Pick of the week
Hound of the Baskervilles
Narrator Hugh Bonneville stresses at the beginning of this new audio drama that readers were utterly incensed when Arthur Conan Doyle decided to kill off Sherlock Holmes in 1893. The writer later resurrected him – but not before this fan favourite prequel about an apparently supernatural, beastly creature that stalks Devon’s moors. This eerie adaptation is faithful to its source material, with each episode ending on a cliffhanger. Hannah J Davies
Widely available, episodes weekly
Everybody Knows But Me
LA-based comic Holly Brown hosts this show – equal parts dark and jaunty – about the family secret her father revealed when he was dying, namely the existence of Brown’s younger twin brothers. Drawing on sitcom conventions (her dad worked on Frasier) and with fictional elements, it’s an original, sometimes uncomfortable listen, with real imagination. HJD
Widely available, episodes weekly
EggPod Express
This spin-off from popular Beatles podcast I Am the EggPod dives into 1960s music magazines. For its opening double bill it tackles Liverpool publication Mersey Beat, and its 1962 cover which proclaimed the Beatles as the most popular band in Liverpool. It’s an enthusiastic piece of music history and a geeky, in-depth delight for retro musos. Alexi Duggins
Widely available, episodes weekly
The Shadow Contract
This shocking Good Law Project podcast looks at the way US tech company Palantir ended up at the heart of the NHS. The eye-opening topics it talks to doctors, campaigners and experts about begin with social media – specifically, the covert influencer marketing campaign that was run to “smear” Good Law Project, which had raised concerns over its £330m contract. A terrifying and important listen. AD
Widely available, episodes weekly
It Started With a Kiss
Amy Spalding (pictured above) and Gareth Valentino speak with their “nearest and queerest” in this new LGBTQ+ Tinder-backed podcast. They want all the tea on dating and love and their first guest is TV personality and model Christine McGuinness. Hollie Richardson
Widely available, episodes weekly