Selections of the week
Dare, marry, bury
The world would be a better place if every true crime podcast opened with a karaoke version of Celine Dion. This spoof of the genre begins with a bang and stays there while Allie (Sarah Hyland) and her critical and entertaining best friend Gabe (Harvey Guillén) go to a New Year’s Eve party. Allie has just been dumped and fired, there’s not much left to lose, but as the night unfolds there’s a promise of sex and death with plenty of twists and turns. Hannah Verdier
Conviction: The Disappearance of Nuseiba Hasan
“There are a lot of people who don’t want me to tell you this story,” says journalist Habiba Nosheen, presenting this podcast about Nuseiba Hasan, who has been missing for 10 years. Nosheen’s investigation began three years ago after a tip from a source desperate for Hasan, his birth mother. She shares what she has since learned. excluding tax
Call Bullsh! you
“How the hell did we get here? Former advertising executive Ty Montague asks this question about big brand fake news and goal washing, exploring the gap between what companies say they stand for and the actions they actually take. First, Facebook, followed by Blackrock, Juul and Airbnb. Hollie Richardson
Love thy neighbor
Thirty years ago, riots broke out in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. Collier Meyerson examines how those four days shaped New York, piling up interviews with people who lived there at the time to learn how the car crash that killed a young boy sparked so much anger and retaliation. She thinks it can help us understand modern dilemmas, from police brutality and racism to anti-Semitism. excluding tax
Show: Las Vegas
Host Brent Holmes exposes all aspects of Sin City with help from some of Vegas’ most well-known characters. The first is Penn Jillette, who started out as a hippie and thought he was too good for the Strip, until he and Teller were offered big bucks to move their magic act to Las Vegas. excluding tax
Chosen by Danielle Stephens
If BBC Radio 4 had decided to broadcast this episode of Short Cuts for Valentine’s Day, the cynic in me wouldn’t have listened out of spite. A week later though, I was more than happy to hear what sounded like a love letter to love – not just falling in love, but falling in love, and everything in between.
Josie Long’s vocals are a perfect accompaniment to the subject matter, and she never fails to sound invested in finding out more. The smooth montage of people sharing their experiences with crushes made me smile, cringe, and nod in agreement. The second and third parts work well to help you change your mind about the power of love, and the ending feels like some kind of taped therapy session the listener is invited to. You feel like you’re hearing a special moment between ex, unscripted and real.
Did it make me feel something different about the concept of love? Maybe not, but it gave me insight into the thoughts of strangers – and that was the fun.
Talking points
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