The Pod Files - Sunday 11 January 2026

 

The ‘casts -

(Notes spoken to Siri, and edited later if I remember

(Changed tactic now where starred dialogue denotes quoting from the show’s own notes

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - 27 September 2021: *Pando the Trembling Giant - Fishlake National Forest is home to the biggest organism by mass on the planet - but this giant is shrinking and a usual group has banded together to help defend it. / We have a new book coming out! It's called Gastro Obscura: a Food Adventurer's Guide, a whirlwind tour of the world's edible wonders. [I actually have a copy of that book in my collection at home! Now let’s see if I notice this before I publish this blog post, and attach a photo of myself holding the book.] 

How to Save It - season 1 episode 2: 29 August 2024: *Indigenous women step up to protect Papua New Guinea's coral reefs - The "Amazon of the Seas" is a vast marine area in the western Pacific Ocean that is home to 76 percent of the world's coral reef species. In the Papua New Guinea corner of the Coral Triangle, a local biologist is accelerating protection for them. In this episode, Kate Humble and Edward Whitley hear from Naomi Longa who leads an all-female team of Indigenous divers who monitor and manage the reefs of Kimbe Bay, an area of staggering marine biodiversity which includes pygmy seahorses, whale sharks and orcas. The Sea Women of Melanesia are working with Al to map coral reefs in a country where technology is scarcely accessible. They are only getting started....

The Stupid History Minute - 11 January 2026: Perkins with Guest Host: Lil' Beebs

Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Bonus: 5 December 2023: *EXTRA: A Peek Behind the Scenes - Julia surprises the one-and-only Judith Bowles (aka her mom) with some very exciting news! And did you know her mom isn't the only one of Julia's relatives who's part of Wiser Than Me? Julia shares some behind-the-scenes info about how the show is actually a family affair and how she is so grateful to all of you out there who have been listening to Wiser Than Me.

MinuteEarth - 5 May 2025: The Secret Global Sewer System

Seaside Pod Review - episode 72: 21 March 2024: this is a spare episode that they recorded just in case. Kev is apparently giving up the alcohol for a whole year in the hope of making himself fitter. “What? Even at weekends?!?!” Lol. Discussion about Kev‘s wife. “Drunks and pigeon shit!” After the general check chat they got onto the randomly chosen solo song for this episode, which is the Freddie Mercury cover version of I can hear Music, for which he used the pseudonym of Larry Lurex, and it is from before the first Queen album, but does feature all of Queen. Okay, John Deacon isn’t on it. Mistaking conservation with conversation. I wonder if Kev forgot that the producer of this, Robin G Cable, was the producer of Funny How Love Is on Queen II? They listen to the original by The Ronettes. Actually, that is the first time that I’ve heard the original version of this. My previous knowledge of this song other than this version is the recording by The Beach Boys. Now, this will likely get me some response, or none at all because I don’t get any from the blog, But I actually think the production on this version by the Ronettes is better production than Phil Spector usually did, because a lot of the time I think that Phil Spector‘s wall of sound sounds like a wall of shit. They then listen to the version by The Beach Boys. What’s with the strange bit after the show music? As a bit of a gripe, Randy keeps mentioning about Motown, but The Ronettes, Shangri-La’s, Dixie Cups. Walker Brothers, Righteous Brothers, Darlene Love - not Motown! That’s like saying a band sounding like the Beatles are EMI. Also, the wall of sound is nothing like Motown. Ingrates ;-) 

I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue - series 80 episode 4: 4 December 2023: Song Stoppers

Daily Dad Jokes - 31 July 2025

BirdNote Daily - 9 August 2023: *Great Horned Owls in the Neighborhood - Not all owls live in the deep woods. Many Great Horned Owls make their homes in urban areas. Though mostly nocturnal, Great Horned Owls are also active early in the morning and just after sunset, offering a chance to see them hunting for rodents and other prey. Look for their distinctive horns, which are really just feather tufts. At night, you might hear their deep, syncopated hoots echoing through the neighborhood. Avoiding toxic rodenticides helps protect Great Horned Owls and other urban raptors.

Listen with Other - Season 1 Episode 3: 27 September 2025: *The Merry Milkmaids - The trio meet some merry milkmaids and have a life-changing experience.

Odd One Out - 31 December 2025: Yesterday or Shape of You?

Phase Hero - 9 January 2026: Brandon, Jenna, Aaron and Jamie presenting. Sebastian Stan has signed up to The Batman Part 2, and the rumour is that he would be portraying Harvey Dent. I am in agreement with what Jamie said about this, where they are basically just using the same people in different superhero films, and not given a chance to up-and-coming actors, which they did when the Marvel universe first started with people such as Tom Hiddleston and Tom Holland, who weren’t very well known globally. I had a I had an issue with this when they first announced Robert Downey Jr. would be playing Dr. Doom, because he had already played iron man in the Marvel films, and now he was coming back into the Marvel films as a completely different character, and they are paying him a ridiculously large amount of money for that, Which is an amount of money that could probably save an entire fucking country to be honest. One of the listeners has mentioned somebody saying that Avengers Doomsday could make a trillion dollars. Barry Keagan returning for The Batman Part 2. I cannot believe that Brandon didn’t know about the deleted scene from the first Matt Reeves directed Batman film. Actor announced for role of Braniac in the DC films. James Gunn has said that the Supergirl film does not follow the story of the comic woman of tomorrow religiously. It’s a school day for Brandon seemingly, because he’s finding out new things constantly. Man Of Tomorrow talk by James Gunn. Three teasers out for Avengers Doomsday. I am not a fan of how they are releasing the trailers, or the teaser trailers for avengers Doomsday, where they are only displaying them if you go to watch the latest Avatar film, and some cinemas are forgetting to change which trailer that they are showing, so you might end up going to The four or five weeks of the showings of avatar, and get the same trailer every time. Sadie Cinque on Fallon show. New trailer for Wonderman. Simu Liu saying that Shang Chi 2 is in development. Simu Liu talking about Robert Downey Jr being on the Doomsday set. Rumour that Jordan Peele is being looked at by Marvel to make a future film. 

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - 11 January 2026: paradox

7 Good Minutes - 25 Oct 2025: *Micro-Victories: Why Your Tiny Successes Matter Most - Discover why your smallest successes are actually your most powerful tools for transformation. This episode reveals how micro-victories create lasting change, build unshakeable confidence, and turn tiny daily choices into extraordinary life transformations, offering practical ways to recognize and celebrate these crucial moments.

New Podcasts - 6 January 2026: *The Tuesdays Morning Show - Introducing The Tuesdays Morning Show, a weekly discussion of pop culture, viral moments, and everyday life, hosted by an eclectic crew that first met on the radio before turning their freewheeling conversations full of stories, opinions, and laughs into a lively podcast.

The Daily Quiz Show - 1 November 2025: Science and Nature

7 Good Minutes - 25 Oct 2025: *7 Good Minutes: Extra - The mountain is moved... - In today's 7 Good Minutes: Extra segment, we reflect on how lasting transformation happens like raindrops shaping a mountain-through countless small, persistent actions rather than dramatic moments. Consider how your micro-victories are quietly but powerfully reshaping the landscape of your life. 

TED Health -  9 April 2024: *Do gut microbes control your personality? - Biologist Kathleen McAuliffe dives into emerging research that explores how certain gut bacteria can influence major parts of who you are, from your personality to life-changing neurological disorders. Learn more about how this ongoing clinical medical and pharmaceutical research might change how we treat disease — and discover the impact of your internal microbial makeup on your mood, weight and more.

StarDate - 10 January 2026: Jupiter Opposition Ill

5 Good News Stories - 1 June 2025: *Woodpecker Attacks Cars! - A Massachusetts town deals with a woodpecker damaging vehicles. Teachers Grace and Kate from Vermont embark on a 300-mile bike ride to support immigrant students and raise funds for classroom essentials. Cigarro National Park expands by nearly 50 acres, enhancing connectivity with Sweetwater Preserve. A letter from a Titanic passenger, auctioned for $399,000, offers a historical glimpse days before the disaster. / Lastly, a new technology in San Francisco enables proof of personhood through iris scanning, raising privacy and security questions.

New Podcasts - 6 January 2026: *Which Side of History? - Which Side of History? is a brand-new podcast, launched today, from popular Stanford University professor Jim Steyer. For years, Steyer has taught a popular class by that same name. Now it's available as a podcast. Kara Swisher, Condoleezza Rice, and Tom Friedman are among his first guests.

Science Quickly - 17 March 2015: *Human Remains Double Known Rainforest Occupation Time - Physical remains in Sri Lanka show that people lived in rainforests 20,000 years ago, at least 10,000 years earlier than previous evidence showed. Cynthia Graber reports. 

BirdNote Daily - 10 August 2023: *Ospreys Never Stop Building - Ospreys are remarkable nest builders. Many reuse their massive stick nests from the previous year, but continue tinkering with it once the nesting season begins. And the nest transforms along with the growing chicks. It's bowl-shaped at first, corralling the young birds, but it gets flatter after the chicks hatch. / By the time they fledge, it has fully flattened out.

Happy Place - season 9 episode 1: 22 February 2021: *Priyanka Chopra Jonas - Insecurity isn't something you'd expect a Miss World winner to feel, but Priyanka Chopra Jonas has learnt that confidence isn't ever-present. In fact, in this chat she and Fearne explore how confidence and satisfaction with life have to be actively practiced and cultivated.

Odd One Out - 1 January 2026: Photosynthesis or Refrigeration?

New Podcasts - 6 January 2026: Deeply Unimportant: Boring Technical Readings for Sleep - Deeply Unimportant: Boring Technical Readings for Sleep is new from a former Canadian news anchor who really doesn't want you to pay much attention to what he's talking about. The show is designed to stop your brain from wandering before you fall asleep. The latest episode reads you the CSC 1972 International Convention for Safe Containers.

Audio Poem of the Day - episode 1942: 5 October 2025: Flipping the Bird by Ann-Margaret Lim

Hitmaker Chronicles - 8 November 2024: *Radiohead - "Creep" - This existential narrative deconstructs how Radiohead's breakthrough "Creep" became a seismic generational reckoning. Tracing the band's origins as alienated Oxfordshire youths finding transcendence through music's vulnerability, it explores Thom Yorke's anguished vocals and disillusionment-fueled lyrics delivering a countercultural meteor. / Deconstructing the song's spiraling existential guitars and dynamics elevating self-loathing into metaphysical catharsis, the episode celebrates how "Creep" demolished rock theater's artifice. Ultimately, the anthem's awakening spirit of radical authenticity and impact sculpting Radiohead's boundless future path is enshrined as a seminal unveiling of rock's existential disruptors.

Disability Daily Podcast - episode 11: 11 January 2026: *January 11: Charles Dail - Today we celebrate Charles Dail, a polio survivor and mayor of San Diego, 

Skipping Through Theatre - season 2 episode 9: 27 April 2025: *Stage Lights & Headlights: The Double of an Actor/HGV Driver - Join Nathan and Maddie on Skipping Through Theatre as they speak with actor Ania Cummins! Ania discusses the ins and outs of her job and some of her favorite roles. Listen now and get a peek behind the curtain of the acting world!

Daily Shower Thoughts - 21 October 2025

Merry Christmas! - 9 January 2026: Reginal'ds Christmas Revel - Saki 

Sounds Profitable - 7 January 2026: *Spotify Updates Partner Program, New HeartMedia Video Podcast Platform, & More - Today in the business of podcasting: Spotify has lowered the barrier to entry for Spotify Partner Program, ADOPTER Media talks listening experience with podcast ads, and HeartMedia upgrades their video podcast capabilities in their "creators first" initiative.

Daily Life Pro Tips - 11 November 2025

The Slowdown - episode 1244: 21 November 2024: Today's poem is Poem ("Instant coffee with...") by Frank O'Hara.

Rock n Roll Book and Documentary Reviews - episode 7: 16 February 2023: *Matt Sorum: Double Talkin' Jive Book Review - Guns and Roses, The Cult, Motorhead, Velvet Revolver- Matt Sorum not only drummed for these bands, but he also just barely survived partying with them.

New Podcasts - 7 January 2026: Founder's Mentality: The CEO Sessions - What do a CEO, a comedian, and a musician have in common? They've all mastered the art of scaling without losing their soul. In Founder's Mentality: The CEO Sessions from global consultancy Bain & Company, executive advisor and bestselling author James Allen explores lessons of scale, simplicity, and growth from global CEOs and surprising guest voices.

DASH - Season 1 Episode 25: 26 December 2024: Dash, An Interlude: The Case of the Ghost and the Hidden Tomb Chapter 2 - A new mini-series that is both a prologue to Season 1 and a bridge into Season 2 Chapter 2: The Pyramid - Johnny Plinketts, "Plink" begins to recount his exploration into the ruins of an ancient pyramid. But have the dangers of the past come back to haunt him in his present?

Womanica - 17 June 2021: Barbara Gittings

7 Minutes For Yourself - 27 June 2024: Breaking Free from Negative Thinking Patterns

Odd One Out - 2 January 2026: Ohio or Paris?

Strange Air - Season 1 Episode 1: 12 September 2021: *The Impossible - Chase begins the search for her father. / The role of Chase Smith was played by Natalie Lander, and the role of Malcolm Smith was played by Patrick Fabian (Better Call Saul). / Strange Air was written and produced by Michael P. Greco and Tony Martinez.