You might have never heard of them, but now you won't be able to live without them.
This segment is from the podcast episode 'Lazy Girl Life Skills.'
If you’re listening to our podcast (and if not, why not?) chances are you generally listen to podcasts. You have the same few on rotation, but when you’ve listened to your episodes for the week, trying to find something else to listen to is like being at Blockbuster on a Friday night in 1996. You really just want to get home with your Maltesers and pizza and watch something, but you spend hours in there trying to pick, much to your impatient parents' dismay.
With your assistance, in the Large Almond Latte Facebook group, we asked for your recommendations. Thanks to you, we’ve put together a list of Hidden Gem podcasts that you’re probably not already listening to, and won’t find in the Top 10. You like, totally were into them before they got commercial:
Conversations
David Tennant Does A Podcast
Recommended by Fan Carly.
If you haven’t heard of David Tennant, it’s probably because you’re not a giant nerd. He’s a former Dr Who and like the other five actors in the UK, a frequent player in the British Crime series scene, the kind that your nanna watches on ABC with a nice cup of tea. I can strongly recommend him in Broadchurch which also stars Olivia Coleman, aka the step mum in Fleabag (one of our Top 10 shows of the year).
Most recently, he plays Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen, in Des, which Australian viewers can watch on Stan. This is a show I found very disturbing because David Tennant has level-11 hot nerd sex appeal. And it’s a very confusing emotion to be attracted to a serial killer. Please also see Zac Efron playing Ted Bundy. So overall, that’s David Tennant and he does a podcast. It’s not a groundbreaking concept. He’s having conversations with celebrities. But there are two reasons I really like it. Well three, obviously his Scottish accent is WAP-inducing. The celebrities he interviews aren’t media whores. Don’t get me wrong, they are 100% A-grade, there are exactly zero blue tick wannabes in this line-up. With the likes of Dan Levy, Judi Dench, James Cordon and Gordon Brown, they’re a classy breed of celeb. You’re not likely to read about their personal lives on Perez Hilton, which leads me to the other reason I like it. The conversations are really refreshing and insightful, which (unlike our podcast) limit the use of the word ‘like’. It’s nothing too involved, it’s just a feel-good convo to have on while you’re doing your Sunday clean. I highly recommend the episode with Dan Levy, not only because I STAN Dan from Schitt's Creek (see, Best Shows of 2019), but hearing David Tennant attempt Moira’s ‘David’ pronunciation is worth the listen alone.
The Imperfects
Recommended by Fan Anthony F.
If you’re looking for something a bit deeper, mindful, relatable and inspiring, look no further than The Imperfects. This Australian podcast is hosted by Hugh van Cuylenburg of the famed Resilience Project, which “Delivers emotionally engaging programs to schools, sports clubs and businesses, providing practical, evidence-based mental health strategies to build resilience and happiness”.
Playing in the same arena, on the podcast, Hugh interviews high profile Australians who bravely share their struggles with their own imperfections. I listened to the episode with Ryan Shelton, who also usually co-hosts the podcast. You would know Ryan as Hamish and Andy’s friend. He pops up in all their TV shows, but you’ve probably never given a thought to how he feels about that position. He actually went to high school with Hamish and they worked a lot of the same jobs early on, on Channel 31, then writing on Rove. He talks about his jealousy of Hamish and how he couldn’t even listen to Hamish and Andy because of his resentment. It’s such a relatable emotion, but one you don’t often say out loud. So there’s something so stark, yet refreshing about such candour. I had goosebumps.
Just B With Bethenny Frankel
Recommended by Fan Anthony V.
This podcast hasn’t even dropped yet. We’re breaking more news than The Daily Mail here at Large Almond Latte. Bethenny Frankel is a former Real Housewife of New York. She’s loud-mouthed, she’s temperamental, she’s opinionated and according to her podcast bio, self-made, which mmm, is she? Making a shit-ton of money when you had a shit-ton of money to invest in the first place isn’t quite an Oprah Winfrey story, but sure. I’ll bite.
In this podcast, Bethenny gets inside the minds of “thought leaders” and “cultural all stars” to find what makes them tick. It’s a well-written bio and I’ll probably listen because, Real Housewives, but I have a strong inclination she does not have the same journalistic chops as Louis Theroux.
Society & Culture
Large Almond Latte
Recommended by the universe.
Obviously, we have to put ours in here. The Large Almond Latte Podcast is the ultimate in low involvement entertainment, a LOL-worthy escape from everything 2020. We’re talking socio-cultural topics relevant to millennials, millennial elders more specifically. Plus, you help us form the content by contributing to our Facebook group every week.
If you’re not into thinking, this is 100% for you.
So Dramatic with Megan Pustetto
Recommended by Fan Jamie D.
Kris Jenner works hard, Megan Pustetto works harder. This girl does not sleep and she has more spies than the KGB working around the clock to bring us the hottest tea from the reality TV blue tick brigade.
Off the top of my head, these are a few of the bombs she’s brought us from this season of The Bachelor: Locky’s peen is more contagious than corona and despite filming he has been spreading his Little Locks all over the country. She has DMs and voice memos from girls everywhere. Bella had in her contract that she had to make the final two, at least four girls actually walked this season, but Channel 10 are working for 2020 and wanted to punish us by showing none of the real drama that happened. The list goes on. This season of Bach might not have been so white bread if they’d got Megan in the editing room.
But it’s not just Bach. Without even watching The Masked Singer, she dropped the celebs at the beginning of the season and even though it’s the MAFS off-season, she still shared plenty of drama to spill on those famewhores including Aleks who has been spotted hanging out with Locky...a lot.
While the pod drops usually once a week, she’s also got a Facebook Group and Insta page where the teapot is continuously pouring. There’s also a bunch of the blue tickers in these groups, which really legitimises it. My favourite of which is Jamie from Bach, who is as active as Locky’s peen.
Right now, Megan is hotter than Brad Pitt circa 2000. You might have heard this podcast mentioned through any media outlet that covers reality TV because they’re riding on Megan’s coattails. They’re literally like your boss that does no work but presents all your hard work to the board. But make no mistake, Megan is the detective here, literally. She even pulled out criminal records for the cast of this season of Bach.
Honestly, this drama on this podcast is so ridiculous and removed from reality, ironically, that for the past few weeks, it’s made me forget I live in Melbourne for ½ hour a week.
How Two Live
Recommended by Fan Kristina.
Much like Paris Hilton, the How Two Live girls, don’t deserve to be grouped in with ex-reality TV show contestants in the Instagram Blue Tick club. Jess and Stef Dadon are the original Australian influencers. They had a hugely successful fashion blog around the 2012-2014 and I feel like they went a bit quiet publicly, but they have definitely been working, they’re casually building a fash empire.
Now they’re back with their podcast How Two Live. If you’re a fan of our podcast, which obviously you will be, or Shameless, or Life Uncut, you’ll enjoy this. They chat about work, fashion, life, all the standard female millennial interests.
I want to touch on something that they spoke about in their most recent episode because as a huge fan of not wasting my time, it’s a concept dear to my heart. The four day work week. There's a bunch of research into productivity at work which suggests that we are productive for a max of three hours in a day. Most of the research suggests it’s actually more like one and a half hours. And honestly, I know everything is better if it comes from a peer-reviewed journal, but also ‘no dahhh.’
We all know we spend min 70% of our workday talking about Netflix or bitching about our colleagues. The girls talk to the truth that we all know. When it comes to 9-5 work, there’s an imaginary leash between you and your desk. It doesn’t matter how busy you are, or how quiet you are, you have to be at your desk. Even if you’re just twiddling your thumbs. Which when you think about it, is quite ineffective. And the reason it’s such an ineffective method of work is that the 9-5 workweek is a concept that stemmed from the Industrial Revolution that began in 1760. In 1760, people also believed potatoes caused leprosy, the Earth was the centre of the universe and you could cure illness with a tobacco enema, so you know, research becomes a pretty handy thing. And this is where thinking from people who haven’t been dead for 300 years comes into play. They talk about this Kiwi guy Andrew Barnes, who was like ‘Ninety minutes a day feels like...not a lot, what can we do about this?’ He got out the old Texas Instrument Calculator and worked out that he could incentive staff to be more productive by offering them a day off. And all they needed to do was be productive for 40 minutes more per day. Yes please.
I strongly suggest you give it a listen, then subtly slide the ep into your boss's DMs too.
Would You Rather...
Recommended by Fan Adrienne.
It’s my favourite game. So you know if there was a podcast based on the game, I was 100% going to find it. Just like the game, this podcast is equal parts ridiculous, hilarious and at times very difficult to make a decision. It’s an independent podcast brought to you by Monika O'Hanlon from her bedroom during lockdown, and just like some of my favourite Goosebumps books, this podcast is a Choose Your Own Adventure.
You get to play Chastine, a social media influencer in Melbourne attending a New Years Eve party in 2011. At the end of each episode, you're given a choice to make, and each option has a numbered episode to jump to. Overall, they tell us that "There are 23 or 24 individual storylines, but they all interconnected."
We’re obvi proof you can make an elite podcast with zero budget, but Monika goes the extra mile. There’s heaps of really clever sound effects and celeb cameos. This is one of those podcasts that you listen to on your walk and realise you must look like such a weirdo laughing to yourself.
Fake Doctors, Real Friends
Recommended by Fan Georgia.
If you were a big fan of Scrubs (minus the last season obviously, like the limit, it doesn't exist), you’ll love this. Each ep, Donald Faison and Zach Braff relieve one episode of Scrubs. Obvi, like the show, it’s full of giggles. My favourite part? The theme song.
Storytelling
Fake Heiress
Recommended by Fan Daniah.
I’ve mentioned this on the pod before, but I don’t think this BBC4-produced podcast ever got the recognition on the charts it deserved. Through a combination of narration and re-enactments, it follows the real-life story of a 20 something named Anna Delvey, who swindles New York high society into believing she’s a multi-millionaire heiress. In reality, she’s just a pleb from Germany. She has socialites, bankers and investors all under her thumb. It’s such an unbelievable story, like, think about trying to do that yourself. Where would you even start? I would do it if I could though, no doubt. Her fake life was lush. Anna herself is still an enigma. The story is currently being adapted for Netflix, starring Julia Garner from Ozark and The Assistant, but I definitely recommend listening to this podcast first.
Billionaire Boys Club
Recommended by me.
A group of trust fund brats drive around in matching BMWs. They sound like the biggest wankers, and they are. They use their daddy’s money to start an investment company. Obviously, they’re a bunch of 20-somethings with zero experience in business or investing and their scheme fails spectacularly, which leads to murder. Obviously, natural progression.
It’s a wild story, but it’s also true. Definitely do not Google until you’ve listened to this. It’s also a 2018 movie starring Taron Edgerton, which you may also watch - after you've listened to this Wondery podcast about the story.
The No Sleep Podcast
Recommended by Fan Claire.
This podcast is fucking terrifying. Each episode, the narrators read out the scariest stories either from Reddit, or that their fans have submitted. I was apprehensive at first, because I can count on one finger how many times I ever got scared of a ‘scary story’ at school camp. But this podcast does not disappoint. Every time I listen to this, as the title suggests, I cannot sleep!
True Crime
Naked City
Recommended by Fan Mark.
John Sylvester is the dad that answers his front door holding a shotgun when his teenager daughter’s formal date turns up. He’s also Australia’s longest-serving true crime reporter. He’s like Switzerland, he’s in with the po-po and the criminals. From 'The Age' and 'Sydney Morning Herald', each ep John deep dives into a different story, with his dry/terrifying sense of humour. My favourite episode actually isn’t really crime-related. He interviews David Key, who was the wincher on over 400 police helicopter rescue missions. That’s the guy on the end of the strong. It’s such a captivating story, I was listening in the car and even when I arrived at my destination, Nandos, I had to keep listening like a stunned mullet, it was that good.
Counter Clock
Recommended by Fan Laura.
Investigative journalist Delia D’Ambra, returns to her small home town in Northern Carolina to investigate the 20 year old cold case of a woman who was found dead and her house torched. The investigative journalist is not just someone who walks in wanting sex then changing their mind, they are the new police detective. This is not an overly new concept, but it makes for an elite, chart-topping podcast that actually leads to closure for the family and the listener. (See Teacher’s Pet or Up and Vanished, which is a really similar story to this, where 30-year-old former beauty queen Tara Grinstead is murdered in her home in Georgia.)
I’d never heard of this story, so I had no idea what was coming, but in the very first episode you learn that the host currently works as a reporter in Florida, so to leave that hotbed of wild crime stories this would have to be a pretty good story.
Tech
Rabbit Hole (The Times)
Recommended by Fan Madeline.
“It’s all about the internet and Youtube algorithms. It’s really good” - Fan Madeline.
According to their bio “The Times tech columnist Kevin Roose discovers what happens when our lives move online.” I’m intrigued.
Sex
Clit Talk
Recommended by Fan Brittney.
Fan Brittney has summarised this one for us. “A group of women openly discussing a range of topics (predominantly sex and relationships) including their own experiences and occasionally bringing in a male perspective too. The show has a few seasons now ,so they take you on a bit of a journey with their own experiences to own/reclaim their sexuality and embodiment of a sex-positive lifestyle.”
Thirsty for more? Enlighten your earholes with a new ep of the Large Almond Latte Podcast every Tuesday.
Note: All images sourced from Apple Podcasts
