What’s new to listen to

A roundup of what we’re tuning into in the world of podcasts.

The Letterboxd Show

I love movies, therefore I love podcasts about movies, but I particularly love podcasts made by New Zealanders about movies. If you’re not already familiar with Letterboxd, it’s the coolest little app that’s dominating the world of film: a social media that allows you to track and share your film watching, compile lists and write reviews. It’s all operated out of Auckland, and the interviews are hosted by film journalist and critic Gemma Gracewood and Slim, who hosts another film podcast, 70mm.

The show is currently in its second season, with excellent interviews with film-makers such as Billie Piper, who just made her directorial debut, and Jim Cummings, who directed the acclaimed indie Thunder Road.

Its notes provide a welcome description of the many films and Letterboxd easter eggs described in each episode, including the wealth of incredible lists created by public users on the site.

Tic-Heads

Clinton Randell, of The Edge Breakfast, and Leighton Clarke, also known as ‘‘Uncle Tics’’, co-host this podcast which takes a bold, uncensored and often affecting look at Clarke’s life living with Tourette’s, and his fast rise to fame on TikTok, where he made a name for himself posting videos about living with the condition (Clarke, pictured, is now the second-most followed New Zealander on TikTok, with 3 million followers).

The podcast is comedic, first and foremost, but features some ultimately rather moving and informative moments that provide a window into what the lived reality of Tourette’s is like. Clarke takes Randell through various aspects of it – such as why supermarkets trips are a nightmare, and what happens when you say the exact wrong thing at the wrong time – and local comedians also feature to provide extra laughs, such as Joe Daymond, Uncle Jack and Tahu Hollis.

Philippa Perry’s Siblings in Session

Whenever I meet new people, before long I find myself asking about their siblings. I’m fascinated by how siblings can be so alike and yet so different, and the way something as arbitrary as birth order actually has a major impact on our psychology as we grow up.

In this series from psychotherapist and writer Philippa Perry – pictured centre above with writer daughter Flo and artist husband Grayson – the complex and undefinable bonds between siblings are examined. Perry argues that our relationships with our siblings is more important than we often realise; therapy often analyses our romantic or parental relationships, but rarely the ones we share with our siblings, even though they are often the blueprint for our future interactions with other people throughout life.

Over six episodes, Perry uses six different sibling relationships to dissect siblinghood itself, with the first episode touching on two sisters who flatted together until one moved in with her partner, which created feelings of betrayal and guilt in an otherwise harmonious relationship.

Some episodes feature heavy topics about suicide and domestic violence, so listen cautiously, but there’s a lot to glean from Perry’s wise insights.