The disturbing tale of one family's flight from the Nazis: best podcasts of the week
When poet, novelist and journalist Joe Dunthorne decided to write a family history, he had no idea what he was getting into. His journey started, unpromisingly, with a turgid 2,000-page memoir written by his great-grandfather Siegfried. But while looking for an account of his family's escape from Nazi Germany, Dunthorne found something much more disturbing. This gripping podcast follows him as he reconstructs an erased history. Phil Harrison
BBC Sounds, episodes weekly
After his excellent BBC documentary on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, Theroux ably shifts gears. Series five of his celebrity interview show kicks off with The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey – who is warm and wise on gender, fame and autism – with rapper/actor Little Simz and anti-ageing obsessive Bryan Johnson to follow. Hannah J Davies
Widely available, episodes weekly
Benedict Townsend goes back to 2012 for this eight-part exploration of TikTok precursor Vine. The short-form video app was huge, thanks in no small part to a $30m acquisition by Twitter. Townsend scrupulously charts its rise and fall, from the breakout stars to the brands that exploited the nascent creator economy. HJD
Widely available, episodes weekly
A new series of the meaty investigative podcast centred on people living double lives. Sarah Cavanaugh made headlines in 2022 with her audacious tale of stolen valour (she wasn't a decorated US marine veteran, nor was she dying of cancer as she claimed when she obtained financial help intended for former personnel). Jake Halpern and Jess McHugh go deep into her deception. HJD
Widely available, episodes weekly
Sign up to What's On
Get the best TV reviews, news and features in your inbox every Monday
after newsletter promotion
Katie Stokes is in her mid-20s, and should be having the time of her life in London – so why is she so lonely? This delightful series from the Transmission Roundhouse initiative sees the audio producer get real about our lack of 'third places' away from home and work. HJD
Widely available, episodes weekly
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
39 minutes ago
- The Sun
EuroMillions jackpot rolls over AGAIN as UK's biggest ever prize at £208m goes unclaimed
A EUROMILLIONS £208million jackpot - Britain's largest ever prize - has gone unclaimed. Lotto players were disappointed to discover no one bagged the eye-watering sum this evening. 2 The jackpot on Tuesday will be an estimated £208 million and would be the largest prize the UK has seen. Andy Carter, senior winners' adviser at Allwyn, said: "Tuesday sees the £208 million EuroMillions jackpot still up for grabs. "A win of this magnitude would create the biggest National Lottery winner this country has ever seen - making a single UK winner instantly richer than the likes of Dua Lipa and Harry Kane while also landing them at the number one spot on the National Lottery's biggest wins list. "The EuroMillions jackpot is now capped, so any money that would have gone into increasing the jackpot now boosts prizes in the next winning prize tier, meaning that we could see multiple UK players banking huge prizes for matching just the five main numbers and one Lucky Star." The main EuroMillions winning numbers were 20, 21, 29, 30, 35 and the Lucky Stars were 02, 12. One UK ticket-holder became a millionaire after matching five main numbers and one Lucky Star, winning £2.02 million. No players won the £500,000 Thunderball jackpot by matching the five Thunderball numbers, 03, 14, 31, 32, 34, and the Thunderball number 06. Andy Carter, senior winners' adviser at Allwyn said yesterday: "We are now on the verge of potentially creating the biggest National Lottery winner this country has ever seen - making a single UK winner instantly richer than the likes of Adele and Dua Lipa while also landing them at the number one spot on The National Lottery's biggest wins list." An anonymous UK ticket holder won the existing record jackpot of £195 million on July 19 2022. Just two months earlier, Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, bagged £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket for the draw on May 10. The UK's third biggest win came after an anonymous ticket-holder scooped the £177 million jackpot on November 26 last year. It came after 11 millionaires were made on the National Lottery draw in just one week in 2024. One lucky Brit won a cool £33million with their Euromillions ticket. Another ticket, which was snagged in the UK, matched all five main numbers and two Lucky Stars. It came just weeks after two players from the same county scooped £1m each. EuroMillions jackpot winner Frances Connolly reveals surprising first item she bought with £114m jackpot This year, the largest win was seen in January with £83million. A previous EuroMillions lottery winner, who scooped an eye-watering £107million jackpot, has revealed why he went public with the news. Neil Trotter bagged the whopping prize money and was faced with a huge decision whether or not to remain anonymous. The 45-year-old chose to splash the cash and filled his driveway with a Jaguar and a Porsche - before upgrading their parking spaces to a luxury mansion. But, Neil explained it can be tricky to go public because of pressure to provide people with money. However, he was overjoyed to buy his sister a house, and help out family and friends privately. He told the BBC: "It was quite tricky but I don't really see that there's any option [other] than to go public. "If you want to live the dream - which is have the house, the money and spend it, you've got to go public. "People have said in the past they would hide the money, I think £170million is going to be impossible to hide. "This is the lake that I bought and the big house and I'm living my dream." But he did previously admit he has been hounded by people making up claims to snap up his cash. He said: "I have had loads of people contact me on Facebook, I've probably got about four million kids in this country. "Everyone wants a bit of money." Elsewhere, a lucky couple thought they'd only bagged £2.60 on the lottery - but soon discovered they had scooped the £61million jackpot. Richard and Debbie Nuttall, both 54, from Colne, Lancashire, took home the life-changing sum in the EuroMillions draw. The couple were enjoying a holiday in Fuerteventura, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, when they discovered the big win. Richard revealed they originally thought they had won £2.60, but then received another email telling the pair to check their account. 'I thought it was odd and there must be a glitch in the system to get a duplicate email but I logged in again to my National Lottery account to check," he explained. "We were totally stunned, it said we had won over £61million," said the winner.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Sex Pistols legend John Lydon reveals he 'hates' Oasis' music and finds it 'difficult' to go to other people's gigs
has revealed he 'hates' Oasis' music and finds it difficult to enjoy himself at other people's gigs. The legendary rocker, 69, best known as the lead vocalist of the punk band the Sex Pistols, said he's likely one of the only British music stars who won't be attending the highly anticipated Oasis reunion shows. When asked if he would be going to see Noel, 58, and Liam Gallagher, 52, perform, he told The Sun: 'No. They're my mates but I hate their music. He added: 'It's very difficult for me to go to other people's gigs. People don't leave me alone and let me enjoy myself. 'I knocked it on the head a few years ago. I love dancing, you're enjoying yourself and some a*****e will stand right in front of you and waffle banal nonsense which is distracting you from the point and purpose.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Speaking to the publication from his UK tour with his band Public Image Ltd, John added that he loves Noel because he just 'says it like it is'. He also said that the Gallagher brothers make him laugh during interviews, describing them as 'witty' and 'on it in a working-class, quick-as-you-can way'. The interview comes after he opened up on the loss of his wife last month. The singer lost his beloved spouse of 44 years Nora Foster in April 2023 after a five-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. John, who was known as Johnny Rotten during his Sex Pistols days, had drawn an incredible amount of public sympathy following her death having selflessly cared for Nora full-time until her final hours. Now over two years after she passed, the extravagant singer has opened up on the 'agony' he felt as Nora suffered a painful death. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the 69-year-old said: 'The pain will never go away. She died painfully, suffocating. They call it the death rattle.' Recalling the moment doctors asked him whether they should prolong Nora's life, he added: 'I couldn't say "yes, stop". No, I fought for her life as hard as she fought for it. 'It's insane, and you don't know how to handle it (the death of a partner). And you can end up being really aggressive with people mollycoddling you. But you have to be full of rage to break out of it, or you'll end up as that sympathetic doddering old idiot that you know you would hate yourself.' The singer had previously admitted he 'always loved' Nora having met her in 1975 at a Vivienne Westwood clothes shop - 'there was an instant attraction,' he said. Following her death, John had 'wallowed in alcohol and sadness and self-pity,' he told Metro, but the singer has since come out of that struggle. He insists however that the agony of losing Nora will never go away. John is currently on his Not The Last Tour with his post-Sex Pistols band PiL (Public Image Ltd). Despite his grief, the artist insisted that the 28-date tour isn't a farewell but more a tongue-in-cheek dig at bands who falsely claim they're bowing out. 'The industry is riddled with artists claiming they're on their final tour but have already booked themselves for five years after,' he quipped. But while John is on his tour, his old band - consisting of Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock - are enjoying their own with new frontman Frank Carter. John previously blasted the Sex Pistols recent tour as 'karaoke', branding the group 'impossible to deal with'. The singer revealed he is indeed no longer on speaking terms with his old bandmates after they fell out over a Disney+ TV series he opposed. The dispute resulted in a High Court battle between John and the Sex Pistols over the use of the band's music in the series - which Rotten ultimately lost. John said he 'won't forget' that his old bandmates 'dragged him through the courts' while Nora was seriously ill. The Sex Pistols shot to fame after forming in 1975, but just three years later they had split up. Their only album together, Never Mind the B******s* - a UK number one - is now a staple of punk rock. The band - whose controversial legacy rests upon their anti-establishment values - famously called the Royal family 'fascists' in 1977's God Save The Queen. But in 1978, John formed Public Image Ltd, with the first line-up of the band including bassist Jah Wobble and former Clash guitarist Keith Levene. The group's lineup has changed several times over the last 40-plus-years with John remaining a constant member.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Only in UK could we be forced to pay for BBC then have to cough up for best TV on streaming services – it's got to stop
TURN on your TV today and you'll find schedules filled with true crime thrillers and celebrity reality shows or, at the other extreme, indulgent tripe pandering to Gen Z snowflakes. But unless the Big Five channels stop making so much b****ks and grow some balls, they're going to kill British TV as we know it. 5 5 5 Because BBC One and BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and 5 — whose listings increasingly read like a suicide note — are entering the final stages of a fight for their survival. They're up against Netflix, Sky, Prime Video and countless other corporations with deep pockets and big ambitions. Proof came this week in the unlikely form of Blind Date, a much-loved TV format that was once on ITV but has now been snapped up by Disney+. Yeah, that's right, Disney+. Paying through nose Years ago, the subscription services started out providing an alternative to traditional telly, then they began copying the traditional providers and, recently, they've started stealing their big-name talent — Jeremy Clarkson, Emma Willis, Amanda Holden, Holly Willoughby. Now the Blind Date deal shows that the super streamers are literally out to thrash the Big Five at their own game. The gloves have come off . . . but the increased competition won't stop us paying through the nose. Only in Britain could we be forced by law to shell out for a home-grown broadcasting service, only to find the best TV shows are increasingly made by largely foreign-owned streamers. Then — in the ultimate rip-off — we have to cough up even more money to watch them. That's the enraging situation we find ourselves in in the year 2025. Although there are some notable exceptions on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, the consensus is that subscription services are now making the most electrifying programmes on the planet. Brassic Bids Farewell: Michelle Keegan's Final Series Think about it. Dramas including Adolescence, Baby Reindeer, Rivals, The White Lotus, Slow Horses. And consider the shows that have given us the biggest laughs over the past few years — hits like Last One Laughing, Ted Lasso, Brassic, Clarkson's Farm. None of the above was delivered by the traditional Big Five terrestrials. So, why can't the channels we already pay for make more of the TV that gets us excited? The obvious response from the top UK channels would be that they are still giving us blockbusters — Strictly, I'm A Celebrity, Bake Off, The Traitors, Love Island and dramas like Happy Valley or Mr Bates Vs The Post Office. 5 They are all, to be fair, brilliant. But so much of it is old now. It's predictable. And the new hits are few and far between. Though the streamers obviously have pots of cash to spend, it's not just a money problem either. Look no further than the recent co-production between Disney+ and the BBC on Doctor Who. It's easy to understand why other shows that are laden with CGI and big Hollywood stars end up on the streamers, but why is it that comedies like Ted Lasso never seem to pop up on ITV? Rod It was, by most people's standards, an unmitigated disaster. The studio giant pumped millions into cutting-edge special effects, sets that dazzled rather than wobbled and genuinely monstrous monsters. And what did the BBC do? They squandered it by turning a sci-fi classic into a series of woke lectures that had viewers turning off in droves. Now the Disney+ deal is hanging in the balance and they're having to bring back David Tennant. It's easy to understand why other shows that are laden with CGI and big Hollywood stars end up on the streamers, but why is it that comedies like Ted Lasso never seem to pop up on ITV? ITV, by the way, recently spent millions launching The Genius Game, with David Tennant as host, only to end up with one of their most expensive flops in years. And the one thing I thought while watching the brilliant, gritty drama Adolescence was, this could easily have been done by Channel 4. Neither Adolescence nor Ted Lasso would have cost that much to produce, surely? It's not Star Wars or Bridgerton. Pure extortion Part of the problem, it seems, is that a lot of creatives and execs now don't just chase the money — they also chase trends and credibility. At last month's TV Baftas, around a third of the nominations went to streamers — a figure that's been growing rapidly over the past decade. That, too, could reach a tipping point in a couple of years. The solution is glaringly obvious, but not easy. If Disney+ steal Blind Date, come up with the next Blind Date. If they lose Clarkson to Prime Video, find the next Jeremy. If Netflix do Bridgerton, come up with another twist on the period drama. They need to stop the rot in terrestrial telly, because one day a cluster of these streamers will start offering a one-price-buys-all subscription deal that will make the licence fee look like pure extortion. Then public service broadcasting's days really will be numbered.
