This week’s podcasts are great examples of why we should listen to the stories people share – we can always learn something from them.

1. Hidden Histories with Nova Reid 

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: History and culture

Throughout history, Black women have significantly contributed to civil rights and resistance movements. However, for activist and author Nova Reid, these acts of liberation have often been mythologised, unknown, or completely erased.

It’s what led to the creation of her new Audible podcast, Hidden Histories with Nova Reid, where the work of unsung Black women who have created and shaped pivotal moments in world history, from the 18th to the 20th century, are brought to the forefront of our minds.

Reid was born in Britain, of Jamaican heritage, with lineage lost to slavery in West Africa, but admits that her relationship with Britain is complicated.

So the host starts the six-part series in Kingston, Jamaica, at a live music festival in a park, celebrating the 186th anniversary of Emancipation Day in Jamaica, on August 1.

Reid and her production team ask locals attending the celebration about the first Black woman being discussed in the podcast series, Queen Nanny, an early-18th-century freedom fighter and leader of the Jamaican Maroons – escaped slaves and the forerunners of Jamaican independence.

Using expert interviews, retracing the steps of Queen Nanny physically in Jamaica, and exploring her origin story, Reid gets closer to the heart of the “extraordinary” woman and why the work she did with the Jamaican Maroons is more significant than she remembered.

Hidden Histories with Nova Reid takes listeners on a journey of discovery and encourages listeners to think about the personal costs of being a pioneer.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

2. Science & Soul with Dr Kristen Holmes

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Health and wellbeing

When Dr Kristen Holmes, the global head of human performance and principal scientist at human performance company WHOOP, thinks about the current climate of the health and wellness industry, it doesn’t feel quiet at times.

With her Flight Studio-produced podcast Science & Soul with Dr Kristen Holmes, she hopes to help listeners better understand how to apply their physical effort to pursue the things that make them happy and proud of their lives.

The podcast will also explore the intersection between performance science and the human spirit.

The first episode features Dr Judith Joseph, a psychiatrist and researcher, who unpacks the silent struggles we all face, including stress, anxiety and burnout.

But the second episode – a solo one with Holmes – debunks some of the misconceptions that come with the term “performance” – we often associate this with elite athletes – and shares her own definition, which is all about building capacity.

She goes on to share how we can take control back of our physical bodies, and live a life filled with joy and energy, the key factors of human performance and how to leverage it.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

3. Mel & Sue Should Know by Now

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Comedy

You probably already have a decent idea of how much you’ll enjoy the new Mel & Sue Should Know By Now podcast.

Surprisingly, it’s nine years since former The Great British Bake Off hosts and long-time double act Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins have co-presented a show, but their friendship has clearly endured.

The premise of the reunion is to take turns admitting to any blind spots in their knowledge they’re embarrassed not to have addressed sooner, while the other researches the topic and fills in the blanks.

The podcast is full of in-jokes, anecdotes and moments where neither can speak for laughing so hard at themselves. In the first episode, there’s even a surprise cameo from former Bake Off judge Dame Mary Berry when Sue admits that, despite seven series in the tent with baking guru Paul Hollywood, she still doesn’t understand the science of bread-making.

Cue jokes comparing how yeast works to two brothers with flatulence, and you’ll have a flavour of how the series plays out – nothing is off-limits.

If you love Mel and Sue, you’ll likely adore this podcast, although its intense, babbling and often surreal stream of consciousness may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

(By Amy Crowther)

4. Icebergs

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Culture, comedy and society

Icebergs is the new podcast hosted by American comedian Kemah Bob about the endless journey to finding ourselves, and what it really means to have self-confidence, self-acceptance and self-love.

Throughout the podcast series, Bob will be exploring the inner workings of some of her favourite people, and speak to them about who they are, how they got that way and how they feel about it.

To get things started, Bob dedicates an entire episode to introducing herself to her new audience and explains the intentions behind Icebergs: to find herself, her friends and her chosen family.

Before Bob welcomes British comedian and writer Sophie Duker to the first episode, she talks about procrastination, determination, adulting, and recognising when we are the most productive.

Bob asked Duker to bring a photo of the moment when she was “the most fu—– happy” – she brought more than one – and they went on to discuss the impact of grief and heartbreak, what keeps her grounded when life gets really busy, and her limiting beliefs.

Bob also speaks to Duker about stand-up comedy, why it’s important to have ease and safety on stage, and what it was like attending Oxford University – Duker studied French and English at Wadham College.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

Spotlight on…

5. Journey Through Time

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: History