A chance encounter fom the past in 'All The Best', tech show 'Reply All' solves online mysteries and tells stories of internet life, find otherworldly laughs in 'This Paranormal Life', and 'The Soundtrack Show' explores the role music plays in creating the fictional universe of our favourite films.

The Podcast Hour for Saturday 3rd August 2019

'The Soundtrack Show' looks at the role that music plays in creating the fictional universe in some of our favourite films. From Jaws to Star Wars, from Psycho to Jurassic Park...and beyond! We play a clip from the first of three episodes devoted to the first part of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of The Ring (2001), with a film score written by composer Howard Shore. And 'The Soundtrack Show' is hosted by David Collins.

'The Soundtrack Show': the music in our favourite films

Do you believe in aliens, or doubt that the Moon Landings ever took place? Me neither...but I didn't let that stop me from enjoying 'This Paranormal Life'! We share an excerpt from episode 67 of 'This Paranormal Life' called 'Murderous Bunny Man Escapes Asylum' presented by Rory Powers and Kit Grier.

'This Paranormal Life': otherwordly laughs

For some reason Ben can't listen to one of his favourite podcasts, 99% Invisible with Roman Mars, on the car stereo of his Mazda. But why?! We play some of 'The Roman Mars Mazda Virus', episode 140 of 'Reply All' from Gimlet Media hosted by PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman.

'Reply All': tech mysteries

Have you ever got an unexpected message or a social media notification from a name from your past? One day Stephen got a Facebook alert from somebody very special to him, who he'd lost contact with 27 years before. We share some of Carey Scheer's story 'The Only Hole In My Life' produced by Tegan Nicholls and Selena Shannon, as featured on the 'All The Best' podcast.

Chance encounters: 'All The Best'

'When We Got To The Seventh' is a quirky fiction show [1:54-13:57], having fun with self improvement in 'Personal Best' [14:01-25:19], celebrating life's simple pleasures in 'The Pleasures of Brecht' [25:19-38:28], and where does the idea of pink for girls and blue for boys from? 'Every Little Thing' has the answer [38:28:-47:28].

The Podcast Hour for Saturday 27th July 2019

Where did the idea of the colour blue for boys and pink for girls actually come from? It's a question listener Elle Ve poses on the 'Every Little Thing' helpline and it sends host Flora Lichtmann down a rabbit hole of discovery. We play some of an episode of 'Every Little Thing' from Gimlet Media called 'Pink for Girls, Blue for Boys - Why?', and the show is hosted by Flora Lichtmann and also made by Annette Heist and Phoebe Flanigan.

Pink for girls? 'Every Little Thing'

After years of exile from Germany through the Second World War, in 1954 the German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht wrote a simple poem called Vergnügungen or a list of pleasures. 'The Pleasures of Brecht' is produced by Phil Smith who also composed the music (and recorded it in Brecht's house in Germany), and is a Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4, and it appeared in its 'Seriously...' podcast.

Celebrating life's simple pleasures: 'The Pleasures of Brecht'

Have you ever wanted to be a better You?! 'Personal Best' is a Canadian show playing around with the expectations and the conventions of the self help genre. Your life coaches and spirit guides in this quest to be the best are Rob Norman and Andrew Norton. In an episode called 'How To Master The Art of Persuasion' they take on the case of Colleen, who's offered to sell her brother-in-law's paintings but has omitted to mention she's got zero experience and a naturally retiring personality! 'Personal Best' from The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is hosted by Rob Norman and Andrew Norton, and produced by Jess Shane and Yasmine Mathurin.

Having fun with self help: 'Personal Best'

Emma Clarke is a voiceover artist and 'When We Got To The Seventh' is her fiction podcast that revolves around an encounter with a seventh something: it could be a marriage, a planet, even a victim. We play some of an episode called 'I'm Just A Very Maternal Person', written and performed by Emma Clarke and produced by Eddie Delag.

'When We Got To The Seventh': a quirky fiction show

Designed to help you discover what to listen to next, host Richard Scott hunts out the best podcasts from New Zealand and around the world.

The Podcast Hour provides a wide and varied offering of podcasts from around the world from the serious to the hilarious. A great way to discover new and interesting pods - the only catch is you&#39;ll end up with a list of podcasts a mile long to listen to. Highly recommend!

From the serious to hilarious

The Podcast Hour

Conan O'Brien

Jeff Goldblum

The US talkshow host Conan O'Brien worked as a comedy writer for Saturday Night Live and on The Simpsons before getting his own show back in 1993. In November he started his podcast 'Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend' and we play some of his interview with the actor, jazz musician, and Renaissance Man, Jeff Goldblum. 'Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend' is produced by Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley, and thanks to Matt and Adam Sachs for helping us to share it.

Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend: Jeff Goldblum

David Tennant

Olivia Colman

He's probably best known for playing Doctor Who, or for his role as a dishevelled detective in Broadchurch...now the Scottish actor David Tennant's got his own podcast too! His first guest is his friend, fellow Broadchurch star, and now Oscar winner Olivia Colman. And she's bracingly forthright, funny and potty-mouthed about her path into acting, the challenges of fame, and how she copes with life in the 24/7 goldfish bowl enabled by smartphones and social media. Sounding and feeling very much like eavesdropping on a chat between mates, it's full of lovely revelations too: like how she once ate a cigarette butt in an audition, how she can do a mean Scottish accent, and how she played a great trick on Emma Stone in The Favourite using a damp sponge. 'David Tennant Does a Podcast with...Olivia Colman' (A Somethin' Else and No Mystery production).

'David Tennant Does A Podcast with...Olivia Colman'

Tracy Hall had been separated from her husband for over a year when she first met a man called Max Tavita via a dating app. He seemed witty, charming, intelligent, and attractive....a successful investment advisor with a sensitive side. He'd also been struck by terrible tragedy: he told her that as a 6-year-old he'd been in a plane crash that killed his parents, and left him an orphan. And then there was his job in New York...he apparently worked in the World Trade Centre, knew lots of people who died on 9-11, and had been walking underneath the Twin Towers when the first plane hit. But in 'Who The Hell is Hamish?' from 'The Australian' newspaper (presented by Greg Bearup) it becomes clear that Max Tavita isn't who he says he is.

Tracking a serial conman: 'Who The Hell is Hamish?'

Getting to grips with language in 'The Allusionist', the 'IRL' podcast asks how technology's changing the way we read, and 'Switched On Pop' goes deep on today's biggest pop hits.

The Podcast Hour for Saturday 6 April 2019

Back in 1978 the bodies of two British backpackers were found in the sea off the Guatemalan coast in central America. It was obvious that Chris Farmer and Peta Frampton had been been murdered, but for nearly 40 years nobody was arrested over their killings. In 'Paradise', Stephen Nolan and Dan Maudsley try to get to the truth of who killed Chris and Peta. We play some of Episode 2 of Paradise from BBC Radio 5 Live called Death In Paradise.

'Paradise': The unsolved murder of 2 British backpackers

Freddie Mercury is one of the inspiring figures explored on 'Great Lives', 'WTF with Marc Maron' hits 1000 episodes, 'Movie Reviews in 20Qs' is a film podcast made in a Bay of Plenty garage, and 'The Pineapple Project' wants to help you crush work meetings.

The Podcast Hour for Saturday 27 April 2019

Imagine getting right into the middle of a true story developing around you while you're listening. That's the narrative approach taken in' The Untold', a BBC show telling stories about life in modern Britain. Its team of producers seem to have a super power! They're able to find people going through significant life events, and persuade them to talk about it all while it's still happening. We play some of an episode called 'Be My Baby' from 'The Untold', presented by Grace Dent and produced by Sarah Bowen for BBC Radio 4. We also speak to Sarah Bowen, who's been working on the show since it started 3 years and about 100 episodes ago, about The Untold's distinctive approach to audio storytelling.

'The Untold': taking listeners inside life-changing stories

Over 14 episodes of 'Seeing White' from 'Scene on Radio', former radio reporter turned academic John Biewen enlists prominent historians, thinkers and writers (including his friend Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika) to take the idea of 'Whiteness' in modern US society, and explore where ideas about race come from, and what they mean today.

A powerful history of Whiteness and race: 'Scene on Radio'

Ever wondered what high-profile Australians are like as parents? Comedian and mother-of-two Terri Psiakis coaxes some into sharing their parenting tips and fessing up to some of the challenges and the failures in the new ABC Radio show Parental Guidance Recommended. Richard Scott takes a listen.

Parental Guidance Recommended: parenting tips from famous Aussies

Word nerds, Scrabble geeks, and language freaks are going to enjoy 'Something Rhymes with Purple'! Maggie Hough emailed me at pods@rnz.co.nz about it, as it's one of her favourite shows. It's an informative and amusing look at language hosted by two word nerds, Susie Dent and Gyles Brandreth, who are also regulars on the long-running British quiz show 'Countdown'. We share an episode where they reflect on whips, filibusters, and some of the other strange expressions used around Parliament. And 'Something Rhymes With Purple' is hosted by Susie Dent and Gyles Brandreth and produced by Paul Smith for Somethin' Else.

Word nerd? Try 'Something Rhymes with Purple'

Almost 50 years ago, in July 1969, the US astronauts Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong went to the Moon on Apollo 11 and then all safely came back to Earth again. A new BBC series called '13 Minutes To The Moon' reconsiders the moon landing and how close it came to failure. We play some of Episode 1 called 'We Choose to Go' and speak to the show's host, Kevin Fong. '13 Minutes to the Moon' is presented by Kevin Fong and produced by Andrew Luck-Baker for the BBC World Service.

'13 Minutes to the Moon': the moon landing reconsidered

David Walliams

His children's books have sold more than 25 million copies in just 10 years. As well as being a writer, he's an actor, comedian, talent show judge, and a long-distance swimmer: so is there anything that David Walliams can't do?! Well now he can add 'podcaster' to his CV too, with 'David Walliams' Marvellous Musical Podcast' from Classic FM.

David Walliams' Marvellous Musical Podcast

'The Beautiful Brain' (Audible) is a series about the brain and how it gets affected by the sports we play. The show focusses on the degenerative brain condition called CTE (short for chronic traumatic encephalopathy) which shows up in an increased risk of dementia, problems with memory, depression, aggression and personality changes. We play some of Episode 2 of 'The Beautiful Brain' called 'An Inconvenient Truth' featuring interviews with Dr Bennett Omalu, the man who made the breakthrough linking CTE to repeated blows to the head in sport back in 2002, and Ann McKee, the director of Boston University's CTE Center.

'The Beautiful Brain': head injuries and sport

Featuring 'The Shrink Next Door', 'Inside The Comedian with David Reed', 'True Crime New Zealand' and 'Borrowed'.

The Podcast Hour for Saturday 29 June 2019

'The Document' explores how to cover a free solo climb of a 1000 metre vertical rockface, and speaks to the doco maker who profiled a homicidal African dictator. 'The Untold' takes listeners right Into the middle of life-changing stories. Finally, 'Nancy' presents a variety of stories about "queer experience today".

The Podcast Hour for Saturday 25 May 2019

Even if you worry about using your smartphone too much, the idea of simply unplugging or ditching it altogether just isn't an option for most of us. So how can we strike the right balance between our tech usage and important stuff like interacting with our family, friends and the world around us when we're not looking at a screen? It's a topic the 'Outside' podcast gets into in a new 4-part series called 'The Nature Cure'. In the first episode, Christopher Keyes speaks to digital minimalist Cal Newport, who wants us to radically re-imagine our relationship with technology.

Digital downsizing? The 'Outside' podcast

Overthinkers unite in 'Adrift'. 'A Way With Words' explores interesting words and phrases. 'Brexitcast' gives you a behind-the-scenes view of Brexit. And 'Here Be Monsters' offers an anxiety-laden look into our fears.

The Podcast Hour for Saturday 8 June 2019

The podcast poet: 'Have You Heard George's Podcast?' aims for social change. 'Backlisted' brings new life to old books. 'Conversations With People Who Hate Me' introduces online haters to their targets. Finally, 'Words To That Effect' looks at how big ideas enter the popular imagination through books and film.

The Podcast Hour for Saturday 1 June 2019

The English language is full of weird and wonderful words and 'The Allusionist' (Radiotopia) delights in finding the stories behind them and discovering how we're using language today. We share some of episode called 'Yes, As In' that speaks to people with unusual names, and chat to host Helen Zaltzman about her podcasting past, and what it's like to take the show on the road (she's in New Zealand next week for 3 live shows).

Getting to grips with language: 'The Allusionist'

The best podcasts on investing. For anyone interested in the stories in the investing industry, whether it's an interview with Ray Dalio or Ed Thorp to the writer of The Big Short. This topic includes the most fascinating stories from all the best investors. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Investing Podcasts

The best philosophy podcast episodes. Asking questions about how to live a better life, what it means to be and do good, to the idea of God. This topic includes episodes that bring about important questions that everyone should be asking themselves. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!