Which podcast educates you? Richard Dawkins’ The Poetry Of Reality covers a diverse range of topics from biology and evolution to religion and much more besides. I can’t say I agree with him on every topic, but because of the variety of friends and foes he encounters, the podcast always sparks a lively philosophical debate.

Which podcast makes you laugh? Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend is my go-to comedy podcast. He’s just such a naturally funny person, and more than that he’s able to be funny with all kinds of people. He finds the tone and brings out the best in his guests and his interactions with co-hosts are often brilliant too. I also enjoy Dana Carvey and David Spade’s Fly On The Wall podcast, which was ostensibly about Saturday Night Live when it first started but now seems to be more of a general comedy podcast. They’re less well prepared for their guests than Conan, but Carvey’s dead-on impressions and Spade’s lightning-fast quips make up for the ramshackle nature of it. 

Which podcast makes you sad or angry? I can’t say I listen regularly to anything that sparks those kinds of emotions. I’ve got enough misery and frustration to be getting on with already! However, as a podcaster myself it can be demotivating when podcasts don’t put the listener first and devote large amounts of time to meandering pub chat, or endless ad reads, or lack of care with interview preparation and editing. I’ll often hear fluffed intros, or a guest ask for something to be taken out of a conversation that has clearly just been uploaded wholesale. Those are the only occasions you’ll find me swearing at a podcast. Naming no names of course . . . 

Which podcast is your guilty pleasure? I don’t really believe in the concept of a guilty pleasure. If I like something, I’ll listen to it guilt-free! However, I did devour the entire first season of In The Shadows Of The Neon Maniacs, a podcast by filmmaker Stephen Scarlata exploring the relatively unknown 1986 horror film Neon Maniacs in more detail that anybody would ever need about that movie. 

Who currently doesn’t have a podcast but totally should? I once knew a bloke from Dudley called Tony who had more great stories than anyone I’ve ever met. He told me he had a friend who discovered a car buried in his back garden, so he got rid of the soil and simply drove it out. Each episode under five minutes. It could run forever, just like that car.

Pitch us a new podcast idea in exactly 24 words Tales Of Tony takes the listener into the world of a master raconteur. Barely believable bite-sized stories from one of the Black Country’s best.

Sodajerker On Songwriting episodes available at sodajerker.com