If you are looking for podcasts that explore history, depth, philosophy and experience, then this week’s podcast picks are for you.1. Asset Avenue
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Finance
Asset Avenue is a new finance podcast hosted by financial advisor Bola Sol, which explores what it truly means to build, protect and grow the things that matter the most to us.
On this week’s episode, Sol – also the author of Your Money Life and How To Save It: Fix Your Finances – sits down with financial coach and chartered wealth manager Philly Ponniah, professionally known as Philly Financial, to unpack why her family is her biggest asset, and how posting content online has allowed her to build a thriving career.
True to Sol’s mission to help women with their money, the conversation doesn’t shy away from why they are left behind when it comes to financial literacy, while Ponniah’s audaciousness shines through as she opens up about her stint in corporate broking before she went to university, and why having brothers has helped her navigate the male-dominated field of finance.
Her advice on how to “hold your own” as a woman, to show up and do your best, and understanding where your self-worth should come from, was insightful.
If you would like to learn more about what counts as an asset, how to build one, and what real wealth actually looks like in your life, then walk through the doors of Asset Avenue, and give it a listen.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)
2. Voices of Resilience
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms
Genre: Health and wellbeing
Voices of Resilience is a podcast hosted by university lecturer Ntsoaki Mary Mosoeunyane as it shines light on the structural inequalities that affect the lives of black and ethnic minority communities across the UK.
Tailored for professionals working in healthcare, higher education, policy and leadership, this week’s episode sees Mosoeunyane joined by critical care nurse Sheena Johnson as they dive into the idea of burnout.
One of the key parts Johnson says in this episode is: “We wear ‘strong black woman’ like a badge of honour. But that badge can be the gateway to burnout. It stops us from resting, from saying we’re not okay.”
When asked why she focuses particularly on black and minority women, Johnson explains that while all women face burnout, she can relate to why it affects women like her more. “The workforce for healthcare is majority black and brown,” she says.
“We silence ourselves because we want to fit in or keep on going. We are conditioned culturally to do so.”
An insightful, thought-provoking listen, the two women also talk about grief and how it pushed them both to face their emotions, and using coping mechanisms to help with burnout and the importance of “acknowledging where it hurts”.
(By Sara Keenan)
3. Made By Mammas: The Podcast
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Family
It’s been six years since hosts Zoe Hardman and Georgia Dayton last spoke to content creator Kerri Northcott on Made By Mammas: The Podcast, which is a community of parents looking for non-judgemental advice.
In this week’s episode, Northcott updates Hardman and Dayton about what mum life looks like now with 11-year-old daughter Ivy, and discusses the things you need to consider before your child starts secondary school.
Northcott also opens up about Ivy’s dyslexia and emotions, from anxiety, low self-esteem and why she’s masking her feelings in the classroom, and how she’s partnering with her school to best support her.
It was insightful listening to Hardman, Dayton and Northcott talk about why we shouldn’t always look to our parents for healing, home schooling, the difficulties that come with watching your child struggle, and her fertility journey.
If you are a mum or mum-to-be, Made By Mammas: The Podcast is a safe space for you to figure things out with other parents.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)
4. Matt & Mollie’s Novel Idea
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms
Genre: Arts and books
Matt Edmondson and Mollie King are best known these days as Radio 1 presenters, but some may also remember King from her time in The Saturdays pop group and Edmondson from The Xtra Factor Live. But I think it’s safe to say you won’t have considered either of them as authors – until now.
Novel Idea is the duo’s new podcast in which they take turns writing a chapter of a novel without consulting each other on the plot. Alongside their trusty narrator, Steffan Powell, they throw themselves into the world of murder mystery in an effort to create the perfect story. But despite their on-air chemistry, their visions are far from aligned.
The first episode sees Edmondson take the helm, introducing us to the protagonist, Detective Chalk, and setting the scene for what promises to be a chaotic, fun and baffling plot.
By the end, King is more than ready to bring her own style to chapter two. But how will she develop Edmondson’s groundwork, including hints at past tragedies and the mysterious DI Brie Roquefort?
The “Chalk and Cheese” dynamic of the characters is reflected in the authors’ ideas, making for a brilliantly addictive listen. Oh, and the final chapter remains unwritten, giving listeners the chance to have their say in the conclusion.
(By Rachel Howard)
5. The Best Is Yet To Come
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms
Genre: Life and interview
To coincide with turning 90, Sir John Tusa has launched his new interview podcast series, The Best Is Yet To Come, where he speaks to well-known nonagenarians, including Lord Michael Heseltine and Dame Antonia Fraser, about their lives, their work and the world they find themselves in today.
In the debut episode, Tusa’s godson Rory Stewart – also the co-host of The Rest Is Politics – interviews his godfather about everything, from becoming the founding host of Newsnight, to leaving Czechoslovakia as a child for Britain to escape the Nazis.
It’s not often you get to listen to people in their 90s reflect on the life they created from themselves, so it was really fascinating hearing Tusa draw from centuries of lived experience as tables turn.
Stewart and Tusa also discuss the joy and perspective ageing brings, how his upbringing shaped him, fondest childhood moments and living through major events, including the Cold War, the threat of nuclear annihilation, and an economic crash.
If you are looking for a podcast that gets into history, depth, philosophy and experience, then The Best Is Yet To Come is for you.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)