Podcast roundup: The best this week, from Against the Rules to Stuff To Blow Your Mind

Podcasts have seen a rapid upsurge in popularity in recent years. From true crime to design, popular culture and modern relationships, fiction to in-depth reportage, podcasts have proliferated to the point where no matter how esoteric the subject, there’s bound to be a show that deals with it. Amid this cornucopia of audio delights, however, how do you pick the podcast that’s most worth your while? This is where our weekly curated playlist steps in; it’s a lowdown on the best episodes from a selection of podcasts that deserve a listen. Ready to tune in? *** — Against the Rules with Michael Lewis Ref, You Suck! About the podcast: Journalist and author Michael Lewis (Liar’s Poker, Moneyball) takes a searing look at what’s happened to fairness —in financial markets, newsrooms, basketball games, courts of law, and much more. And he asks what’s happening to a world where everyone loves to hate the referee. About the episode: Rage at referees is all the rage in professional sports. In the first episode of the podcast, Lewis visits an NBA replay centre that’s trying to do the seemingly impossible: adjudicate fairness. Runtime: 39 minutes Listen to the episode here.

— The WIRED Podcast Inside North Korea’s elite hacker army About the podcast: Hosted by the magazine’s digital editor James Temperton and joined by other team members, the weekly podcast gives a rundown of the latest technology, science, business and culture news. About the episode: This week, the podcast discusses North Korea’s elite hacker group, the death of Google+ and why changing clocks (daylight saving) will soon be a thing of the past. Runtime: 48 minutes Listen to the episode here.

— Stuff To Blow Your Mind Against Narrative: Are stories bad for us? About the podcast: Hosts Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick examine neurological quandaries, cosmic mysteries, evolutionary marvels and our transhuman future. About the episode: It’s hard to imagine human beings without storytelling and literature. Surely, these are some of the very things that define us. Narratives give our lives and our world meaning, but what if there’s a dark side to their sorcerous power? In a fascinating and thought-provoking two-part episode, the duo explore the storyteller’s potent spell. Runtime: 48 minutes (part one) and 54 minutes (part two) Listen to part one here, and part two here.

— That Peter Crouch Podcast That Dreams Episode About the podcast: English footballer and professional tall person Peter Crouch, BBC’s Chief Sports Writer Tom Fordyce and BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Stark are back with their guide on how to be a professional footballer. Episodes include insight on everything from dressing rooms, transfers, keeping on the good side of your manager and where to sit on the team bus. About the episode: From travelling through space with Ron Vlaar to eating watermelon with Frank Lampard, Crouchy, Stark and Fordyce try to decipher all of listeners’ weird and wonderful dreams. They also discuss whether dreams play any role in a manager’s tactics and why Peter’s got a qualification in Leisure and Tourism. Runtime: 47 minutes Listen to the episode here.

— The HFPA in Conversation Thierry Frémaux About the podcast: From actors to directors to writers, from the United States to around the world, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association podcast brings stories and thought processes of artists as they speak about their careers, lives, and futures. About the episode: Thierry Frémaux, Director of the Cannes Film Festival, the Lumière Film Festival, and the Institut Lumière, in conversation with HFPA Member Lorenzo Soria to discuss the past, present, and future of film. Runtime: 36 minutes Listen to the episode here.