Ship Hits the Fan
Spotify, Apple, Google, etc
Nothing brings the internet together quite like schadenfreude. Take, for example, the 2021 Suez Canal obstruction which blocked an estimated $9.6 billion worth of worldwide trade, while also birthing countless memes, Twitter posts and, we can assume, record web traffic to vesselfinder.com
When the trade route was blocked for six days by the grounding of Ever Given, a 400-metre-long container ship, pictured above, bystanders around the world logged into social media, and watched the ensuing chaos.
And if you were one of the hundreds of thousands of people engrossed by the world’s worst day at the office, Ship Hits The Fan is the podcast for you.
The show, now in its third series, “delves into the depths of history” to uncover the strangest, scariest and sometimes stupidest maritime events, covering everything from conspiracy theories about the sinking of the Titanic to the life and times of the Lioness of Brittany, a vengeful privateer.
If your knowledge of 14th Century French naval history is a bit rusty, the latter is 44 minutes of listening well spent. In 1343, during the Breton War of Succession, nobleman Olivier de Clisson was executed for perceived treason and his head mounted on a pike as a warning to others. His wife, Jeanne Louise de Belleville, distraught by loss and hell-bent on revenge, outfitted three warships – the flagship aptly named My Revenge – and with a small army waged war on the seas with her Black Fleet.
Hosts Charlotte, Patrick and Brian, self-described landlubbers, have a chatty, informal style, making each episode feel like a history lesson held in your local pub – and if nothing else, these intriguing stories will serve as a reminder that, yes, worse things really do happen at sea.
Tech Tent
BBC Sounds
Updated weekly by the BBC’s technology team, episodes of Tech Tent cover the biggest and breaking stories from the world of technology.
Recent trending topics include Elon Musk’s doomed bid to buy Twitter, how virtual reality could be used in medical settings, and why Ethereum, the world’s second biggest cryptocurrency, it attempting to slash its carbon emissions. Episodes are available for 30 days.
Get Sleepy
Spotify, Apple
It may sound counter-intuitive to play a podcast while you are trying to sleep, but each episode of Get Sleepy promises to “help calm the mind and relax the body” as you drift off.
Released twice weekly, a team of writers, voice-over artists and meditation experts craft soothing stories to help guide you towards a good night’s sleep. If you don’t make it to the end of an episode, no one will be offended – quite the opposite!
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