My Perfect Podcast: India Rakusen
In this column, we ask a pod person about the ’casts that mean a lot to them. This issue, it’s India Rakusen, creator and presenter of Witch, which explores the legacy of witch hunts, the place they hold in our imagination and what it means to be one today
Which podcast educates you? I’m enjoying Pod Save The UK at the moment, which has recently launched and is presented by Nish Kumar and Coco Khan. It’s made by Crooked Media, the creators of Pod Save America. It’s got the same irreverent tone; it’s cheeky but also explorative and keen-nosed. And Today In Focus at The Guardian is my go-to for news and current affairs.
Which podcast makes you laugh? I’ve been forced to listen to Three Bean Salad by most people I know and I do love it. Three comedians (Mike Wozniak, Henry Paker and Benjamin Partridge) just kind of talk absolute nonsense; it’s utterly ridiculous and wonderful for it.
Which podcast makes you sad or angry? The series Dear Daughter for the BBC World Service is incredibly moving. It’s letters from all sorts of people across the world to their daughters on the theme of growing up as a woman. There was an episode on baby loss that was so raw and powerful that I had to sit on the floor for about 30 minutes. The other podcast that always moves me is Heavyweight which takes a moment in someone’s life that they wished they could change, and then helps them change it and explore it. It’s full of laughs and very often a tear-jerker.
Is there a podcast you’d describe as a guilty pleasure? A brilliant series which made me laugh a lot was The Walkers Switch. It’s a forensic investigation from Lauren Peters and Augustine Cerf into the popularly held belief that Walkers switched the colour of the packets for cheese and onion, and salt and vinegar crisps. Even though, get this, Walkers deny it happened! It’s not a guilty pleasure to listen to it, but the fact I’ve listened to it, I think, maybe 2.5 times is certainly an admission of guilt.
Tell us someone who currently doesn’t have a podcast but totally should Wait. What? Someone doesn’t have a podcast?! ARE THEY OK?! Joking. Sort of.
Pitch us a new podcast idea in exactly 25 words Why Does My Bum Hurt? (my dad and I came up with this at Christmas). Real reasons your bum might hurt (medical and otherwise) plus a look at our historical and societal relationship with bottoms. Taboo busting. Fun. Fascinating facts.
All episodes of Witch are available on BBC Sounds.