Pick of the Pods

Robin Pomeroy

The podcast of podcasts! A regular recommendation of a podcast you should be listening to right now. This is the audio companion to the Pick of the Pods newsletter. pickofthepods.substack.com

Episodes

  1. Sep 1

    Episode 6 - Are We Doomed?

    Some people use podcasts to help them fall asleep. Some people are kept awake by existential dread. How about a podcast that can combine the two?! Are We Doomed? is an excellent narrative documentary series that looks at genuine, or potential, threats to the planet or humanity. Think nuclear war, the next pandemic, or killer robots. Host Ben Bradford joins us on POP-The Podcast to tell all about the show, published by National Public Radio (NPR). Find out: * why nuclear armageddon is perfectly possible, but would be “embarrassing” * is there really a “supervolcano” waiting to blow up the entire United States? * why Ben hates one futurist’s idea that one day we will all have tiny pet hippos Yes, it’s a fun, but not flippant, podcast that is rooted in science and expertise. Links: Are We Doomed on the Pick of the Pods newsletter: https://pickofthepods.substack.com/p/armageddon-it-are-you Are We Doomed * homepage: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/21/g-s1-118208/a-new-npr-network-podcast-asks-the-big-question-are-we-doomed * on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1893359212 * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AreWeDoomedPod Episodes of Are We Doomed featured on this episode of POP-The Podcast: * Our Vision of the Post-Apocalypse Is Wrong: * The Yellowstone Supervolcano Panic! * How To Survive a Nuclear War Ben’s Pod Picks: * This American Life, Swim Towards the Shark: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/837/swim-towards-the-shark * Oh, Hello: the P’dcast: * Search Engine: https://www.searchengine.show/ Ben’s fantasy interview: Sam Altman or Jeff Bezos, locked in a room and forced to say honestly what is their vision of the future. Subscribe to Pick of the Pods - the newsletter - on Substack: https://substack.com/@robinpomeroy Discover one new podcast every week with the Pick of the Pods Substack: https://pickofthepods.substack.com/Watch POP-The Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQu6D1uClH0i-nR9YppCSgzhElMbfPcv7 Or follow on any podcast app - new episodes drop monthly: https://pod.link/1891273310 Music by fAR Pick of the Pods: copyright Spinney Hill Media 2026. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pickofthepods.substack.com

  2. Jul 30

    Episode 5 - The Story of Money

    What actually is money? This new podcast from the Financial Times takes a historical view of this question which is crucial to understanding human civilisation and the world we live in today. Robin Wigglesworth, who co-hosts the show with fellow FT journalist Gillian Tett, picks some of his favourite episodes so far and tells us why some of the greatest humans ever - Churchill? Newton? - were not always brilliant with money. The Story of Money: * Pick of the Pods: https://pickofthepods.substack.com/publish/post/201028489 * Homepage: https://www.ft.com/tsom?shareType=nongift&syn-25a6b1a6=1 * Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1376303362 * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney Episodes of The Story of Money featured on this episode of POP-The Podcast: * The Bretton Woods agreement: a tale of boozing, womanising, espionage and a heart attack * The financial scams that brought Albania to the brink of war * They are history’s geniuses. But were they any good at investing? Robin’s Pod Picks: * The Rest Is History https://pod.link/1537788786 * Greeking Out https://pod.link/1483233279 Robin’s dream interview: * Jay Cooke (1821–1905) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cooke Robin’s forthcoming book: * A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/461949/a-fabulous-debt-by-wigglesworth-robin/9780241705674 Listen to POP-The Podcast - new episodes monthly - on any app: https://pod.link/1891273310, watch on YouTube: Let me know what you think of the episode. And if you have a favourite podcast you would like to hear on the monthly POP-The Podcast or see featured on the weekly POP Substack, I’d love to hear about it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pickofthepods.substack.com

  3. Jul 1

    Episode 4 - Leaders with Francine Lacqua

    It’s Episode 4 of POP-The Podcast and we’re talking to Francine Lacqua, Editor at Large and TV news anchor for Bloomberg. With decades of experience interviewing leaders in business and politics, she has launched a podcast, Leaders, and talks us through three very different interviews: a CEO of one of the world’s biggest banks; a fashion entrepreneur who has a “shapewear” partnership with Kim Kardashian; and Melinda French Gates, business leader and philanthropist and former wife of Bill Gates. Leaders with Francine Lacqua: * Homepage: https://www.bloomberg.com/btv/series/leaders-with-lacqua * Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1623682235 * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqq4LnWs3olXnyY_CJUC2M1NtT_VdXw8i Episodes of Leaders featured on this episode of POP-The Podcast: ‘I Was Ruthless About Killing Complexity’: HSBC CEO on Rewiring the Bank: Emma Grede on the Kardashians and Why Work From Home Is ‘Career Suicide’: Melinda French Gates on Tech, Billionaire Wealth and Why She Worries About the Truth: Francine’s dream interview:Chinese President Xi Jinping Francine’s Pod Picks: Acquired: * Homepage: https://www.acquired.fm/ * Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/acquired * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquiredFM Odd Lots: * Homepage: https://www.bloomberg.com/oddlots * Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1056200096 * YouTube (audio): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0MuA6M0zkZyy-99-qc87wKV How To Fail With Elizabeth Day: * Homepage: https://www.elizabethday.org/podcasts * Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1407451189 * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HowToFailPodcast Francine’s book picks: London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/238226991-london-falling Supremacy by Parmy Olson: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/parmy-olson/supremacy/9781035038244 Subscribe to Pick of the Pods - the newsletter - on Substack: https://substack.com/@robinpomeroy Get the weekly Pick of the Pods: https://pickofthepods.substack.com/Watch POP-the Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQu6D1uClH0i-nR9YppCSgzhElMbfPcv7 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pickofthepods.substack.com

    Episode 4 - Leaders with Francine Lacqua
  4. Apr 12

    Episode 1 - The Rest Is Politics

    The Rest Is Politics is one of the biggest podcasts in politics on both sides of the Atlantic. The UK version is presented by former Labour party communications director Alastair Campbell and former Conservative politician Rory Stewart. The Rest Is Politics US is hosted by BBC correspondent Katty Kay and financier and (very briefly) former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci. Fiona Douglas is a producer working mostly on TRIP US. Among the trade secrets she divulges are: why are so many podcasts from Goalhanger called “The Rest Is…[something]” - and what might they have been called if history had been different?the most valued skills required for anyone wanting to work in podcast productionthe cliché might be that the target audience for The Rest Is Politics are “centrist dads” - but is that really true?Find The Rest Is Politics: on any podcast app: https://linktr.ee/RestIsPoliticsYouTube:    / @restispolitics  Find The Rest Is Politics US  homepage: https://tripus.supportingcast.fm/on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1743030473YouTube:    / @restpoliticsus  Episodes featured: US Election Livestream: The US Election LIVE SHOWS  Elon Musk: The Making of A Maverick: https://podcasts.apple.com/mu/podcast...The Speech That Tipped The Balance or Preaching To The Choir?: The Speech That Tipped The Balance or Prea...   Fiona’s pick of the pods: Today in Focus (The Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/news/seri...Subscribe to Pick of the Pods - the newsletter - on Substack: https://substack.com/@robinpomeroy This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pickofthepods.substack.com

    Episode 1 - The Rest Is Politics

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The podcast of podcasts! A regular recommendation of a podcast you should be listening to right now. This is the audio companion to the Pick of the Pods newsletter. pickofthepods.substack.com