Top podcast of the week: New Order’s resurgence following the disbandment of Joy Division

This week’s picks

The origins of Cush Jumbo
Widely available, with weekly episodes
Cush Jumbo is always a joy to be around during press appearances for her films (The Good Wife, Criminal Record, Hamlet), but she’s just as great now that the tables have been turned for her first podcast. She talks to stars like Kate Nash, Harlan Coben, and David Schwimmer about their origin stories, and in episode one, she interviews Anna Wintour, who says she hates people who are ambivalent and recalls being fired from Harper’s Bazaar for not being able to pin a dress on. Holly Richardson

Rebellious Spirit
Widely available, with weekly episodes
Comedian Akila Hughes returns to her Kentucky hometown and takes on a light-hearted yet serious mission: changing her high school’s racist mascot from a Confederate general to a biscuit. Can she drag her school into the modern era? And what will the change mean for her and the other students? Hannah Verdier

Sarah and Cariad’s Weird Book Club
Widely available, with weekly episodes
For those who don’t fancy discussing books over cheese and wine, Sara Pascoe and Carrier Lloyd have gone beyond the usual selections for the second season of their book club. First up is Róisín Conaty’s Standard Deviation, a lovely novel by Katherine Haney about an mismatched couple doing their best to raise children. HV

Then and Now
Widely available, with weekly episodes
Would parenting and childhood have been better when Babatunde and Leonie Aleche were younger? The couple’s new podcast looks at the changes in parenting and is packed with laughs and chemistry. Babatunde is a comedian, but his wife is no less, and doesn’t hesitate to poke fun when needed. HV

Transmission: The Definitive Story of Joy Division and New Order
Widely available, with weekly episodes
Fans of New Order are in for a treat with this second season, which tells the story of the band’s journey “from black and white to color” with “Power, Corruption & Lies.” Band members and famous fans tell incredible stories about working with Arthur Baker, absorbing the beginnings of Ibiza dance culture, and the new era that saw the birth of World in Motion become a reality. HV

There is a podcast

this week, Graham Virtue 5 best podcasts Science fictionfrom alternate Marvel universes to star-studded tech thrillers.

Escape Pod
The sci-fi stories featured on Escape Pod often depict dizzying or unsettling futures. But this treasure trove of lovely speculative fiction is almost prehistoric for a podcast that first launched in 2005. Each episode delivers a mix of original short stories and fiction gleaned from other sci-fi mediums, delivered in a no-frills audiobook style. With episodes averaging 30 minutes in length, you could cycle through the rise and fall of an entire galactic empire in the time it takes to walk a dog. The back catalogue of over 900 stories is mind-boggling (here Where to start), but the Escape Pod has never lost its DIY origins.

Ad Rusem
The world of podcasts is a treasure trove of sci-fi audio dramas with impressive sound design and at least one big Hollywood star. The sleek yet unsettling conspiracy thriller Ad Lucem is a cutting-edge example, though its dark themes and occasional expletives may not be for everyone. Set on the eve of a transformative technology launch in 2032, its roots lie in the touch-deprived trauma of a pandemic. The show asks the question: What if a voice assistant could hug you? Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine and co-creator Troian Bellisario star in the lead roles, but veterans Fiona Shaw and Clancy Brown also deliver flawless supporting performances.

Read by LeVar Burton
Actor and director LeVar Burton (pictured above) will forever be associated with science fiction after his lengthy role in Star Trek: The New Generation. But before he played chief engineer Geordi La Forge, Burton hosted the US educational television show Reading Rainbow, helping to improve literacy for generations of primary school children. These two careers came together in LeVar Burton Reads, a collection of fantastical short stories that ran for over 200 episodes before wrapping up earlier this year (finishing with a Ray Bradbury classic). As you’d expect, Burton is a skilled and emotive storyteller, and at the end of each story he also offers his own reactions and reflections, adding to the haunting intimacy of each one.

Marvel’s Wastelanders
Tired of superheroes in spandex? Good news. In the world of Wastelanders, most of the Avengers are brutally killed in a surprise attack. Decades later, the United States is a patchwork of villain-ruled fiefdoms in a post-apocalyptic world. This Mad Max version of the Marvel Universe is the grim backdrop for a vivid character study of five aging survivors. Goofy space cops Star-Lord (Timothy Busfield), a bitter circus act Hawkeye (Stephen Lang), The Lone Spy Black Widow (Susan Sarandon), the angry loner Wolverine (Robert Patrick) And the tyrant sidelined Doom (Dylan Baker) The immersive worlds and rich satirical humor make each series enjoyable even before the ragtag band of misfits teams up. One last time.

Clarks World Magazine
In the 1940s, science fiction magazines began publishing stories that popularized the genre. Fast forward to today, and science fiction magazines have largely replaced the mainstream of the 1970s. Asimov’s science fiction Digital Anthology Lightspeed Magazine – Create an audio spin-off. Clarks World Magazine The podcast offers a wide scope that broadens the horizons of science fiction and fantasy stories, often shedding light on international tales in translation. Episodes range from 10-minute snapshots to multi-part novellas, and if there’s a captivating sense that anything could happen, Kate Baker, the podcast’s host and narrator since 2009, provides a consistent, delightful flow.

Give it a try…

• Football Weekly presenter Max Rushden teams up with comedian David O’Doherty What did you do yesterday? So they ask their famous friends how they’ve spent the last 24 hours.

• Miracle Ranch, a California wellness center, promises its patients better, healthier lives through an “alkaline diet.” Chameleon: Doctor Miracle It details the fatal consequences.

• BBC satire Everything is news It pairs a former diplomatic correspondent (played by real-life journalist-turned-comedian Helen Price) with a fallen cabinet minister (actor Michael Clarke) to critique the “centrist dad podcast” genre.

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