Monica Lewinsky reclaims her public image and a nursing home murderer is investigated in our favourite podcasts this March
"There were many times that I just wanted to disappear," Lewinsky told Rolling Stone. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)
With every man and his dog releasing a podcast these days, you would be forgiven for thinking things might be getting a little rote.
But the different ways that clever, creative people manage to tell stories through audio still amazes me.
There are celebrities sharing intimate, surprisingly moving stories in Monica Lewinsky's chatty interview pod; a hard-hitting investigation from Background Briefing into a serial killer, which unearths more possible crimes; and an intergenerational love story that's also a musical audio drama set in 1971 America.
Whatever kind of story you're looking for — silly or serious, heartwarming or shocking — there's bound to be a perfect podcast covering it. Here are some of our favourites from March.
Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky
Wondery
The remarkable thing about Monica Lewinsky is not her notorious affair with a powerful man who need not be mentioned any further here. The remarkable thing about her is that — after everything she went through as a 22-year-old intern and in the ensuing, cruel decades — she is still able to be vulnerable.
In her new podcast, Reclaiming, she is remarkably so, and it's what makes it so compelling.
The 51-year-old is the interview subject in the first episode, and she gives heartbreaking insight into what it was like being a young woman trying to find herself while being ridiculed by the world's media, and the gruelling process of getting far enough through it that she could have a career, a love life, a life in general.
This is not a detailed examination of the injustices committed in 1998 (for that, I recommend Slow Burn: The Clinton Impeachment). After the first episode, Lewinsky turns host and interviewer, coaxing people in the public eye to share some of the darkest moments in their seemingly gilded lives, and how they kept going afterwards.
Alan Cumming talks about childhood trauma and reclaiming his identity through experimenting with his hair. Renowned tech journalist Kara Swisher talks about being a woman in Silicon Valley, her father dying young, and getting trolled by Elon Musk. Molly Ringwald shares the impacts of being a star from the age of three, and the two women bond over the viciousness of the public eye — Ringwald is heartbreakingly wistful when she asks Lewinsky what it was like to go to college, something her fame never allowed.
The chat sometimes veers a bit close to self-help speak, but it comes from Lewinsky's years of therapy, and we can't begrudge her that. And she is so warm and astute that her guests can't seem to help but bare their souls in kind.
— Katherine Smyrk
The Invisible Killer — Background Briefing
ABC
The Invisible Killer is a gripping listen for fans of true crime.
The five-part special series from ABC Radio National investigative journalism podcast Background Briefing is a re-examination of the case of Garry Davis, who, in 2016, was convicted of murdering two residents — and attempting to murder one other — at a Newcastle aged care home. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison after he was found to have injected the residents with insulin three years earlier — even though they weren't diabetics.
Similarly to last year's stand-out true crime podcast, Beyond All Repair, Davis invites reporter Anne Connolly to re-assess the facts of the case, offering extensive interviews and sharing his case file. She also speaks to other staff from the aged care home, treating physicians, law enforcement, and relatives of the residents.
But what she finds isn't the exoneration Davis hoped for, with Connolly coming to her own conclusions about what likely happened in Newcastle — both at the time of the case, and earlier in his career.
Ultimately, it raises questions about whether crimes against the elderly are investigated in as much depth as others, and the need for reform in the aged care sector.
— Hannah Story
Red for Revolution
Radiotopia
After listening to Red for Revolution, I couldn't help but do some googling.
The audio drama never pretends to be anything but fiction, but the tumultuous love story between Black rights activist Ella Ali and jazz singer Lorraine Giovanni feels so real I had to double check.
Get swept up in the love story of Lorraine Giovanni and Ella Ali. (Supplied: PRX)
Ella's granddaughter Jazmine is an 18-year-old uni grad (also fictional) who has just realised she's queer. After her mother has a less-than-ideal reaction to the news, she seeks solace and guidance from Ella.
This comes through a tale from way back in 1971, of when a young Ella, serious and staunch, met and fell in love with the silky, talented, red-lipped Lorraine.
Their history is full of sham marriages, domestic violence, police brutality and heartache, as well as stunningly rendered soul music and hefty doses of queer joy. As Jazmine learns more of her grandmother's story, she starts to accept who she is, and her mother's reaction to her coming out. (In a gorgeous touch, the mother is voiced by Jennifer Beals, most famous for her role as power-top lesbian Bette in The L Word.)
One of the best things about Red for Revolution is its devotion to music: both original songs and covers are performed reverently, in full, and are often the highlight of each episode. There are also quotes, philosophy and music from other (real) Black women of the time.
Sometimes audio dramas can be a little bit cringey, and there are some slightly twee moments here. But that is quickly forgotten in the face of great music, powerful Black women and passionate love.
— Katherine Smyrk
The Last Video Store
DM Podcasts
No-one loves movies as much as Sydney comedian and podcaster Alexei Toliopoulos, who you might remember from ABC comedy podcasts Finding Drago and Finding Desperado. And his love of film is infectious, making you want to head immediately to the cinema after you listen to his podcast, The Last Video Store.
It's a simple yet novel conceit: Toliopoulos invites his guests to come on the podcast to talk about their favourite new release movie, and two older "Weekly" picks, before giving them a staff recommendation based on their choices.
For the older listeners among us, it evokes memories of Saturday nights poring over the selection at our local video store (I borrowed The Aristocats over and over; my dad let my brothers rent Robocop, even though it was rated R), before streaming services dictated what we could watch and when.
The guests are a mix of local comedians and celebrities with new projects to plug. Hugo Weaving and Daniel Henshall talk about How to Make Gravy; Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey share their love of Groundhog Day off the back of their collaborative record The Deluge; and Jonathan Rhys Meyers reminisces on Bend It Like Beckham while in Sydney to film psychological thriller The Room Below.
It's a treat to hear even the most knowledgeable movie buffs discover something new thanks to Toliopoulos: see Weaving — after talking about Turkish arthouse cinema — learning about 1961 "Christmas-tinged gangster noir" Blast of Silence.
"I've never even heard of this film and that is absolutely brilliant," he says.
Henshall sums it up best: "I adore your love of film." Same here.
— Hannah Story
StraightioLab
iHeart Radio
Kylie Minogue. Carabiners. Being friends with your ex. DIY haircuts. Baristas. While not all queer people partake in the above (and possibly resent the implication), they're all widely recognised as parts of queer culture.
But as queer culture reclaims camo, country music and football, what is left for straight people to see as their own? Thankfully, two gay comedians have spent the past five years dissecting and uplifting straight culture with their smartest, funniest (and most famous) friends.
Comedy podcast StraightioLab is co-signed by Will Ferrell, as part of his Big Money Players Network. (Supplied)
Hosted by American comedians and writers Sam Taggart (Ziwe, After Midnight) and George Civeris (ex-editor of Gawker 2.0), StraightioLab sees guests across and not of the rainbow — including Broad City's Ilana Glazer, celebrity chef Alison Roman, journalist Jon Lovett, and New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino — present an activity, topic or concept they've deemed straight.
There's the obvious pillars, such as gender-reveal parties and college fraternities, but StraightioLab goes beyond the basic, with recent episodes devoted to sunburns (a refusal of self-care and tenderness), hometown pride (parochial) and Australia's favourite pop star Pink (I dare not write more). Be warned, you may go through the looking glass, as things that at first seem queer are revealed to be straight, such as polyamory (Lauren Oyler), boutique hotels (Cole Escola) and reading (Meg Stalter).
Beyond irreverent, StraightioLab is a meta exercise in straight culture, forcing intelligent, witty people to create a binary out of next to nothing. It might be the smartest and silliest brain rot you've ever encountered (besides Talking TalkTuah, of course).
Start with any guest you know and love (maybe not Kathy Griffin, who didn't quite get the premise), but if you need a recent recommendation, Valentine's Day with The Good Place actor D'Arcy Carden is a great start.
— Jared Richards