The chilling truth about the Weinstein investigation – podcasts of the week

Talking points

With cold case podcasts having long reached their peak, it was only a matter of time before someone made a TV show about them. Enter Apple TV+ with Truth Be Told, which tells the story of a podcaster who may have played an integral part in a wrongful conviction. Octavia Spencer and Aaron Paul star in this pod-critical drama.

Host of the longrunning US doc series Radiolab Robert Krulwich is to step down in January 2020. Hosted by Krulwich and Jad Abumrad for the past 15 years, Radiolab initially started as a science show before branching into topics as varied as gay conversion therapy and immigration. Abumrad also recently presented Dolly Parton’s America, a spinoff about the country star.

This week the Guardian explored the boom in parenting pods. Read the full piece here

Picks of the week

Motherhacker
In Gimlet’s new scripted podcast, The Leftovers’ Carrie Coon is hassled single mum Bridget, who falls for a phone scam that leads to a lucrative new career. At under 15 minutes per episode, it’s a bingeable feast that unravels quickly when Bridget’s twisted backstory is revealed. Motherhacker feels less staged than your average audio drama, buoyed by realistic settings, grainy phone calls and an all-star cast including Alan Cumming, Pedro Pascal and Lucas Hedges, plus a soundtrack from Warpaint. Hannah Verdier

Catch and Kill
Ronan Farrow hosts this illuminating, terrifying new audio accompaniment to his book about a network of high-powered Hollywood abusers, chief among them Harvey Weinstein. Having shared a Pulitzer prize with journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey (authors of She Said) for his work in bringing the Weinstein story to light, Farrow’s credentials are evident. Here, however, we discover just how menacing a process it was, starting with a series of mysterious calls and texts. Hannah J Davies

Guardian pick: Today in Focus

This week, Guardian writer David Conn revisited the story of the 96 Liverpool fans killed at Hillsborough for this powerful episode of Today in Focus. The disaster – which took place during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, when a “bottleneck” situation led to a fatal crush – has become synonymous with injustice. With David Duckenfield, the former South Yorkshire police chief superintendent, found not guilty of manslaughter last week, Conn tells the story of a 30-year fight and counting from the families of the victims.

Producer pick: The Jungle Prince

Chosen by Danielle Stephens

Any factual podcast that can trick you into thinking you’re hearing a work of fiction is well worth a listen. And while it might take a good 10 minutes before you realise what the story is in The Jungle Prince, the clever scripting and intriguing sound design are sure to have you hooked.

In this special three-part mini-series from the New York Times podcast strand the Daily, reporter Ellen Barry tells a long and winding tale about the fallen Indian kingdom of Oudh (pronounced Uh-vud) and the people who claim to be its royal heirs. Barry isn’t just the narrator though – she fully embeds herself as a sort of detective character, picking up clues and unravelling this myth.

The real power of this mini-series, though, is the empathy Barry shows throughout. Well-paced scripting and the muffled sounds of conversations with the title character, Prince Cyrus, bring this strange tale firmly to life.