Pick of the week
A Great Book With Barack Obama

Barack Obama is now a podcast mainstay (good on him for not just defaulting to questionable lobbying). His latest Audible show – via his and Michelle’s company, Higher Ground – is a six-parter about the books that have inspired him, from James Baldwin to John le Carré. The first guest is Tom Hanks, who joins him for a frank chat on parenting and family, prompted by Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer-winning novel Gilead. Hannah J Davies
Audible, out now

Public Apology

Milo Edwards hosts this lively new series (with Sophie Garrad and Ed Campbell) which explores public scandals. The range of subject matters is illustrated by the first two: the Profumo affair and the boyband Blue. Why do some scandals ruin lives while others seem to be forgotten almost instantly? Phil Harrison
Widely available, episodes weekly

Gerbil

Did Richard Gere really arrive at hospital asking for the removal of a gerbil he’d somehow fired up his own bum? This attempt to apply some rigorous journalism to the infamous rumour meets Gere superfans, tries to track down ex-doctors and meets a gay rights activist – who explains the way very similar rumours have a track record of being used as homophobic slurs. Alexi Duggins
Widely available, episodes weekly

Reaching Out

This Futuro podcast was called “the best new show I’ve heard in years” by This American Life’s Ira Glass. It’s high praise, but understandable: Sayre Quevedo’s very personal story of his search for his absent dad is poetic, profound and witty, spiked with pandemic loneliness, sibling love and queer yearning. HJD
Widely available, episodes weekly

Death of an Artist

This gripping show opens with unanswered voicemail messages that get increasingly frantic – until someone picks up the phone and confirms that its owners are dead. Slow Burn host Leon Neyfakh and his journalist wife Alice Gregory tell the tale of Petra and Michael Mathers, a celebrated kids’ book creator and photographer whose double suicide in their 70s shocked the world. AD
Widely available, episodes weekly

What are you listening to this week? Share your top tips below