobbed hard (although, to be honest, all it took was a description of Adam’s first time experiencing the mighty roar of Elland Road for this fellow Leeds fan to shed a tear).

Of course, there are plenty of other fantastic footy podcasts to stay tuned to throughout the tournament, including The Guardian’s Women’s Football Weekly, which is hosted by sports broadcast Faye Carruthers and Guardian football writer Suzy Wrack. Plus, this month marks the start of the men’s 2023/24 football season, with a great new pod launching from Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and Gary Lineker. It should take you through the highs and lows, and is one of our picks of the week. Don’t worry if football’s not your thing, though. You can also get in the mood for a (hopefully) sunnier weekend with our roundup of best podcasts for the summer.

Hollie Richardson
Assistant TV editor

Picks of the week

Former stars of The Hills, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, return in Speidi’s 16th Minute. Photograph: MEGA/GC Images

Dear Alana
Widely available, episodes weekly
Simon Kent Fung remembers learning about Alana Chen in 2019: “A girl from Boulder, Colorado, who wanted to become a nun, was told to keep a secret, and who died at 24.” In this devastating but sensitive investigative series, he looks at the role conversion therapy played in Alana’s story, after she told her priest that she was attracted to women. It’s a harrowing tale of how a woman Fung never met would turn his life upside down. Hollie Richardson

Tiny Huge Decisions
Widely available from Monday, episodes weekly
What starts with friends Mohsin and Dalia reminiscing about a fight over the last Ferrero Rocher morphs into a long discussion spread over six fascinating episodes about the big question they’re navigating right now: will Dalia carry Mohsin and his partner Matthew’s baby so that they can have a child of their own? HR

Speidi’s 16th Minute
Widely available, episodes weekly
Reality TV duo Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt (pictured right) have had their 15 minutes of fame: their 16th is this podcast. From bragging about free “influencer” trips to trending in China, they deliver a masterclass in the type of fame they know, joined by other gossip-mongers – Montag in particular is sparky and smart. Hannah Verdier

Over My Dead Body: Gone Hunting
On Wondery+, episodes widely available from 21 August
Florida swamps, alligators, a man on a solo duck-hunting trip: this podcast has true-crime classic written all over it. Host Jennifer Portman tells the story of Mike Williams, who went missing on a freezing day in 2000 and was presumed to have been eaten by alligators. But what emerges is more of a tangled web. HV

The Rest Is Football
Widely available, episodes at least twice weekly
A football pundit podcast might not be groundbreaking, but this one has some of the best voices going: Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and – he of the world’s greatest – Micah Richards. Ahead of the new season, they share “big stories, tall tales, gossips and hopefully some laughs”. Oh, and a fair bit on the actual game. HR

There’s a podcast for that

Guests pick their ideal festival day on The Line-Up. Photograph: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella

This week, Rachel Aroesti chooses five of the best podcasts for summer, from a history of queer holiday haven Fire Island to celebrities’ dream festival lineups

Life’s A Beach
What’s the most summery thing you can do? Leave the UK, of course! In lieu of an actual far-flung getaway, try this podcast, which sees Alan Carr put the raucously matey interviewing style he honed on Chatty Man to good use by quizzing a slew of starry names – Damon Albarn, Michael McIntyre, Kiefer Sutherland – about their holiday experiences. Each episode features a glut of amusing anecdotes - from Jamie Demetriou experiencing Montezuma’s revenge in the Frida Kahlo museum to Suzi Rufell’s accidental towel-clad intrusion of an Italian wedding - with Carr’s boisterously camp presence bringing out the best in every guest.

The Line-Up
Summer culture is now practically synonymous with festivals, and what better way to get into the spirit than a prolonged daydream about curating your own. Operating within the Off Menu template of fantasy pods, Shaun Keaveny, probes guests on their ideal fest, from the location to the food to the five acts who will take to the stage. The podcast’s own bill isn’t too shabby either, with musicians – Self Esteem, Johnny Marr, Kae Tempest, Ed O’Brien – and figures from film and TV (the likes of Joe Cornish, Andrew Garfield and Jodie Whittaker) attempting to give Emily Eavis a run for her money.

Finding Fire Island
In the 1950s, New York’s Fire Island began carving out a reputation for itself as a mecca for LGBTQ+ people; it turned out that the opportunity to socialise freely and escape the everyday homophobia that permeated ordinary American life was but a brief ferry ride away. Over the next few decades, Fire Island transformed itself into a “gay summer camp”, a queer cultural outpost beloved by generations of travellers. This lively, fascinating and impeccably researched documentary series dives into the area’s cultural history with help from a slew of high-profile fans, who muse on the idiosyncratic customs and joyful promise of this unique holiday destination.

Grilling
Don’t be put off by the outer layer of advertorial that accompanies this nominally BBQ-premised podcast, made in association with grill manufacturer Weber. Really, the whole thing is just an excuse for a clearly delighted Simon Rimmer - freed from the awkward shackles of Sunday Brunch - to quiz his peers and elders from the cheffing world about their careers, their cookery and their summertime culinary go-tos in pleasingly nerdy style. Hear Marco Pierre White recount his rise from teenage commis to celebrity chef in granular detail, while Ken Hom, Rick Stein, Ainsley Harriott, Atul Kochhar and many more give the inside scoop on their careers.

Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange
Gardening might not be an exclusively summer-centric activity, but it’s certainly the season when all the hard work tends to pay off. So if you’re eyeing up everyone else’s glorious blooms and deciding to finally enter your green-fingered era, this podcast is a great place to start. Hosted by renowned gardener (and cook, and author) Sarah Raven, most episodes consist of practical suggestions for plant-based success, including advice about how to protect your garden in a heatwave, recommendations for small gardens, and tips on how to best preserve cut flowers. Yet there’s also room for more abstract meditations on the theme, from the connection between art and gardens to the emotional significance of gardening as a hobby.

Why not try …