Sara & Cariad's Weirdos Book Club podcast review: Chummy literary chat
The comedians' podcast shows no signs of slowing down in its fifth series
It’s a sign of our stretched lifestyles that the book club podcast format has taken off. Don’t have an hour to spend in the living room of your colleague, bitching about the latest buzzy blockbuster? You can hack book club life by tuning into a podcast, absorbing lit chat while hiking/cleaning/watching the kids go endlessly down the slide at the park (that last one is a lie: you’ll be summoned to catch them every ten seconds). In the case of Sara & Cariad’s Weirdos Book Club, now in its fifth series, you get to eavesdrop on chat that is both funny and erudite from comedians Sara Pascoe and Cariad Lloyd. Once you’re over the frustration of not being able to join in, and attuned to the slightly rambling nature of the conversations, it becomes a stimulating and sparky way to spend a multi-tasking hour.
There are two formats to the show. In some episodes, the pair interview an author and in others they discuss a classic text with a guest. The Kae Tempest episode is excellent; Tempest is a gorgeous interviewee, humble, sharp and poetic, honest when he feels a question is beyond him and never assuming the listener’s prior knowledge of literature. You can feel Lloyd and Pascoe’s engagement and curiosity in their questions and they put their guests at ease. Less focused is the Frankenstein discussion with Vanessa Hammick which jumps around text, history and cultural legacy like a grasshopper on speed. Still, at least you can rewind the bits you might have missed.
New episodes of Sara & Cariad's Weirdos Book Club are available every Tuesday.