‘They’re dumb – but I want to win’: comedians tell of the highs and lows of the Edinburgh fringe awards
If you like Baby Reindeer, you’ll love Young Mungo! 29 terrific TV shows – and the books to read instead
June 2024
This much I know
Jon Ronson: ‘It’s getting harder to be optimistic’
The writer and broadcaster, 57, on tracking down stories, holding grudges, feeling happiest when he’s at work – and looking for the connections that bring us together
May 2024
Jon Ronson: ‘A society that stops caring about facts is a society where anything can happen’
The broadcaster’s podcast series exploring conspiracy theories and the culture wars has struck a nerve. He explains why journalistic values are needed now more than ever
January 2024
Miranda Sawyer on podcasts and radio
The week in audio: Things Fell Apart; The Queen’s Reading Room; Who Do You Really Think You Are? – review
Jon Ronson’s state-of-the-world series returns with aplomb, a books podcast is a royal bore, and Adam Rutherford sets out to prove we’re all blue-blooded
June 2023
Best culture of 2023 so far
The best podcasts of 2023 so far
Rylan Clark discusses how to be a man, Daisy May Cooper is unreceptive to classic novels and Jon Ronson investigates a debutante turned neo-Nazi in the pick of the year to date
April 2023
On my radar
On my radar: Jon Ronson’s cultural highlights
The writer and broadcaster on his favourite streaming series, a remastered 2 Tone concert film and why cannabis edibles should be legal
April 2022
Politics Weekly America
Jon Ronson on the fall of Alex Jones: Politics Weekly America
Documentary maker Jon Ronson has followed Alex Jones’ career from the very beginning. This week, Jonathan Freedland asks him for his take on the fall of one of America’s most famous conspiracy theorists
February 2022
Down the rabbit hole
What links a US TV televangelist to Frank Sidebottom and Rupert Murdoch?
From Jessica Chastain’s new biopic to a James Graham play, take a dive down the rabbit hole with Tammy Faye Bakker
December 2021
The 20 best podcasts of 2021
Sunday with Jon Ronson: ‘Around 5.30am I feed the birds’
November 2021
Jon Ronson and Adam Curtis on the culture wars: ‘How has this happened? Where is the escape hatch?’
As Ronson’s BBC podcast Things Fell Apart begins, the documentary-makers and old friends discuss conspiracy theories, the problem of ‘activist journalists’ and what happened to Ceaușescu’s socks
April 2021
Making sense of conspiracy theorists as the world gets more bizarre
It is 20 years since Jon Ronson wrote Them, his eye-popping investigation into conspiracy theorists. Now, in a world awash with tales of paedophile elites and puppet masters, is he any closer to understanding it all?
January 2021
Simon Parkin on games
Conspiracy! review – to the heart of America's deep state
Sift through the evidence and unravel a plot to defraud US democracy in this timely immersive satire
December 2020
'The first week was mayhem' – how This American Life revolutionised radio
It has spawned hit spinoffs, bagged a Pulitzer and its evocative, character-led reports now have 5 million fans. Has This American Life grown too big? As the show turns 25, founder Ira Glass reveals what keeps him up at night
August 2020
Now you're talking! The best audiobooks, chosen by writers
Memoirs, mysteries and coming-of-age stories are lifted by a powerful voice – that of a great actor, or the writer in full reveal. Here, 15 artists and critics pick their favourite audiobooks
December 2019
Best podcasts of the week
The 20 best podcasts of 2019
From a foodie Desert Island Discs to sex-industry exposés, sisterly chat and true-crime chillers, here are our picks from a fascinating year’s listening
January 2019
The Last Days of August review – unsettling tale of a porn star's demise
The week in radio and podcasts: The Last Days of August; As Others See Us; Soho Then
December 2018
Observer New Review Q&A
Jon Ronson: ‘If you want to get away with malevolent power, be boring’
The broadcaster and writer on life in New York, his new podcast on the death of a porn star and the many perils of social media