David Olusoga revisits the Peterloo massacre in new podcast
Guardian critics round up their pick of the week's best podcasts, spanning history, comedy and true crime. David Olusoga presents a new series from Manchester's People's History Museum revisiting the 1819 Peterloo massacre, told partly through the extraordinary account of survivor William Cheatham, which the reviewers describe as an invigorating if sobering listen. Alongside it, several new and returning shows offer lighter or investigative fare, reflecting the breadth of the podcast landscape currently on offer.
Other recommendations include a comedy podcast from the Comedy Women in Print prize hosted by Helen Lederer and Chrissie Manby; Word of the Day creators Mabel Evans and Benjamin Aston's "Desert Island Discs for words", starting with guest Elif Shafak and featuring future guests Stephen Fry and Tim Rice; Big Little Interests, a show about comedians' quirky obsessions beginning with Steve Bugeja; and a CNN-produced investigation by Isabelle Chapman into the 2024 shooting of Russian-born American citizen Ilya Beloozerov by the FBI outside a Super 8 hotel.
– David Olusoga's new podcast explores a Peterloo massacre survivor's story.
– Several fresh podcasts cover comedy, wordplay and quirky obsessions.
– CNN podcast investigates FBI shooting of a Russian-born US citizen.
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Peterloo was a violent episode in British history from 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a large crowd gathered in St Peter's Field, Manchester, to demand parliamentary reform and the right to vote. Several people were killed and hundreds injured, and the event became a defining symbol of the struggle for democratic rights in Britain. David Olusoga is a British historian and broadcaster known for presenting documentaries on history and empire.
The new podcast, produced with Manchester's People's History Museum, revisits Peterloo partly through the account of William Cheatham, a survivor whose testimony offers a first-hand perspective on the massacre. It forms part of a wider weekly roundup by Guardian critics of notable podcasts, which this time also spans comedy, wordplay and true crime.
Other shows featured in the same roundup include a comedy podcast tied to the Comedy Women in Print prize, a wordplay-themed interview series from the creators of Word of the Day, a programme exploring comedians' unusual personal interests, and a CNN investigation into the fatal shooting of a Russian-born American citizen by the FBI in 2024. These are separate, unrelated productions grouped together simply as part of the same weekly podcast recommendations feature.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “David Olusoga’s extraordinary new show: best podcasts of the week”.