Pick of the week
Why Are You More Successful Than Me?
Make sure you’re sitting down for this. Richard Bacon’s new show manages to be that rarest of things: a video podcast that’s just as good to listen to as it is to watch. This is a celebrity interview series that is, disappointingly, not quite as confrontational as the title suggests. Instead, it’s a welcoming chat which sees the presenter sit down with the likes of Elizabeth Day, Gary Lineker and Dexter Fletcher to talk through how they made it so big. Alexi Duggins
Widely available, episodes weekly
Pretty Tough
Into the venn overlap of “female empowerment” and “nattering with celebrities” arrives former tennis perfectionist Maria Sharapova with an amiable Vox Media show that seems squarely aimed at women who happily set their alarms for 5am. Her first guest is actor Zoe Saldaña (pictured), who speaks candidly about her tough upbringing. Hannah J Davies
Widely available, episodes weekly
The Big Five
Canadian musicians Donovan Woods and Tom Power host a gameshow that revolves round naming the “big five” of a chosen category. It’s the kind of lighthearted chatathon that is probably marginally more fun to record than it is to listen to – but who could resist “the big five cartoon dogs”? HJD
Widely available, episodes weekly
World of Secrets: Searching for Soldier Dad
An excellent podcast from the BBC World Service on the droves of illegitimate children fathered by British soldiers in Nanyuki, Kenya. A team of lawyers, journalists and a geneticist unpick this paternity scandal to ask whether relationships between these men and their children’s mothers were inherently problematic, and to track them down. HJD
Widely available, episodes weekly
Ethically Questionable
What impact on your environmental footprint does your choice of partner have? In this new series, sustainability expert Jamila Brown looks at how to live your life without messing up the planet. First up, it’s relationship writer Olivia Petter talking about the eco credentials of sex toys and partners who hate electric vehicles. AD
Widely available, episodes weekly