Reviews of Beverage Chronicles; Babes In Bookland, Beneath The City Is Soil, Call ’Em Like A Museum; Announcements about London Podcast Festival and Our Gay Black Diaspora.
This Week’s Indie Star: Creator/Host Gemma Smith of Tails and Tassels just won two Certificates of Excellence from the Cat Writers’ Association, Inc. for Digital Media. On her podcast, you’ll explore the world of burlesque and nightlife performers — their craft, their cats, and how these two worlds collide. Plus, enjoy bonus episodes featuring feline experts answering your burning questions.
Friend of Ear Worthy and Creator/Host Gemma Smith said: “I started this show because I genuinely love talking to interesting people in the burlesque and cat world. I do it all myself, from booking guests to editing to marketing, so having it recognized by an outside panel feels really special.
Beverage Chronicles
What’s This Podcast About: Beverage Chronicles is a radio show and podcast that explores the stories, flavors, science, and trends behind alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
Who Will Enjoy This Podcast: People who enjoy history, science, mixology, and narrative podcasts.
Creator/Host: Gary Monterosso is an award-winning drinks journalist, author, and television personality. Beverage Chronicles is an official network partner show with Heritage Radio Network (HRN).
What I love about the show: It's well produced, opening with the sound of a carbonated beverage can being opened with that distinctive pop, then fizz as it is poured into a glass. Then, Gary Monterosso says, “Kick back, pour something interesting, and talk about the stories about what’s in the glass.”
The show doesn’t waste your time, discussing mixology and the origin of alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks in a breezy 15 minutes. Deep-voiced and earnest, the host, Gary Monterosso, excels at storytelling and narrative podcasting.
Recommended Episode to start listening with: July 8, 2026 episode — One of the show’s most interesting episodes concerned the competing origin stories of the Long Island Iced Tea. Mr. Monterosso regales listeners with the two theories: one centered on bartender Robert “Rosebud” Butt at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island in 1972, and another tied to Old Man Bishop in Prohibition-era Kingsport, Tennessee.
Babes In Bookland Podcast
Babes in Bookland podcast is a women’s book club show that focuses on reading, unpacking, and celebrating memoirs written by women.
What’s This Podcast About: On the show, host Alex Frnka talks directly with memoirists about their writing process and core themes of their books. The show centers on identity, personal growth, and unfiltered human experiences, and it's a cozy space for listeners who love deep, honest literary conversations.
Who Will Enjoy This Podcast: Book lovers and memoir fans; the target audience is women.
Creator/Host: Alex Frnka is an American actress, writer, and podcaster. She has acted in over 20 films and TV shows like The Inbetweeners and LA to Vegas. She has also acted in television series such as Castle, Bones, and Awkward, and wrote and produced the short drama film Blue Moon, which won an Audience Award at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2022.
What I love about the show: The podcast opens with a riffy piano/violin intro as Frnka introduces the show. The show’s vibe is upbeat and investigative. To separate the show from the thousands of other book podcasts, Frnka focuses on memoirs written by women. It’s a smart strategy, and it’s a popular niche within a genre. After all, women are the majority of book readers today, while I guess men are in sports bars discussing their fantasy football league?
Recommended Episode to start listening with: July 25, 2026 — Janet Fash’s Memoir “Lifeguard: A Love Story.” Alex Frnka dives into Lifeguard: A Love Story, the memoir by Janet Fash, one of the first female lifeguard chiefs in New York City history, co-written with Cleo Chang.
Beneath The City Is Soil
What’s This Podcast About: Beneath the City is Soil, launched on August 25th. With heatwaves and wildfires sweeping the UK, France and Spain this summer, the series asks an urgent question: how are communities actually building climate resilience on the ground, and what future do we want to collectively build? Hosted by Robyn Moffat, it follows organizers, horticulturalists, environmental social scientists and educators across London who are reimagining public space, land and collective action in the face of inequality and environmental breakdown.
Across six episodes, the series covers land and housing (with Right to Roam campaigner Lewis Winks), foraging and the natural world (with Maymana Arefin of fungi.futures), public infrastructure and food systems (with Nathan Miller of East London Waterworks Park and Leslie Barson of Granville Community Kitchen and Farm Hub), nature-based education (with Richard Skrein of The Garden Classroom and Kate Bygrave of Stepney City Farm), and community-led land reclamation after Grenfell (with Tayshan Hayden-Smith and Will Carr of Grow to Know).
Who Will Enjoy This Podcast: Anyone who loves the natural world and the foundational aspects of the world we live in, such as infrastructure, conservation, food systems, and education.
Creator/Host: Robyn Moffat with Transmission Roundhouse
What I love about the show: It explores alternatives for the future. I love the attitude: It’s never too late to change for the better. Moreover, Moffat is a hypnotic narrator. I could listen to her for hours! The sound design is lush and urgent: Staccato violins following bird song. This show is another example of how brilliant indie podcasters craft narrative shows beyond the scope of large podcast networks.
Recommended Episode to start listening with: The first episode — Part 1. Citizens not Subject — just released last week, and somehow connects the housing crisis in the U.K. to the Right to Roam in England, the Norman Invasion of 1066. Talk about connecting the dots!
Call ’Em Like Museum, a Podcast About How Museums Work & Why We Love Them
What’s This Podcast About: It’s about museums! In the U.S. today, anti-intellectualism runs through our society. People revise facts to fit their political view when it should be the other way around. The current administration has harassed museums and cut their budgets. According to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the United States has more than 35,000 active museums. This total is much higher than older estimates and means museums outnumber all Starbucks and McDonald’s locations combined. Museums get us out of our comfort zones. Museums offer new information and help us adapt our worldview. Sadly, today, too many people live in their “Fox News” echo chambers.
Who Will Enjoy This Podcast: Museum lovers of all ages, Art, Science, &
History students, Parents & teachers, and Cultural heritage
workers. Who doesn’t love a museum? (NOTE: If you don’t like museums, please review your life choices.)
Creator/Host: It’s created and hosted by LightningPod founder Eric Johnson, former host of Follow Friday and producer of podcasts such as Recode Decode with Kara Swisher, Grit, and the Powers That Be. He currently produces The Upstarts Podcast, Great Chat, Lock & Code, and more. Mr. Johnson calls this show “a side project,” but it's far better than many of Spotify’s main projects!
What I love about the show: How can you not love museums? I live near Philadelphia, and the city has over 100 museums and cultural exhibits distributed throughout the city. I am slowly making my way to all 100 of them. In addition, Eric Johnson has a strong podcast pedigree that evinces itself in the quality of the content.
Recommended Episode to start listening with: Check out the trailer.
London Podcast Festival September 3–13, 2026
The London Podcast Festival has announced a fresh wave of shows for its 11th year, taking place at Kings Place, London’s home of live podcasting, and with some shows available for live streaming online, from 3–13 September 2026. I think the festival wins an award for festival longevity!
The newly confirmed line-up includes Clara & Munroe Are Into It, with broadcaster Clara Amfo and writer and model Munroe Bergdorf; a live recording of The Guardian: Science Weekly; The Final FronTia with drag superstar Tia Kofi; and The Guilty Feminist, hosted by Deborah Frances-White as part of their Road to Gilead Project.
The program also includes All British Comedy Explained, Disniversity: Nightmare Before Christmas, and NonCensored. Also on the bill is The Power of a Book, hosted by Rachel Parris with special guests Sophie Duker and Nina Conti, which celebrates the power and joy of reading in childhood. To support their aim of eradicating book poverty in children, King’s Place will provide a book donation hub so audience members can bring a book to donate to The Children’s Book Project.
The popular Audio Drama Day will return with shows from Camlann: An audio drama, Audio Drama Done Quick, An Audience with Madame Magenta (& Bernard) and We Fix Space Junk.
Also returning is Maker Weekend, with a range of high-quality, affordable, professional workshops and classes for anyone interested in the podcasting industry. This year’s so far include I’ve Started a Podcast, What Now? and How to Start a Podcast, with more to be announced.
Eleven years into launching Europe’s first major podcast festival, the London Podcast Festival continues to champion creativity, community, connection and innovation in the global podcasting scene.
With such a wide-ranging line-up, the festival is as much about discovery as celebration — a chance for listeners to find their next favorite show alongside the ones they already love. It remains a place where fan communities can come together in person, with ticket prices kept accessible so that meeting up with fellow listeners stays affordable for everyone.
Curated by Kings Place’s Head of Artistic Planning Rebecca Millican, the 2026 festival continues to reflect podcasting’s remarkable ability to entertain, inspire and bring people together.
Millican says: “We’re thrilled to reveal these brand-new additions to the London Podcast Festival’s 11th year. Every year the line-up grows more diverse, and that’s exactly the point — there’s a community here for every kind of listener, from longtime fans catching their favorite show to newcomers discovering something for the first time. It’s a real joy to watch those communities come together in our halls each September, and we can’t wait to welcome them all back this year.”
For available tickets and full program details, visit:
https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/london-podcast-festival/
Our Gay Black Diaspora Podcast was recognized by PodSEO
Built for Black LGBTQ professionals, this PodSEO list highlights podcasts covering the stories, tools, and conversations that matter most to this audience.
One of the recognized podcasts was Our Gay Black Diaspora, created and hosted by Erick Taylor Woodby, a friend of Ear Worthy and an all-around nice guy.
Erick says: Our Black Gay Diaspora is a podcast that sits at the intersection of culture, identity, and global storytelling.”
This Week’s Forbes Article: Talent Agents Are Representing More Podcasters As The Industry Grows.
Check out books by Frank Racioppi. Everything from novels and nonfiction to podcasting books and essays. Coming in 2027 — The Best Independent Podcasts of 2027.
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