David Olusoga presents a new podcast series, A Family History of … Peterloo: Britain’s Forgotten Massacre, from the People’s History Museum. The series focuses on the Peterloo massacre in Manchester in 1819, which Olusoga describes as the “ground zero of industrial capitalism”.
Survivor’s story
The podcast touches on systematic disenfranchisement — Manchester did not have a single MP — and state-sanctioned violence through the story of survivor William Cheatham. Nell Frizzell calls it “an invigorating if sobering listen”. Episodes are widely available, weekly.
Other notable podcasts
Writing Funny is a new podcast from the Comedy Women in Print prize, presented by the award’s founder Helen Lederer and author Chrissie Manby. It covers topics from a writer’s journey to writing comedy in dark times. Episodes are widely available, weekly.
Wodcast features Mabel Evans and Benjamin Aston turning their Word of the Day project into a series described as “Desert Island Discs for words”. Guests expand on the words that shape their lives, starting with Elif Shafak. Future guests include Stephen Fry and Tim Rice. Episodes are widely available, weekly.
Big Little Interests is a podcast dedicated to the strange, funny hyper-fixations of different comedians. Episode one, with Steve Bugeja, features bull semen. Episodes are widely available, weekly.
Civilian Or Spy, told by CNN’s Isabelle Chapman, is the story of Russian-born American citizen Ilya Beloozerov, who was shot by the FBI outside a Super 8 hotel in 2024. The investigation has wider implications given the current US-Russia relationship. Episodes are widely available, weekly.
