Saturday Review – Top Ten Podcasts.
On the Quantum podcast over the past few weeks I have been answering a question I am often asked – what podcasts do you listen to/recommend? So here is the list…my top ten – in reverse order. I haven’t put links to them all – they are easy enough to find. Honourable mentions include John Dickson’s ‘Undeceptions’ which is one of the best Christian podcasts around, The Pastor’s Heart with Dominic Steele, In our Time (BBC) with Melvyn Bragg, Tim Keller’s sermons; The One Thing – an Australian church planting podcst.and an Australian podcast called ‘Conversations’ which is absolutely fascinating.
10. Generation with David Meredith. This is the Free Church’s podcast and is usually fascinating. Mission with a Scottish flavour. Someone needs to buy Dave a decent mic but apart from that this is a podcast well worth following.
9..Last Word – BBC – Three of my favourites are BBC. Last Word is brilliant. It is the radio equivalent of the Times obituary column. They don’t just cover the deaths of the rich and famous – they also do many people who you may never have heard of.
8.God Forbid with James Carleton – This is an ABC podcast which looks at issues from a religious perspective. It is certainly not overtly Christian and many of the participants make me want to pull out what hair I have left – yet it is a good insight into religious and moral issues in Australia. What raises the show from interesting to good is James Carleton – the presenter. He blends intelligence, cynicism and compassion in a way that is entertaining and helpful.
7. The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill – This is a superbly produced, stimulating and profoundly disturbing podcast about what went wrong at Mars Hill. However by I think episode six I think it began to run out of steam – that was the basketball episode. One wit said that he was going to start a new podcast entitled – the rise and fall of the rise and fall of Mars Hill podcast. Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill and the Lessons still being Learned – CT
6. The Moral Maze – Another BBC podcast. It has four panellists who interview four witnesses on a particular moral issue of the day. It really helps to understand what is going on and how vacuous morality without Christ is.
5. Coffee House Shots – This is the Spectator’s daily podcast – short – about 10-15 minutes. It is a great place to keep up with what is going on in British politics. Way better than most news programmes.
4. John Anderson – Conversations – John is the former deputy premier of Australia. He is a deeply intelligent, gracious and Christian man. Because of his position he is able to have the most incredible guests – including Jordan Peterson. If you want help to understand what is going on in the Western world – this is the podcast for you.
3. Unbelievable – Justin Brierly – I used to be a regular on this podcast. But I suspect I’m probably to radical for it nowadays. This is a superb podcast – Justin is a great host and moderator. Here is a sample of one of the shows I was on – an infamous show with Matt Dillahunty. The Moral Argument – with Matt Dillahunty
2. I’m Sorry I haven’t a Clue – Another BBC gem. To be honest this is a bit of cheat. I struggle to find a decent podcast of this BBC classic and tend instead to rely on YouTube. I know of no other show that reduces me to tears of laughter. The funniest show on the planet!
1. The Rest is History – This is way and above my favourite podcast. I listen to every one – even though they are an hour long and twice a week. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are great hosts who spark off one another. They cover a wide range of historical subjects, from the ancient Persian to the James Bond films. They are enormously informative, entertaining and stimulating. And Tom does his best to stress the importance of Christianity.
I hope these are helpful. Of course I would encourage you to listen to the Quantum podcast….and we have a new one coming up next week – the ASK podcast with Greg Sheridan – watch this space!
And next week I hope to return with a regular Saturday review – looking at lots of different cultural things.
Quantum 166 – Blah, Blah, Blah – Nonsense and Sense from all over the world.
Thank you for this, David. Some very interesting podcasts which I wasn’t aware of. Signed up for 4-5 of them.
This is really helpful. Two other podcasts I’d suggest for inclusion next time:
– Undeceptions
– Pod of the Gaps
Thanks James – I agree about Pod of the Gaps and Undeceptions is already mentioned…