1. Hold or Fold

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Society

Hosts Ben Jones and Steve Girling are recovered gambling addicts, both having experienced imprisonment as a result.

Each week, the pair have candid conversations, sharing personal experiences and expert insight that brings awareness to gambling disorder and its harrowing consequences.

This week, the two explored how gambling addiction affects families and communities, known as ‘affected others’. Guests Rebecca Jones and Julie Martin discussed their experiences as affected others, from Jones’s partner being suspended from work whilst she was on maternity leave, to Martin’s experience of coercive control.

Jones works as a ‘Lived Experience Manager for Affected Others’ at GamCare, hoping to be a reliable voice for those impacted by gambling. “For every one person that gambles there’s six to 10 people in their network who are directly impacted by that gambling harm,” she says.

Martin has become a prominent figure in the gambling recovery community. She was an affected other in a 25-year marriage, which ended with her partner committing suicide in front of her and her son.

Ben Jones and Steve Girling offer a non-judgmental space for their guests to open up, while sharing useful links and recommendations throughout. This episode is a saddening insight into the ripple effect of gambling addiction.

(By Lara Owen)

2. Choice Words with Samantha Bee

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Entertainment and life

In the latest episode of Lemonada’s Choice Words with Samantha Bee, the comedian and writer Bee chats with actress Yvette Nicole Brown.

Bee starts the conversation by talking to Brown about how we make choices in life and how they impact our future. She asks Brown, who is also the host of Squeezed with Yvette Nicole Brown – another Lemonada-produced podcast – what sort of decision-maker she is.

Brown admits that when it’s a decision that impacts someone else, she can make it almost immediately. But when it comes to deciding for herself, she can be a “waffler” and struggles to decisively know if it’s the right thing for her.

The pair also talk about who they seek counsel from. For Brown, it’s God, her new husband – they reconnected after her mother died – and the brilliant men and women she has in her life.

They then speak about billionaires, the caretaking crisis and the responsibilities we all have to each other.

If you want to learn more about how to make better choices, Choice Words with Samantha Bee may help.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

3. The SheerLuxe Podcast

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Fashion

In this week’s episode, Louise Roe is joined by author and podcast host Josh Smith, along with Sarah Templeman (better known as Hodge), head of broadcasting at SheerLuxe. They dive into a range of topics, from male allies and the new Snow White movie featuring Rachel Zegler, to the best mug shape.

The podcast’s spontaneous nature, makes it feel fun, conversational, and, most importantly, relatable.

It’s similar to those cherished late-night chats that you have with your close friends over a bottle of wine, where you discuss everything under the sun. Conversations which are random, wide-ranging, full of detours, and, of course, plenty of laughs.

To kick off spring, they share their top beauty and fashion recommendations in classic SheerLuxe fashion, while celebrating the return of trench coat weather.

They also touch on the impact Netflix’s new Adolescence show has had, the decline of nightclubs, and what they’re most excited to see in the theatre.

If you’re after a fast-paced, chatty podcast that keeps you updated on the latest trends, news, and gossip, then this is definitely one to check out.

(By Camilla Foster)

4. Pack Your Bags with Russell Kane

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

 Genre: Travel

What are your three must-pack items when you travel? It’s a question comedian and actor Russell Kane asks his celebrity guests on his podcast, Pack Your Bags with Russell Kane.

In each episode, Kane also speaks to them about their travel psychology, personality traits, emotional baggage, and most memorable travel moments, allowing them to uncover how their adventures (and misadventures) have shaped their lives.

And since the success of season one, Pack Your Bags with Russell Kane is back for a new season, in celebration of spring and the upcoming holiday season.

In this week’s episode, before Kane chats to comedian, actor and self-proclaimed travel expert Rob Beckett, they discuss a travel dilemma that has been sent in by a listener.

Beckett then explains his confusion over parents choosing to take their kids skiing during half-term and reveals the first of his three items: rainbow-patterned Crocs – “the ultimate shoe for holidays with kids,” Beckett admits.

If you want to know more about what it’s like holidaying with a celebrity, Pack Your Bags with Russell Kane is just the podcast for you.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

5. We’re Your Girls

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Entertainment, comedy and society

Best friends Taryn and Tiffani talk about life, love and all the messy and magical bits in between on their podcast We’re Your Girls.

Aside from the endless laughter, the latest episode hosted by the American duo addressed why you shouldn’t ask women if they are pregnant, spray tans, pageantries, what they really think about sororities and their structure, going to university later in life and grappling with the idea of being left behind.

But the heart of the episode was all about community, and why we tend to realise the importance of community when we don’t have one.

Taryn and Tiffani also talk about loneliness being a contributing factor and why though it’s important to be surrounded by friends and family, we also have to take responsibility for our contentment and have an abundance of love for ourselves too.

We’re Your Girls is a hilarious podcast that explores every aspect of our day-to-day lives, and encourages listeners to actively find their community.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)