5 new podcasts to listen to this week

This week’s podcast picks understand the art of conversation.

1. gist. The Pod

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Life and relationships

If you want to have a conversation that reaches beyond surface level, a few ingredients are needed, according to husband and wife duo Isaac and Lowellyn Peters – no filters, no small talk. Just real gist.

Gist is a Nigerian-English term usually used to describe general chit-chat and gossip. But for the Peters, also founders of conversation card game, gist The Game, it’s defined “as having intentional conversations”.

In honour of this, the pair have now launched gist. The Pod, a new bi-weekly podcast series where the hosts slow down and actually talk about everything from love, marriage and culture, to healing, growth – and the things they’re still figuring out in real time.

The first episode open with, “What is the question or answer that confirmed you wanted to be together?” and sets the tone for the rest of the couple’s rich, yet tender, conversation.

They discuss the genesis of their relationship, fatherhood, family politics, the wounds of ‘church hurt’, and the hoops they had to jump through to build the relationship they have today.

It’s moving to hear Isaac – also a poet – admit marrying Lowellyn meant that he had to “grow”, and her open up about the insecurities she once grappled within their relationship.

One question can change everything and gist. The Pod is a true testament of that. If you enjoy deep, authentic and meaningful conversations, then this podcast is a must listen.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

2. British Scandal

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: True crime

The Post Office scandal has already been dissected across news bulletins, documentaries and an award-winning ITV drama, yet British Scandal still finds a way to make it seem like breaking news.

This four-part series doesn’t chase shock for its own sake; instead, it lets the weight of the injustice accumulate.

What makes the storytelling effective is the hosts’ refusal to flatten the story into a single villain or heroic arc. Alice Levine and Matt Forde focus on the human cost of institutional stubbornness: shopkeepers who lost livelihoods, reputations and years of their lives because a computer system was treated as gospel.

Each episode deepens the sense that this was not a technical error but a moral failure, sustained by bureaucracy and pride.

Despite the dramatisation within the voice acting, there isn’t need to rewrite the facts into melodrama, as they’re damning enough. The series excels at pacing – revealing how long the truth took to surface, and how exhausting it was for those forced to prove their innocence.

Finishing the series with an interview with the barrister that defended the postmasters in court doesn’t leave you angry but unsettled, reminding you how ossified bureaucracy can cause immense harm when no one questions it.

(By Lara Owen)

3. The Slow Down

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Wellbeing

The Slow Down podcast is hosted by Forbes 30 under 30, TEDx speaker and founder Tijana Tamburić as it delves into personal stories, advice and tools for ‘redefining success’ on your own terms and ditching ‘hustle culture’.

Tamburić’s guests include Ben Branson, founder of drinks brand Seedlip, and neurodiversity charity The Hidden 20%.

The episode starts with Branson opening up about his childhood – growing up on a farm, he was “surrounded by hard work and nature” and he has carried his love for the outdoors into adulthood and also family life.

He also reveals his struggles at boarding school and how inclination to “self-destruct” and gamble with his life.

It was when he was 25 and ended up in intensive care in India after previous stints in rehab that Branson decided to go sober and realised that he was “meant to be alive”.

Following on from this, he then founded Seedlip to offer proper non-alcoholic options to people, as well as his own neurodivergent charity after being diagnosed with ADHD and autism.

The pair also talk about the importance of having hobbies and slowing things down in a society that is so goals and outcome-focused.

(By Sara Keenan)

4. Nip Tuck

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Wellbeing

If you live for celebrity gossip and the latest cultural chaos, Nip Tuck might be your new go-to podcast.

In this week’s unfiltered episode, best friends Ashley Stobart and Lauren Harris kick things off with the explosive Beckham family drama that has recently dominated headlines, before diving into the controversy over entrepreneur and podcaster Steven Bartlett’s comments on declining birth rates. No opinions are spared, and listeners are also treated to insider rumours along the way.

The energetic, outspoken duo leave no stone unturned, letting conversations roam freely – from meal deals to Grok AI deepfakes to make-up must-haves.

Drawing on their own experiences, they also tackle listener dilemmas, sharing advice on protecting your energy and nurturing long-lasting friendships.

Their own strong bond and vibrant personalities shine throughout this unapologetically raw and delightfully rambling podcast.

Nip Tuck is perfect for a light-hearted laugh and provides a refreshingly honest opinions on the weird and wonderful world around us.

(By Camilla Foster)

5. The Shelf Conversation

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Wellbeing

The Shelf Conversation is a podcast hosted by NHS clinical pharmacist Kwame Osei Owusu.

In each episode, Owusu sits down with health professionals to discuss all things mental health.

In this week’s episode, he is joined by father, osteopath and army veteran Albert Yaw Obeng – who admits he’s a bit nervous at the start – to talk about moving to the UK aged 18, his journey into the British military and the reality of post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans.

Obeng opens up about feeling lost after his deployment in Afghanistan, believing there is a lack of pastoral care in the military, and not feeling able to show weakness after a knee surgery whilst serving.

Even though Obeng left the armed forces more than a decade ago, he talks about how being in the army can change you, how military culture can shape silence around mental health, impacting emotional health and wellbeing.

If you are looking for a new podcast that navigates important topics with grace and sensitivity, then The Shelf Conversation should be your next listen.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)