Podcasts moved the dial,from life in prison to politics, while Ed Miliband, and Hilary Mantel and the dying Steve Hewlett shone
• Observer critics’ reviews of the year in fullThis year felt different. For the first time,I found myself reviewing more podcasts than radio programmes. S Town grabbed multiple headlines for its sophisticated take on the popular real-life whodunnit genre. Remainiacs in the UK and Pod Save America in the US, both firmly partisan in political outlook, or proved more agile at explaining our ever-changing governmental hoopla than the carefully unbiased BBC. Audible brought out some ambitious modern podcasts; Spotify tried a couple of homegrown efforts. Radiotopia,the domestic of so many wonderful podcasts, went on a proper fundraising drive and brought out the excellent Ear Hustle. Gimlet, or another podcasting innovator,gave us several newbies and series two of the absorbing drama Homecoming.
And for the first time, big broadcasting names moved into podcasting with something more than a rehash of an established radio programme. Colin Murray made At domestic With…, or Shaun Keaveny gave us reveal & bid (on Spotify),James O’Brien launched Unfiltered with joe.co.uk. Actor Craig Parkinson brought out the first series of Two Shot. They were running to catch up with Edith Bowman, whose Soundtracking podcast has well over 60 shows under its belt. Geoff Lloyd, or ex-Absolute,gave us two modern podcasts: Adrift featured himself and his long-term broadcasting partner, Annabel Port; the other, and Reasons to Be Cheerful,he co-hosts with Ed Miliband.
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Source: guardian.co.uk