26 podcasts you have to listen to in 2026
It seems as if every celebrity has a podcast, but some stars use theirs to indulge their passions and interests. From pets to poltergeists, here's RT's exclusive list of the top 26 for 2026.
- Radio Times Staff
1 Matt Baker – Petcast
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"Do you want to meet Matt Baker in a caravan? Absolutely, I do," chuckles comedian and presenter Susan Calman as she's ushered into a far from luxurious vehicle. Calman is one of several famous faces (Clare Balding, Harry Hill, Martin Clunes and Bill Bailey among others) lined up to share their love of animals and the healing benefits they bring. Susan is a well-known ailurophile (she has six cats), but what will she make of the ferrets in the caravan? A properly uplifting, joyous listen. ANNA JONES
2 Josh Widdicombe – Archive of Pop Culture
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What do Mr Blobby, Clive Sinclair, the Chippendales and Mary Whitehouse have in common? No, not my ideal dinner party, instead they’re among the diverse array of topics covered by Josh Widdicombe in this joyful romp through a treasure chest of music, TV, film and other headline-makers. CAROLINE FROST
3 Matt Forde and Alice Levine – British Scandal
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In this off-shoot of its original US counterpart, Matt Forde and Alice Levine delve into the murkier episodes of our history. Scandals including Profumo, Litvinenko and Barings Bank are all given a pacy but thorough revisit, leaving you wondering how we ever get anything done. CF
4 Al Murray – We Have Ways of Making You Talk
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Best known for his Pub Landlord act, Al Murray is also a military history nerd, a side of his character he digs deeply from as he and historian James Holland bring expert knowledge and a little bit of humour to bear on every facet of the Second World War. DAVID CRAWFORD
Danny Robins hosts Uncanny. BBC/Jamie Simonds/Russell Kirby
5 Danny Robins – Uncanny
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Danny Robins is so indelibly linked with investigations of various spooky and terrifying tales of the paranormal that it’s hard to think that he started out in comedy. Whether you’re a sceptic or believer, each episode still has the power to send a chill down the spine. DC
6 Caitlin Moran – Outsiding with Caitlin Moran and Adam Frost
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Pair Gardeners’ World’s Mr Lovable, Adam Frost, with everyone’s favourite funny feminist, Caitlin Moran, and you’ve got something of a dream team. You also get a floral spray of gardening and chat show, with first guest Bob Mortimer ignoring the shrubbery to tell us how much he loves the pizza oven that adorns his own garden. DC
7 Helen George – Mystic Mates
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Call the Midwife star Helen George and fellow actor Yvette Robinson reveal a hidden side of their lives as they indulge their love of tarot and all manner of mysticism, and share stories of their experiences of readings, crystal energy and astrological life choices. DC
8 Russell Tovey – Talk Art
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Actor Russell Tovey is also an avid art collector. Here he is joined by gallerist Robert Diament to discuss the latest happenings in the contemporary art world, with interviews with some of the leading lights such as Ai Weiwei, Tracey Emin and David Shrigley, as well as other arty celebs. DC
Tom Allen. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
9 Tom Allen – Pottering
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Tom Allen, best known for hosting The Apprentice: You’re Fired! and regular panel show appearances, calms down a tad to host guests like Alan Carr and Jo Brand in his back garden. While there’s a token bit of flora-and-fauna chat, it’s more an infectiously amiable giggle between two friends over a pot of tea. CF
10 Frank Skinner – Frank Skinner’s Poetry Podcast
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In April 2020, Frank Skinner sought relief in lockdown by reaching for his favourite poems. Six years later, his love for poetry remains infectious – and revealing, as when he tells how Philip Larkin’s The Whitsun Weddings once gave him a panic attack. CF
11 Ed Gamble & James Acaster – Off Menu
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A core part of a touring comedian’s life is knowing where to get a decent meal and stand-ups Ed Gamble and James Acaster have carried their love of good food into this "desert island dishes" comedy chat show where their guests get to choose their dream meal. DC
12 Sean Bean – Get Birding
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This podcast has had a revolving cast of hosts, from ornithologist Dr Mya-Rose Craig and YouTuber City Girl in Nature to Strictly winner Hamza Yassin. The latest run takes another unexpected turn, as steely actor Sean Bean gets to indulge his love of birds in the company of other nature lovers. DC
13 Greg James – Tailenders
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Cricket fans Greg James and Felix White (of indie darlings the Maccabees) get to live the dream by chatting about the sound of leather on willow with one of the greatest bowlers of all time, Jimmy Anderson. It’s lively, entertaining and as informative as any cricket obsessive could want. DC
14 Alan Carr & Lee Peart – Bottoms Up
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Billed as "a wine show for people who don’t own a decanter", this show finds the pair, who are clearly friends used to swapping confidences, trying to become connoisseurs of the grape. As with everything Alan Carr, it’s more about the journey and the chance to tell a good tale. CF
Sara Pascoe. BBC/Love Productions/Neil Sherwood
15 Sara Pascoe & Cariad Lloyd – Weirdos Book Club
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Sara Pascoe and Cariad Lloyd sell this as a place for loners who like weird books, but in reality they welcome all as the focus is more on special and stimulating books than the downright odd, making it a warm place for general literary chat. DC
16 Charlie Higson – Willy Willy Harry Stee
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If you don’t remember the old rhyme that helps recall the correct order of English monarchs, Higson’s podcast is here to remind you as he and some expert friends (historians) run through the kings and queens in chronological order, assessing their lives and reigns. DC
17 Laura Whitmore & Iain Stirling – Murder They Wrote
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The husband-and-wife duo turn away from the sunny climes of Love Island as their obsession for true crime leads them down alleyways involving cases of murder, blackmail and mayhem. At least they can make each other laugh about it all. DC
18 Dua Lipa – Service95 Book Club
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"International pop star does a books podcast" isn’t normally what you’d expect to be the basis of a recommendation, but singer Dua Lipa shows that she is a knowledgeable and empathetic interviewer who can riff on many literary topics, and can hold her own with the most erudite of authors. DC
19 Elizabeth Day – How to Fail
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To paraphrase Toy Story, "Failing with style is flying!" Novelist and broadcaster Elizabeth Day hit on a brilliant concept when she decided to ask successful people about the moments when things didn’t quite go to plan. She’s now asked over 500 people, including Kate Winslet, Malala Yousafzai, Pamela Anderson and Salman Rushdie, and has sold out concert halls around the world with live shows. The very definition of irony. DC
20 Mike Soutar – History’s Greatest Leaders
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A familiar presence on The Apprentice, entrepreneur Mike Soutar turns his attention to what transforms an ordinary leader into a game-changer — from Genghis Khan and Catherine the Great to Winston Churchill and Walt Disney — and the lessons they offer now. He starts with Elizabeth I, the "ultimate underdog", whose turbulent childhood (beheaded mother, disdainful father) nevertheless saw her become Henry VIII’s most successful heir. JA
21 Yvette Fielding – Paranormal Activity
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Some 20 years before Danny Robins was gavotting with ghosts, Yvette Fielding was leading the TV charge investigating the inexplicable. Now she uses the intimacy of the podcast to tell more famous spooky tales, along with listeners’ stories and anything else that goes bump in the night. CF
Brett Goldstein. Lia Toby/Getty Images
22 Brett Goldstein – Films to Be Buried With
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Brett Goldstein was a film buff (and writer) long before he became best known as Ted Lasso’s prickly coach Roy Kent. Here he leans on his knowledge to discuss with his guests what films have shaped and enriched their lives, plus that special one they would take with them. CF
23 Susan Calman – Carry On Up the Podcast
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Some 31 films across three decades offers an irresistible framework for die-hard fan Susan Calman and co-host Mike Muncer to review each title in the Carry On series, from Sergeant (1958) to Columbus (1992). The result is lots of laughs as well as some revealing social commentary. CF
24 Miranda Sawyer – Talk '90s to Me
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A new Labour PM promising to undo years of discontent? Oasis filling stadia while teenagers rush home to watch Friends? It’s like it was only yesterday. Miranda Sawyer reported on it the first time around and is the perfect guide to go down memory lane and confirm it was, indeed, a blast. CF
25 Matthew Bannister – Folk on Foot
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Radio 4’s Matthew Bannister isn’t the first to discover the value of walking and talking with guests, lulling them into a state of relaxation and, hopefully, revelation. But here his focus on folk musicians pays off with their connection to the land and the creative inspiration it offers. CF
Michael Sheen. Rachel Manns
26 Michael Sheen – Buried: the Last Witness
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The Welsh actor has a zeal for campaigning and this podcast about chemicals being dumped on farmland highlights that better than most. He provides a piece of evidence that proves key to an investigation by journalists Lucy Taylor and Dan Ashby that holds global corporations to account. DC
Authors
Radio Times Staff
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