Top 5: More Podcasts To Listen To

I've done a podcast recommendation post before, but I listen to so many, and their popularity just seems to keep increasing; so I figured it was a good time to chat about some more of my favourites.

Call Your Girlfriend

If you're female and on the internet you've probably already heard of CYG; but if you haven't its essentially a chat between best friends Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow. They chat about everything from the Kardashians and US politics to periods; and are pretty amazing career ladies in their own right (Ann's newsletter is really worth subscribing too here). They also interview awesome ladies like Tavi Gevinson, Melinda Gates and Hillary Clinton's campaign head Huma Abedin. 

The New Statesman Podcast

The New Statesman is one of my favourite places for political journalism; it tends to be left-leaning but covers both national and international issues with opinion pieces across the political spectrum. The podcast is led by Helen Lewis, Stephen Bush and George Eaton, and they discuss current goings-on in UK politics and beyond. It's a really great way of staying updated with current affairs and getting a bit of interesting analysis on them too.

SRSLY

Also produced by The New Statesman, this is a show fronted by Caroline Crampton and Anna Leszkiewicz that focuses on all things pop culture. From television shows to music and books, Caroline and Anna just discuss current popular items and the things that they enjoy without any kind of guilt. 

Another Round

Another Round is a Buzzfeed-produced podcast presented by Tracy Clayton and Heben Nigatu. They discuss a range of issues around race (which is really insightful for someone who has not experienced any kind of race stereotypes), and also interview a range of really interesting people including Hamilton composer, star & the internet's current crush Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Bahraini human rights campaigner Maryam Al-Khawaja and current Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. Despite the depth of the issues covered, this is also laugh out loud funny.

The West Wing Weekly

This is a new podcast, but I'm including it because it just makes me so happy. I love The West Wing for all its flaws; it's such an engaging and smart show and I wish that politics was half as optimistic as the way its portrayed by Sorkin. This new podcast is basically a commentary on each episode of the show and is presented by journalist/megafan Hrishikesh Hirway and Joshua Malina, who starred on the show. I just love an excuse to revisit my love for this show; and I'm just hoping that UK Netflix will start streaming it again soon.

Amy
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Apologies for the formatting nightmare on this post, who knows what Blogger is up to at the minute!

Current Favourites

(Can you tell my concealer exploded over my make-up bag?)

So, I haven't done a favourites post in a couple of months, and after a bit of a iffy few weeks (in which I lost my debit card, lost my SD card and certain government actions made me want to cry) I thought it would be nice to put together a little list of things I've been enjoying.

Bourjois Air Matte Foundation

I'm forever on the hunt to find a foundation that I can put on and just feel really happy with. One of my real favourites is the L'Oreal Infallible Matte foundation, but I have to use it sparingly as it appears my skin is not quite as crazy about it. This new release from Bourjois has impressed me a fair bit though. Although it does run a tad yellow (like most of the brand's foundations) and is attracted to dryness; it lasts really well even on my oily skin and doesn't feel or look cakey which is something I always hate when my skin isn't feeling too great.

Benefit They're Real Lash Primer

I got this as a sample with Elle magazine, and I'll admit to being a little sceptical at first. The They're Real mascara doesn't really work on my lashes, it tends to flake and leave my eyes feeling really irritated. However, this primer is seriously amazing. It can be worn by itself as a brown natural mascara which still gives really good length or as a first layer under pretty much any mascara. I'm a bit obsessed with giving my lashes length so I really, really love this.

Yankee Candle in Fireside Treats
It's a candle that smells like marshmallows. What's not to adore. I know I should probably be burning Christmas scents, but I like to use them after Christmas to try and keep the season going.

London Spy

I'm so hoping that some of you watch this, so I can talk conspiracy theories with you but London Spy is a definite favourite. It’s a new BBC drama starring Ben Whishaw as Danny who has a chance encounter with investment banker Alex (Edward Holfcroft). Alex is awkward and this appears to be his first proper relationship and they fall in love. Until Alex ends up dead inside a trunk in a sex attic, leaving Danny reeling. When he learns that Alex, real name Alistair, was actually worked for MI6 he is convinced of foul play and sets about trying to find out what really happened. It’s written by Tom Rob Smith who is the author of Child 44, and thus far I have literally no idea what is going on but the acting is seriously fantastic (and it’s one of those shows where literally everyone pops up) and it’s excellently filmed. [Edit: I wrote this prior to watching the last episode, which was SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT, let me know what you thought in the comments]

Master of None

This is Aziz Ansari of Parks & Rec fame’s very own series streaming on Netflix. It’s the story of Dev, an actor in New York as he attempts to negotiate the perils of adult life. There’s some great stuff about racism and immigration in it, and Ansari is a really engaging on-screen presence (although it’s pretty hard to tell where Dev ends and Aziz starts). Just fun watching, and a nice antidote to London Spy!

Hamilton

I'm kind of surprised that I haven’t mentioned this anywhere yet, but we need to talk about Hamilton. It’s a musical currently on Broadway which tells the story of the first Treasury Secretary of the United States, Alexander Hamilton, who was also the first politician embroiled in a sex scandal and was killed in a duel with long-time friend Aaron Burr. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also plays the titular character, it’s a hip-hop musical and stars mostly people of colour playing historically white characters. The lyrics are so smart and the music is catchy, the vocal performances are obviously all fantastic and you also learn a ton about the early days of the United States. You can listen to the cast album on Spotify, or download it from iTunes if you are properly keen. And then we can all cry together to “It’s Quiet Uptown”.

Welcome to Night Vale

This is a rediscovery favourite; I got into Welcome to Night Vale quite a while ago (I think when they had about 30 episodes) and then somehow fell out of habit of listening to them. Welcome to Night Vale is framed as a fictional local news station, but it’s quite clear that some very bizarre things are happening in Night Vale. It’s funny and completely weird.

The return of Serial
IT'S BACK. Whilst the first series focussed on a little known case, the new series features one that dominated American news last year, and judging by the comments on the Facebook page-one that many people still have strong feelings about. It's the story of Private Bergdahl who spent five years captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan and who was released in a prisoner swap for five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay. However, within days of his return to the US it was revealed that his disappearance was maybe a little more complicated, and he was accused of desertion and is currently awaiting court-martial by the army. It's pretty different to the first season, but I'm really intrigued in the media/government/army angle that this story is likely to have.

Amy
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