THE REVIEW
THE REVIEW
Podcasts, TV shows and books team rogue recommend
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PODCASTS
Land of the Giants: The Meta / Facebook distruption
Released earlier this year, season 4 of The Land of Giants focuses on Facebook’s pivot to Meta. Tech journalists Shirin Ghaffary and Alex Heath talk to top Meta executives, critics of the company and industry leaders to analyse the company’s strategy and question whether it’s enough to keep the social media juggernaut relevant. This podcast delivers a comprehensive understanding of all the things that went wrong with Facebook, what the future may look like and how Meta’s performance has impacted the spiraling tech industry.
Normal Gossip
Recently voted Time’s top podcast of 2022, Normal Gossip is spectacular. In each episode host Kelsey McKinney discusses reader-submitted comedic gossip with guests, and together they psychoanalyze, debate, critique and gasp at the decisions of complete strangers. It is juicy, it is strange, it is completely batshit. McKinney is a brilliant storyteller and will make you feel like you’re sitting opposite her in dimly lit bar leaning in for the dramatic climax.
And Another Thing!
And Another Thing is a brand spanking new show from telly’s Muireann O’Connell and comedian Emma Doran. It’s a show in which two funny friends contribute absolutely nothing of value to the conversation. As they say, everything worth saying has probably already been said. The result is hilarious conversations between friends who chat through everything from communions to compliments, fears and flashers.
The Entrepreneur Experiment with Gary Fox
The Entrepreneur Experiment is a homegrown business podcast that sits comfortably alongside Diary of CEO or How I Built This. In each episode, host Gary Fox meets Ireland’s most exciting business leaders for conversations about business, privilege, education and employment. It’s a brilliant snapshot of the Irish tech scene and the journeys of Ireland’s most familiar entrepreneurs. This podcast helps humanise the tech scene, and delivers brilliant lessons in how the investment market is working (or not working) for Irish talent.
BOOKS
Web of Lies
by Aoife Gallagher published by Gill Books
Recently published, a gripping deep dive into the rising threat of far-right extremism in Ireland and internationally, Gallagher examines how these movements use the Internet to polarise society.
Kellie
by Kellie Harrington with Roddy Doyle, published by Penguin Sandycove
Harrington tells the story of her sometimes difficult childhood, her triumphs, the impact of boxing on her life, and her commitment to living a normal life.
Believing in Me
by Deborah Somorin, published by Gill Books
Chartered accountant and founder of a housing non-profit, Somorin recounts her story of becoming homeless at 13, pregnant at 14, and her journey since.
Where I End
by Sophie White, published by Tramp Books
Set on an island, White’s first literary fiction is a gripping tale of place, motherhood, family and the dark secrets at the heart of a community.
TV
Motherland (Season 3)
The brand new season brings Julia, Liz, Amanda, Meg, Anne and Kevin back together in Sharon Horgan’s satirical look at the intricacies and hilarities of middle class parenting. Highlights include Anna Maxwell Martin playing Julia to perfection with her comic self-absorption, and the memorable closing down of Amanda’s ‘store’ Hygge Tygge.
Stutz
This documentary, directed by and featuring actor Jonah Hill, turns therapy on its head, profiling his own “shrink” Phil Stutz. The actor interviews him, while also sharing his incredibly frank views on mental wellness in the context of his own. With Stutz, Hill says, the aim is to give its audience the mental tools to “make their lives better”.
The Crown (Season 5)
The penultimate season about the British royal family and their (many, extensive) trials and tribulations, this particular set of 10 episodes spans the late 80s and early 90s, finishing up in the months prior to the famous accident that killed Diana, Princess of Wales. The new cast features Imelda Staunton as the late Queen Elizabeth, Dominic West as the then Prince Charles (an exceptionally generous casting, tbh) and Elizabeth Debicki, whose portral of Diana is so spot on it could be documentary footage.
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