This week, Mark is in conversation with author and teacher Katherine Benfante, to determine who wins physics.

• (00:00) - We need physics!
• (00:32) - Introduction
• (02:37) - Katherine’s pick: Sir Isaac Newton
• (05:01) - Mark’s pick: Joseph Swan
• (07:29) - Katherine’s pick: James Clerk Maxwell
• (13:53) - Mark’s pick: William Shockley
• (15:41) - Katherine’s pick: Ernest Rutherford
• (19:13) - Mark’s pick: Heinrich Hertz
• (21:22) - Katherine’s pick: Albert Einstein
• (25:23) - Mark’s pick: Guglielmo Marconi
• (28:12) - Katherine’s pick: Stephen Hawking
• (33:26) - Mark’s pick: Alexander Graham Bell
• (35:32) - Midamble
• (38:28) - Building the final list
• (41:26) - Honourable mentions
• (42:13) - Katherine’s p ick: Sir Isaac Newton
• (45:08) - Scattered

Find Katherine via her website, buy her book Scattered on Amazon, or follow her on Twitter.

And breathe.

Kim Witten helps people turn their overthinking into expert thinking, and she joins Mark to build a top-5 list of ways to tame the gremlins in our brain.

• (00:00) - You are in charge
• (00:40) - Introduction
• (01:21) - Why the brain?
• (03:30) - The vice of advice
• (06:13) - Kim’s pick: Make a top-5 list of you
• (11:33) - Mark’s pick: Walk for a 10-song playlist
• (15:06) - Kim’s pick: Get some perspective
• (18:52) - Mark’s pick: Occupy your chimp
• (22:26) - Kim’s pick: Treat feelings as feedback
• (25:20) - Mark’s pick: Make the right thing the easy thing
• (28:28) - Kim’s pick: Get stuff out of your head
• (32:04) - Mark’s pick: Dance like nobody’s watching
• (34:33) - Kim’s pick: Be like Alice
• (39:00) - Mark’s pick: Meditate for 15 minutes
• (43:58) - Midamble
• (45:09) - Building the final list
• (46:27) - Honourable mentions
• (52:29) - Hold That Thought

Find Kim via her website, and make sure to sign up for her newsletter to keep the journey of gremlin-taming going.

PS: Mark doesn’t usually have coaches or coachy-type conversations on this podcast. But Kim’s one of the good’ns, and what she has to say is sound.

Lex is, among many things (musician, improviser, podcaster, game developer and consultant), a turbo Yankovic fan, and it’s quite possible that even Al himself might struggle to come up with a better list.

• (00:00) - Stay weird, Al
• (00:40) - Introduction
• (01:04) - Getting into Weird Al
• (05:52) - Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
• (08:02) - Lex’s pick: Word Crimes
• (11:06) - Mark’s pick: Everything You Know is Wrong
• (14:26) - Lex’s pick: Trapped in the Drive-Thru
• (18:16) - Mark’s pick: Albuquerque
• (21:41) - Lex’s pick: Hardware Store
• (24:04) - Mark’s pick: Christmas at Ground Zero
• (26:49) - Lex’s pick: Skipper Dan
• (28:33) - Mark’s pick: Your Horoscope for Today
• (31:04) - Lex’s pick: Frank's 2000" TV
• (32:49) - Mark’s pick: The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota
• (35:54) - Midamble
• (38:08) - Building the final list
• (39:23) - Honourable mentions
• (43:44) - The music of Liam & Lex
• (46:28) - More of Lex Friedman

Find Lex online on his website, play one of his many word games, hang out with him on Mastodon, or buy one or all of Liam & Lex’s albums.

This week, Stephanie Fuccio joins Mark to pick their top 5 songs that drag them to the dance floor. At the end of this, you’ll either leave with an earworm or the need to jump on a mini-trampoline for a bit.

• (00:00) - We have to dance
• (00:17) - Introduction
• (00:58) - When do you dance?
• (05:41) - Steph’s pick: Missy Elliott - The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
• (08:40) - Mark’s pick: Brush Shiels – Fields of Athenry
• (10:37) - Steph’s pick: Girls' Generation – 소녀시대
• (12:31) - Mark’s pick: Deee Lite – Groove is in the Heart
• (16:46) - Steph’s pick: Donna Summer – The Last Dance
• (18:43) - Mark’s pick: House of Pain – Jump Around
• (20:25) - Steph’s pick: Walk the Moon – One Foot
• (24:47) - Mark’s pick: Madness – Baggy Trousers
• (26:36) - Steph’s pick: Elderbrook – Glad I Found You
• (35:22) - Midamble
• (35:22) - Mark’s pick: Reef – Place Your Hands
• (37:25) - Building the final list
• (39:36) - Honourable mentions
• (45:50) - Ai and Podcasting

If you have a podcast, you can work with Steph to make it better, or follow her AI and Podcasting newsletter to learn how to make ChatGPT do your bidding.

This week, Ayesha Khan joins Mark to rank androids from sci-fi films.

• (00:00) - Cold open
• (00:19) - Introduction
• (02:00) - What is an android?
• (03:38) - Ayesha’s pick: The Terminator, from Terminator 2: Judgement Day
• (07:32) - Mark’s pick: Marvin, from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
• (10:29) - Ayesha’s pick: Ava, from Ex Machina
• (13:16) - Mark’s pick: Ash, from Alien
• (15:46) - Ayesha’s pick: Evil Maria, from Metropolis
• (20:58) - Mark’s pick: The Terminator, from The Terminator
• (24:33) - Ayesha’s pick: The Stepford Wives, from The Stepford Wives
• (26:54) - Mark’s pick: David, from AI
• (31:39) - Ayesha’s pick: Data, from Star Trek
• (35:10) - Mark’s pick: C-3PO, from Star Wars
• (37:56) - Midamble
• (39:55) - Building the final list
• (43:06) - Honourable mentions
• (46:31) - Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

Ayesha is the host of the podcast Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*. You can follow her tireless work wherever you get podcasts, and on Youtube and Instagram.

Jon Hickman rejoins Mark to discuss their top-5 piano pop ac.

• (00:00) - Cold open
• (00:26) - Introduction
• (00:47) - Jon’s pick: Billy Joel
• (03:21) - Mark’s pick: Ben Folds (Five)
• (15:28) - Jon’s pick: Regina Spektor
• (19:12) - Mark’s pick: Elton John
• (24:20) - Jon’s pick: Sean Smith
• (31:14) - Mark’s pick: Muse
• (35:42) - Jon’s pick: Keane
• (41:12) - Mark’s pick: Stevie Wonder
• (48:23) - Midamble
• (50:41) - Building the final list
• (53:23) - Honourable mentions
• (59:44) - More of Jon Hickman

Find Jon @jonhickman just about everywhere (but not on the hellsite), or visit his lovely website.

Valerie Paris rejoins Mark to discuss their top-5 Bond gadgets. Like Valerie’s previous appearance, it’s funny and charming. Unlike Mark’s previous Bond episode, it’s accurate and researched.

• (00:00) - Cold open
• (00:26) - Introduction
• (00:54) - Welcome to Bond
• (03:29) - Valerie’s pick: The rebreather from Thunderball
• (05:00) - Mark’s pick: Garrote watch from From Russia with Love
• (11:51) - Valerie’s pick: The Felix lighter from License to Kill
• (14:00) - Mark’s pick: Mini rocket cigarette from You Only Live Twice
• (17:03) - Valerie’s pick: Crocodile suit from Octopussy
• (18:54) - Mark’s pick: Ericsson JB988 from Tomorrow Never Dies
• (21:37) - Flip phone nostalgia
• (23:22) - Valerie’s pick: Grenade pen from GoldenEye
• (26:36) - Mark’s pick: Single digit sonic agitator from Day Another Day
• (31:33) - Valerie’s pick: The golden gun from The Man with the Golden Gun
• (33:38) - Mark’s pick: Smart blood from Spectre
• (36:54) - Bring back romantic Bond
• (42:01) - Midamble
• (44:00) - Building the final list
• (46:21) - Honourable mentions
• (49:24) - If Bond gadgets were real
• (50:13) - Bond’s silliest gadgets
• (53:26) - More of Valerie

Find Valerie’s interactive novel and video games on her itch.io page, and follow her on Twitter.

No, this isn’t a conspiracy episode – just a collation of ways you can actually make a difference in your home, your street, your local area, and maybe a little further afield.

Rebecca Bratspies, environment expert and law professor joins Mark to discuss their top-5 ways we can actually make a difference.

• (00:00) - Cold open
• (00:28) - Introduction
• (01:03) - More than trees and bunnies
• (03:06) - What’s the world’s problem?
• (04:51) - Mark rationalises his list
• (06:01) - Rebecca’s pick: Vote
• (08:05) - Mark’s pick: Ask before you judge
• (11:36) - Rebecca’s pick: Get involved locally
• (18:24) - Mark’s pick: Teach empathy
• (21:53) - Rebecca’s pick: Eat less meat
• (27:38) - Mark’s pick: Watch the Monty Python Argument Sketch
• (28:58) - Rebecca’s pick: Rethink your use of plastic
• (33:10) - Mark’s pick: Stop othering people
• (37:59) - Rebecca’s pick: Be a lifelong learner
• (41:22) - Mark’s pick: Spend time with people, not systems
• (44:30) - Midamble
• (49:03) - Building the final list
• (50:47) - Honourable mentions
• (52:31) - Keep up with Rebecca

Find Rebecca’s work via her website, and follow @RBratspies on Twitter.

Arielle Nissenblatt, podcast maven and former List Envy guest, returns to decide on the top five ways to explore a new city while travelling solo.

• (00:00) - Sometimes it's better solo
• (00:33) - Introduction
• (01:03) - Guatemala was too hot
• (02:50) - Arielle’s pick: Join a free walking tour
• (07:35) - Mark’s pick: Follow the music
• (10:30) - Arielle’s pick: Go to a vegetarian restaurant
• (13:07) - Mark’s pick: Get lost
• (15:46) - Arielle’s pick: Look for the local coffee roaster
• (17:54) - Mark’s pick: Meet up with an acquaintance
• (21:44) - Arielle’s pick: Read Atlas Obscura
• (25:10) - Mark’s pick: Ask a local
• (27:46) - Arielle’s pick: Find the nearest body of water
• (30:14) - Mark’s pick: Buy some local street food
• (31:48) - Midamble
• (36:08) - Building the final list
• (36:35) - Honourable mentions
• (39:07) - More of Arielle Nissenblatt

You can find Arielle in podcast form via Daily Tips That May or May. Not Help You, and Trailer Park, the podcast trailer podcast.

Arielle does lots of other things too, so you can find them all on her website… which is best.

Ashley Hamer joins Mark to rank real-world inventions inspired by sci-fi, and Mark reveals that he apparently went to school in a gadget factory.

• (00:00) - Cold open
• (00:11) - Introduction
• (00:41) - Guest
• (03:44) - Ashley’s pick: Autonomous cars
• (07:21) - Mark’s pick: World Wide Web
• (08:39) - Ashley’s pick: Atomic bombs
• (10:09) - Mark’s pick: Mobile phone
• (11:58) - Ashley’s pick: Video calling
• (17:26) - Mark’s pick: Helicopter
• (20:23) - Ashley’s pick: Credit cards
• (21:46) - Mark’s go-go gadget school
• (25:15) - Mark’s pick: Mechanical limbs
• (26:40) - Midamble
• (28:56) - Building the final list
• (29:32) - Honourable mentions
• (31:36) - Taboo Science

Ashley is the host of Taboo Science, which examines taboos through a scientific lens. She’s also the author of The Weekly Tweak, which seeks to help your podcasting game improve, one tweak at a time.

You can also find her pretty much everywhere online @smashleyhamer.

Professional voice actor Jodi Krangle joins Mark to discuss all things sonic branding, and to pick their combined top 5 list of sonic logos.

• (00:00) - Your kettle has a sonic brand
• (00:30) - Introduction
• (00:53) - Why is audio branding important?
• (03:01) - Jodi’s pick: Intel
• (06:31) - Mark’s pick: Sega
• (09:00) - Jodi’s pick: McDonald’s
• (12:16) - Mark’s pick: KFC
• (13:14) - Jodi’s pick: Netflix
• (15:08) - Mark’s pick: macOS startup chime
• (17:53) - Jodi’s pick: State Farm
• (19:37) - Mark’s pick: Cadbury
• (21:34) - Jodi’s pick: Renault
• (23:55) - Mark’s pick: Xbox 360
• (24:49) - Midamble
• (27:14) - Building the final list
• (28:14) - Honourable mentions
• (32:15) - Making people pay attention
• (35:16) - Pearl and Dean
• (36:15) - The Audio Branding podcast

Listen to the Audio Branding podcast, and book Jodi for your next project.

This week, Mark is joined by Disney turbo-enthusiast James Smith, to create the definitive list of things you can do in the happiest place on earth.

• (00:00) - Cold open
• (00:14) - Introduction
• (01:42) - The changing parks
• (03:16) - James’s pick: The Haunted Mansion
• (08:21) - Mark’s pick: Space Mountain
• (14:55) - James’s pick: Pirates of the Caribbean
• (19:33) - Mark’s pick: Evening fireworks
• (22:48) - James’s pick: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• (25:17) - Drink your way through Disney World
• (26:38) - Mark’s pick: Cinderella Castle
• (31:59) - James’s pick: Peter Pan’s Flight
• (35:21) - Mark’s pick: Parades
• (39:34) - James’s pick: Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
• (42:37) - Mark’s pick: Jungle cruise
• (45:31) - A brief sitdown
• (46:25) - The Big Minute
• (48:28) - Building the final list
• (51:11) - Honourable mentions
• (53:02) - Disney Facts and Figment

Standup comic Luke Gallacher joins Mark to discuss films that give them the absolute ick, and put them in the correct order.

• (00:00) - We don’t want famous people in our horrors
• (00:12) - It begins
• (01:26) - In this house we do horror
• (02:46) - Luke’s pick: Nightmare on Elm Street
• (05:18) - Mark’s pick: Midsommar
• (07:46) - Luke’s pick: Paranormal Activity
• (10:11) - Mark’s pick: the Babadook
• (13:17) - Luke’s pick: Hereditary
• (17:50) - Mark’s pick: A Clockwork Orange
• (19:21) - Luke’s pick: Smile
• (24:42) - Mark’s pick: The Blair Witch Project
• (29:50) - Luke’s pick: The Conjuring
• (32:07) - Luke’s pick: The Witch
• (33:02) - Mark’s pick: Mama
• (35:13) - You can open your eyes now
• (37:22) - Get List Envy +
• (38:52) - Coming up
• (39:37) - Building the final list
• (42:04) - Honourable mentions
• (45:26) - The end…?

Find Luke at a comedy venue near you. If there’s an open mic or a competition, chances are he’ll be there.

John Olson, author of the Stranger Bridgerland book series joins Mark to discuss places that will creep you the hell out.

• (00:00) - The Stair Monster
• (00:07) - Introduction
• (00:53) - The 100 Year-old House
• (04:03) - The Man in the Hat
• (05:03) - Where is the evidence?
• (06:38) - John’s pick: the Queen Mary
• (10:32) - Mark’s pick: 284 Green Street
• (12:29) - John’s pick: The Stanley Hotel, Colorado
• (16:15) - Mark’s pick: The Catacombs underneath Paris
• (19:04) - John’s pick: Pavaglia
• (21:19) - Mark’s pick: Aokigahara
• (24:06) - John’s pick: Waverly Hills Sanatorium
• (26:44) - Mark’s pick: Zvíkov Castle, Czech Republic
• (28:21) - John’s pick: The Bigelow Hotel, Ogden
• (31:02) - Midamble
• (32:36) - Get List Envy +
• (34:22) - Coming up
• (35:11) - Building the final list
• (36:16) - Honourable mentions
• (36:55) - Stranger Bridgerland

Discover Stranger Bridgerland online and follow John on TikTok.

The Stranger Bridgerland podcast

Jon Bounds rejoins Mark to discuss their top-5 80s sitcoms from the UK. There is a very long long-list.

• (00:00) - Jon moved Dead Elvis
• (00:07) - Introduction
• (00:53) - What makes a sitcom?
• (02:27) - Jon’s pick: Only Fools and Horses
• (07:19) - Mark’s pick: The Young Ones
• (11:29) - Jon’s pick: Hi-de-Hi
• (15:08) - Mark’s pick: Blackadder
• (21:15) - Jon’s pick: Yes Minister
• (26:49) - Mark’s pick: Red Dwarf
• (31:15) - Jon’s pick: Colin’s Sandwich
• (33:54) - Mark’s pick: Auf Wiedersehen Pet
• (37:27) - You have been watching
• (38:18) - Get List Envy +
• (40:10) - Coming up
• (41:19) - Building the final list
• (43:06) - Honourable mentions
• (47:18) - Trigger’s Broom

Keep up with Jon via his website, and to know when his new podcast Trigger’s Broom drops.

Cat Turner joins Mark to sift through all 37 Eurovision 2024 semifinalists to discover which are objectively the best 5.

• (00:00) - Who chooses hockey over Eurovision?
• (00:08) - Introduction
• (02:00) - Memories of Eurovision past
• (04:28) - How Mark got Eurovision wrong
• (05:13) - Cat’s pick: Baby Lasagna - Rim Tim Tagi Dim
• (07:36) - Mark’s pick: Aiko - Pedestal
• (10:26) - Cat’s pick: Joost Klein - Europapa
• (12:39) - Mark’s pick: Bambie Thug - Doomsday Blue
• (14:22) - Sweden don’t want to host again
• (15:25) - Cat’s pick: 5Minust x Puuluup - (Nendest) Narkootikumidest ei Tea Me
• (18:24) - Mark’s pick: Nemo - The Code
• (21:17) - Cat’s pick: Electric Fields - One Milkali (One Blood)
• (22:57) - Mark’s pick: Ladaniva - Jako
• (25:05) - Cat’s pick: Olly Alexander - Dizzy
• (27:23) - Mark’s pick: Windows95man - No Rules!
• (29:51) - Vote now!
• (30:41) - Get List Envy +
• (31:43) - Coming up
• (33:00) - Building the final list
• (33:57) - Honourable mentions
• (36:32) - See you at the finals

Hear the full playlist on YouTube

This week, new standup Dave Bond joins Mark to discuss their top-5 British standups you can currently see live… and simply must!

• (00:00) - A first
• (00:08) - Introduction
• (00:55) - Make ‘em laugh
• (03:55) - Dave’s pick: Peter Kay
• (08:01) - Mark’s pick: Daniel Kitson
• (10:25) - Dave’s pick: Jimmy Carr
• (13:58) - Mark’s pick: Sarah Millican
• (17:27) - Dave’s pick: Neil Delamere
• (19:55) - Mark’s pick: Ross Noble
• (23:03) - Dave’s pick: James Cook
• (24:05) - Mark’s pick: Nina Conti
• (27:13) - Dave’s pick: Greg Davies
• (28:41) - Intermission
• (31:52) - Get List Envy +
• (33:10) - Coming up
• (34:50) - Building the final list
• (38:44) - Honourable mentions
• (41:48) - More of Dave Bond

Watch Dave’s first piece of standup

Turns out yes, yes there is, as positive psychologist and K-drama stan Anya Pearse explains.

• (00:00) - A lot of thought wente into this
• (00:11) - Introduction
• (00:57) - What makes K-dramas different?
• (04:39) - Anya’s pick: Extraordinary Attorney Woo
• (09:02) - Mark’s pick: I am Not a Robot
• (12:50) - Anya’s pick: Are You Human?
• (16:21) - Mark’s pick: Strong Girl Bong-soon
• (22:03) - Anya’s pick: Navillera
• (25:58) - Mark’s pick: Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
• (30:10) - Anya’s pick: Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung
• (34:13) - Mark’s pick: It’s OK Not to be OK
• (38:27) - Anya’s pick: 100 Days My Prince
• (40:42) - Mark’s pick: Queen of Tears
• (42:31) - We’re on a break!
• (44:24) - Get List Envy +
• (45:37) - Back to the show
• (45:46) - Building the final list
• (46:45) - Honourable mentions
• (47:40) - Strong female leads need not apply

If this episode has made you happy and you want to keep feeling happy, Anya’s Unlocking Happiness online summit is available to watch for free.

So today, George Chachanidze rejoins Mark to pick their top 5 emoji reactions, and create a definitive list.

• (00:00) - 👋
• (00:17) - Introduction
• (01:08) - History of the emoji
• (05:14) - George’s pick: 😂
• (08:16) - Mark’s pick: 🤗
• (10:16) - George’s pick: 🤔
• (12:11) - Mark’s pick: 🙏
• (14:09) - George’s pick: 👍
• (17:03) - Mark’s pick: 👋
• (18:49) - George’s pick: 👀
• (20:31) - Mark’s pick: 😘
• (24:11) - George’s pick: 👉👈
• (26:14) - Mark’s pick: 🐴
• (28:03) - ✂️
• (28:56) - Join List Envy +
• (29:57) - Back to the show
• (30:11) - Building the final list
• (32:47) - Honourable mentions
• (36:57) - More of George

Also mentioned

• TextExpander
• The shrug emoticon: ¯*(ツ)*/¯

Snowball II, Groundskeeper Willy, Frank Grimes. These are just some of the characters that get absolutely no mention in this week’s episode.

• (00:00) - Do the Bartman
• (00:25) - Introduction
• (01:22) - Changing voices of the Simpsons
• (04:40) - Stuart's pick: Homer Simpson
• (10:17) - Mark's pick: Ralph Wiggum
• (12:51) - Stuart's pick: Lisa Simpson
• (15:57) - Mark's pick: Hank Scorpio
• (18:00) - Stuart's pick: Disco Stu
• (20:01) - Mark's pick: Dr Nick Riviera
• (23:06) - Stuart's pick: Sideshow Bob
• (25:49) - Mark's pick: Professor Frink
• (28:52) - Stuart's pick: Mr Burns
• (31:28) - Mark's pick: Gil Gunderson
• (33:36) - Get List Envy +
• (34:58) - Back to the show
• (35:27) - Building the final list
• (36:09) - Honourable mentions
• (42:16) - More of Stuart Moore

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (05:22) - Kamala's pick: Porridge Radio
• (07:40) - Mark's pick: The Corteeners
• (10:28) - Kamala's pick: Wolf Alice
• (13:42) - Mark's pick: Maxïmo Park
• (16:28) - Kamala's pick: Blaenavon
• (19:04) - Mark's pick: Gerry Cinnamon
• (22:22) - Kamala's pick: The Vaccines
• (24:34) - Mark's pick: Nothing But Thieves
• (26:54) - Kamala's pick: Courting
• (29:26) - Mark's pick: Courtney Barnett
• (31:46) - Breakdown
• (38:30) - Building the final list
• (39:56) - Honourable mentions
• (43:56) - Honourable mentions

Kamala setup and writes for The Indie Scene, a blog championing new music, with articles by a number of writers.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (09:26) - Elliott's pick: Weird!, by Yungblud
• (13:04) - Mark's pick: RTJ4, by Run the Jewels
• (16:06) - Elliott's pick: Girlfriends, by Girlfriends
• (20:00) - Mark's pick: Women in Music Pt III, by Haim
• (21:24) - Elliott's pick: Grime MC, by Jme
• (32:50) - Mark's pick: Letter to You, by Bruce Springstein
• (36:30) - Elliott's pick: Fake it Flowers, by Beabadoobee
• (39:46) - Mark's pick: Saint Cloud, by Waxahatchee
• (42:50) - Elliott's pick: Foolish Loving Spaces, by Blossoms
• (46:02) - Mark's pick: Shore, by Fleet Foxes
• (48:58) - Turn over for Side B
• (51:30) - Building the final list
• (53:44) - Honourable mentions
• (56:04) - The Scratched Record Podcast

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (05:50) - Bryony's pick: Cleaning
• (08:02) - Mark's pick: Over-planning the task
• (13:28) - Bryony's pick: Spontaneous trips out with pals
• (17:58) - Mark's pick: Organising and taxonomising
• (21:20) - Brony's pick: The mobile
• (27:32) - Mark's pick: Putting the kettle on
• (29:00) - Bryony's pick: Bingewatching
• (33:26) - Mark's pick: Bothering the cats
• (37:12) - Silhouette, by Bryony Williams
• (38:52) - Building the final list
• (41:16) - Honourable mentions
• (44:52) - Van conversions

You can get a limited edition copy of Bryony’s EP Growing / Fading, and follow her on Instagram or Twitter for more.

Tech has always been an important aspect of Ella’s work, including her early days helping artists get their work played in films or adverts.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (07:20) - Ella's pick: Livestreaming
• (13:04) - Mark's pick: Loop pedal
• (18:22) - Ella's pick: Multi-participant video calling
• (23:50) - Mark's pick: Handheld SD card recorder
• (28:16) - Ella's pick: Digital audio workstations
• (34:58) - Mark's pick: Music distribution services
• (41:04) - Ella's pick: Music recognition algorithms
• (46:12) - MArk's pick: iPad
• (51:00) - Ella's pick: Social ads
• (56:48) - Mark's pick: YouTube
• (01:06:32) - Tech a break
• (01:09:16) - Building the final list
• (01:11:30) - Honourable mentions
• (01:13:06) - More of Ella Gregg

You can find Ella at 321 Artists, where you can sign up for her mailing list to get exclusive downloads you won’t find elswhere.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (06:35) - Owen's pick: Bunny Watson
• (12:13) - Mark's pick: Horace Worblehat
• (18:33) - Owen's pick: Lirael
• (24:02) - Mark's pick: Mrs Phelps
• (28:26) - Owen's pick: Oswald Bates
• (34:32) - Mark's pick: Brooks Hatlen
• (39:06) - Owen's pick: Tammy 2
• (45:22) - Mark's pick: Joe Bookman
• (48:00) - Breaktime
• (51:00) - Building the final list
• (52:16) - Honourable mentions
• (01:04:00) - More of Owen Stephens

You can follow @ostephens on Twitter, or find him working on the Folio open source library project.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (02:29) - Aaron's pick: The Social Network
• (06:52) - Mark's pick: Shadowlands
• (11:44) - Aaron's pick: Rocketman
• (19:46) - Mark's pick: Stan and Ollie
• (21:50) - Aaron's pick: The Wolf of Wall Street
• (27:22) - Mark's pick: Hillbilly Elegy
• (30:46) - Aaron's pick: Dangal
• (36:38) - Mark's pick: Lion
• (39:24) - Aaron's pick: Marvellous
• (43:10) - Mark's pick: Private Parts
• (46:44) - Bio break
• (50:44) - Building the final list
• (52:46) - More of Aaron Conway

You can follow @aaronconway7 on Twitter and on Instagram, and make sure to check out his podcast, The Third Wheel.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (06:10) - Eliza's pick: Ikigai
• (10:14) - MArk's pick: The Chimp Paradox
• (12:14) - Eliza's pick: The Face
• (15:56) - Mark's pick: Self-compassion
• (18:56) - Eliza's pick: Sleep Well
• (24:28) - MArk's pick: The Infinite Game
• (27:08) - Eliza's pick: Beyond Mars and Venus
• (31:34) - Mark's pick: Three Men in a Boat
• (34:24) - Eliza's pick: Lady in Waiting
• (41:10) - Mark's pick: Alexander Hamilton
• (44:08) - Bookmark
• (46:56) - Building the final list
• (48:24) - Honourable mentions
• (52:32) - Goodbyes

You can read Eliza’s writings on Medium, and follow @lita_eliza on Twitter. Eliza is also Europe Editor for The Meridian magazine, and you can read some of her contributions there.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (03:40) - Sue's pick: Wildlife
• (06:46) - Mark's pick: Time to yourself
• (10:28) - Sue's pick: Green space
• (13:38) - Mark's pick: Get stuff done
• (19:46) - Sue's pick: The canals of Birmingham
• (21:28) - Mark's pick: Time offline
• (23:34) - Sue's pick: The Seven Wonders Way
• (29:26) - Mark's pick: Collecting things
• (31:32) - Sue's pick: Discovering history
• (34:34) - Mark's pick: Time with company
• (37:58) - A wee sit down
• (40:04) - Putting the final list together
• (42:58) - Goodbyes

You can follow Sue on Twitter @sueburly.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (46:55) - Honourable mentions
• (11:44) - Valerie's pick: Myst
• (27:42) - Valerie's pick: Loom
• (50:28) - More of Valerie Paris
• (23:49) - Mark's pick: Discworld
• (42:42) - Please insert disk two
• (19:45) - Valerie's pick: Still Life
• (38:21) - Mark's pick: Space Quest IV
• (07:11) - Valerie's pick: Grim Fandango
• (44:40) - Putting the final list together
• (08:59) - Mark's pick: Day of the Tentacle
• (16:39) - Mark's pick: Little Big Adventure
• (30:40) - Mark's pick: Under a Killing Moon
• (34:20) - Valerie's pick: Bad Day on the Midway

Dave remembers the first day he was praised for drawing something good, instead of being made to feel like he was falling behind academically, which is where his affinity for creative work began.

A creative person’s priorities often don’t fit in with a “professional” culture, which can lead to clashes, of which both Mark and Dave have experience.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (06:32) - Dave's tip: Don't have a plan B
• (14:40) - Mark's tip: Be supportive
• (19:46) - Dave's tip: Be childlike, but not childish
• (22:58) - Mark's tip: Be stubborn
• (27:52) - Dave's tip: Be excited by your work
• (33:58) - Mark's tip: Run your own race
• (43:00) - Dave's tip: Failing is learning
• (49:42) - Mark's tip: Use what you have to hand
• (56:00) - Dave's tip: It's a numbers game
• (59:26) - Mark's tip: Take all advice with a pinch of salt
• (01:03:34) - Refer a friend
• (01:06:38) - Building the final list
• (01:09:00) - Honourable mentions
• (01:20:12) - More of Dave Webb

Follow Dave on Instagram and @illustratteddave, and check out the wonderful WeAreBeard, of which he is Creative Director.

Links

• Compare the Meerkat
• Mark’s meme thing
• @obscurestvinyl on Instagram

Mark and Karl begin by looking at some of Christopher Nolan’s work, from Memento to Tenet, and trying to figure out whether they qualify as time-travel films.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (05:48) - Karl's pick: Groundhog Day
• (08:32) - Mark's pick: Back to the Future
• (12:02) - Karl's pick: The Time Travellers Wife
• (15:24) - Mark's pick: About Time
• (20:10) - Karl's pick: Kate & Leopold
• (23:50) - Mark's pick: Safety Not Guaranteed
• (26:14) - Karl's pick: The Lake House
• (32:18) - Mark's pick: Happy Accidents
• (33:54) - Karl's pick: Time After Time
• (38:34) - Time Break
• (44:26) - Building the final list
• (48:12) - Honourable mentions
• (49:48) - Goodbyes

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (04:38) - Rusty's pick: Benjamin Zephaniah
• (07:14) - Mark's pick: Stewart Lee
• (10:12) - Rusty's pick: Tony Iommi
• (12:32) - Mark's pick: John Cadbury
• (15:50) - Rusty's pick: Mike Skinner
• (20:14) - Mark's pick: John Oliver
• (22:50) - Rusty's pick: Pat Malloy
• (28:52) - Mark's pick: Janice Connolly
• (31:10) - Rusty's pick: Joe Lycett
• (34:50) - Brummie in the middle
• (36:22) - Putting the final list together
• (39:24) - Honourable mentions
• (46:10) - More of Rusty Nails

Follow @RustyNailsBeats on Twitter and listen to Titans of Doom’s latest single, Rise Up, in aid of the Northfield Community Partnership food bank.

Links

• Gary Sambrook eats big dinners

After years of community activism and disillusionment with political systems, Liam discovered that people were capable of remarkable things when they weren’t being told what to do. Mark and Liam discuss the way the Internet has enabled or changed activism, but allowing information to spread to places that wouldn’t ordinarily be affected or invested. They also examine what happens after the dust has settled.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (05:54) - Liam's pick: Argentine Occupy Factory movement
• (20:50) - Mark's pick: Indignados movement
• (24:10) - Liam's pick: People's uprising in Oaxaca, Mexico
• (31:10) - Mark's pick: Singing Revolution
• (37:02) - Liam's pick: Sweets Way regeneration
• (43:52) - Mark's pick: Inner-London squatting in the 70s
• (49:12) - Liam's pick: Rojava revolution
• (54:58) - Mark's pick: Sous les pavés, la plage!
• (56:36) - Liam's pick: Viome factory occupation
• (01:02:10) - Mark's pick: Rage Against the Machine for Christmas #1
• (01:04:26) - Au milieu de la discussion, la pause!
• (01:09:48) - Putting the final list together
• (01:13:38) - Honourable mentions
• (01:17:32) - What happens next?

Follow Liam on Twitter @hackofalltrades, and check out his website.

Links

• David Graeber, anthropologist, anarchist activist, and author
• Accidental Anarchist, a film by Carne Ross
• Teaching Rebellion
• Anarchists in the Boardroom, Liam’s book

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (10:38) - Nicholas's pick: Pac-Man
• (22:17) - Mark's pick: Space Invaders
• (26:57) - Nicholas's pick: Defender
• (32:44) - Mark's pick: Pole Position
• (36:41) - Nicholas's pick: Mario Bros
• (46:58) - Mark's pick: Paperboy
• (48:40) - Nicholas's pick: Galaga
• (53:22) - Mark's pick: Asteroids
• (56:17) - A primer on vector graphics
• (59:56) - Nicholas's pick: Robotron 2048
• (01:03:32) - Dispatches from the past
• (01:08:38) - Building the final list
• (01:11:20) - Honourable mentions
• (01:13:08) - More of Nicholas Bond

Nick blogs at the Retrogame Deconstruction Zone, and you can find him on Twitter @MrVGBrow.

Links

• High Score documentary series on Netflix
• Psygnosis (the video game publisher with the owl logo Mark was trying to think of)
• 10 hours of arcade noise
• Masters of Doom
• Podcast My Startup

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (01:10) - Mark's pick: The call is coming from inside the house
• (05:40) - Tom's pick: Boston Dynamics robot dog revenge
• (07:54) - Mark's pick: Petscop
• (16:16) - Mark's pick: The Young Ones' fifth housemate
• (27:42) - Honourable mentions
• (35:58) - Postamble

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (03:22) - It's the most wonderful time of the year
• (04:04) - Cat's pick: Mothman
• (16:50) - Mark's pick: Cropsey
• (19:08) - Tom's pick: Talking Angela
• (24:15) - Cat's pick: Olivia Mabel
• (37:09) - Mark's pick: The body under the bed
• (39:45) - Cat's pick: Russian sleep experiment
• (45:16) - End of part one

Suzy has specific criteria she uses to judge the quality of birds (which makes her a List Envy natural): song, plumage, behaviour and impact on the garden. She also provides some great advice if you’re looking to feed the birds, without becoming the crazy pigeon lady from Home Alone, or spreading plants that shouldn’t be spread.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (05:46) - Suzy's pick: Robin
• (09:10) - Mark's pick: Goldfinch
• (11:44) - Suzy's pick: Blue tit
• (13:58) - Mark's pick: House sparrow
• (17:00) - Suzy's pick: Blackbird
• (21:24) - Mark's pick: Chaffinch
• (29:18) - Honourable mentions
• (34:20) - Suzy's pick: Bullfinch
• (36:40) - Mark's pick: Magpie
• (40:42) - A cat amongst the pigeons
• (46:10) - Introducing Company Man
• (52:10) - Building the final list
• (55:58) - The Casual Birder

Listen to the Casual Birder podcast, and get all Suzy’s contact details on her website.

There are quite a few swears in this episode, and more than a little discussion about a mutual friend, co-host of Nick’s podcast and Mark’s, and previous List Envy guest, Jon Hickman.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (10:20) - Nick's pick: Hackers
• (16:26) - Mark's pick: The Matrix
• (21:44) - Nick's pick: The Social Network
• (26:16) - Mark's pick: Existenz
• (30:18) - Nick's pick: The Internet's Own Boy
• (33:30) - Mark's pick: The Net
• (37:40) - Nick's pick: Wreck-it Ralph
• (40:18) - Mark's pick: Ex Machina
• (43:54) - Nick's pick: Jurassic Park
• (47:34) - Mark's pick: Flight of the Navigator
• (50:48) - Honourable mentions
• (55:48) - 10: GO TO BREAK
• (59:00) - Building the final list
• (01:00:22) - More of Nick Moreton

You can keep up with Nick on Twitter, and listen to his running podcast, You Don’t Look Like a Runner

Thom maintains that magicians just want to be Bond, and who can blame him? He and Mark talk about their favourite — and least-favourite — Bonds, the trouble with the E-on canon (which is not a villainous super-weapon), and much more.

Expect swearing, Bond trivia, an extraordinary amount of incorrect information, and spoilers.

• (00:37) - Introduction
• (12:49) - Thom's pick: Francisco Scaramanga
• (15:59) - Mark's pick: Francisco Scaramanga
• (21:19) - Thom's pick: Gustav Graves / Colonel Moon
• (23:13) - Mark's pick: Alec Trevelyan
• (25:05) - Thom's pick: Xenia Onatopp
• (27:03) - Mark's pick: Auric Goldfinger
• (30:13) - Thom's pick: Max Zorin
• (33:47) - Mark's pick: Hugo Drax
• (35:33) - Thom's pick: Rosa Klebb
• (37:31) - Mark's pick: Renard
• (39:53) - Honourable mentions and villainous actors
• (43:03) - Finding the next Bond
• (46:01) - A View to a Break
• (48:57) - Building the final list
• (55:07) - The Amazing Guy

Karin hosts the Primarily 2020 podcast, which tracks the ongoing story of the Democratic primaries (the thing where they elect the party’s Presidential candidate). She feels that films about journalism tell the best stories about people engaging with public life.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (03:42) - Karin's pick: Spotlight
• (07:02) - Mark's pick: Network
• (11:26) - Karin's pick: His Girl Friday
• (15:24) - Mark's pick: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
• (19:02) - Karin's pick: Good Night, and Good Luck
• (23:56) - Mark's pick: Frost/Nixon
• (27:26) - Karin's pick: All the President's Men
• (30:58) - Mark's pick: Almost Famous
• (34:10) - Karin's pick: The Post
• (39:36) - Mark's pick: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
• (46:02) - A break in the story
• (48:12) - Building the final list
• (50:12) - Honourable mentions
• (54:24) - Primarily 2020

You can follow Karin on Twitter, and make sure to check out her podcast, Primarily 2020, available wherever you get podcasts.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (06:58) - Steve's pick: Star Wars
• (12:42) - Mark's pick: The Big Bang Theory
• (19:26) - Steve's pick: Synthesisers
• (26:32) - Steve's pick: Collections
• (31:52) - Mark's pick: Game of Thrones
• (40:16) - Steve's pick: Comic-Con
• (46:26) - Mark's pick: Board games
• (51:14) - Steve's pick: Knowing how to use gadgets
• (58:46) - Recess
• (01:00:40) - Building the final list
• (01:02:40) - Goodbyes

You can follow Steve on Twitter, and check out the work of the Dawson Bros (that’s Steve and his writing-partner brother), who have written for Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Walliams & Friend and Mitchell and Webb. You can — and simply must — also subscribe to the Mind Canyon podcast, a superb mix of improvised comedy and obsessive sound design.

Alberto has a journalism degree and worked as a graphic designer for many years. He now teaches the subject, and quite literally wrote the book on it. Although a lot of what’s covered in this episode is US-centric, Alberto maintains that the misuse of graphics isn’t a partisan problem linked to whether someone’s in a blue state or a red state, but essentially that the right is guilty of bullshitting.

Bullshit is a word you’ll hear a lot in this episode, and especially refreshing in a Spanish accent. But in this context, it has a very specific meaning, with its roots in a book by Harry Frankfurt.

In Alberto’s latest book, How Charts Lie, he reminds us that “a chart shows only what it shows”, and nothing else.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (09:34) - Alberto's pick: Choropleth map
• (14:02) - Mark's pick: Omitting the baseline
• (17:46) - Alberto's pick: Manipulation of line charts
• (21:02) - Mark's pick: Distorting the X axis
• (24:12) - Alberto's pick: Perspective effects
• (26:14) - Mark's pick: Real-world objects as bars in a graph
• (29:14) - Alberto's pick: Projection
• (34:06) - Surveys
• (38:30) - Alberto's pick: Sourcing of data
• (43:46) - Mark's pick: Reversing the Y axis
• (46:58) - A break along the axis of time
• (48:16) - Building the final list
• (51:08) - How Charts Lie
• (56:08) - Goodbyes

Mark mentioned a move by the Lib Dems in 2019 that raised a few hackles online, which was covered in the Guardian.

You can follow Alberto on Twitter, check out his website, and read his blog, The Functional Art.

Arielle grew up almost exclusively on potatoes, although she admits her palate has broadened slightly since then. If you ever thought this vegetable (which is not a vegetable, it’s a tuber; we’ve covered this) was boring, prepare to have your mind exploded all the way off.

You’ll also learn some interesting facts about potatoes, so strap in and get ready to carbo-load.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (11:20) - Arielle's pick: Hash browns
• (13:28) - Mark's pick: Roast
• (15:14) - Arielle's pick: French fries
• (17:28) - Mark's pick: Chips
• (20:48) - Arielle's pick: Samosas
• (23:18) - Mark's pick: Jacket
• (25:10) - Arielle's pick: Latkes
• (28:16) - Mark's pick: Shepherd's pie
• (29:22) - Dinner break
• (31:34) - Building the final list
• (38:14) - Potato school
• (41:04) - Earbuds Podcast Collective
• (43:58) - Goodbyes

• (00:00) - Preamble
• (01:26) - Meet Becky Graham
• (07:32) - Becky's pick: Maureen O’Hara
• (19:04) - Mark's pick: Lisbeth Salander
• (25:28) - Becky's pick: Matilda Wormwood
• (29:36) - Mark's pick: Granny Weatherwax
• (32:58) - Becky's pick: Miss Marple
• (38:00) - Mark's pick: Arya Stark
• (42:14) - Becky's pick: Lucy Pevensie
• (46:22) - Mark's pick: Clarice Starling
• (49:20) - Becky's pick: Elizabeth Bennet
• (53:20) - Mark's pick: Zoey Ashe
• (55:52) - Midamble
• (58:20) - Putting the final list together
• (01:02:04) - Your Own Words

You can find Becky co-hosting the podcast Your Own Words, with Allison Dunnings, and you can follow them show on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Sara-Mae is a writer who’s turned her natural storytelling abilities into podcasting magic. Her previous work, The Sugar Baby Confessionals picked won bronze in the Best Sex and Relationship Podcast at the 2019 British Podcast Awards, and she’s now working on a series all about the life and work of her first pick.

Mark and Sara-Mae discuss the value of being talked up to in literature, the perception of romance in literature, and the industry’s apparent reliance on classifying work, and putting authors and their work in boxes.

Sign up to the weekly newsletter so you never miss a list, and for Mark and Sara-Mae’s Goodreads recommendations.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (06:15) - Sara-Mae's pick: Georgette Heyer
• (08:22) - Mark's pick: Victoria Wood
• (11:00) - Elizabeth von Arnim
• (14:52) - Mark's pick: Nicole Perlman
• (18:56) - Sara-Mae's pick: Mary Stewart
• (27:34) - Mark's pick: Gene Kemp
• (34:03) - Sara-Mae's pick: Barbara Pym
• (40:43) - Mark's pick: Abi Morgan
• (44:20) - Sara-Mae's picks: Cynthia Voigt and Nancy Mitford
• (51:42) - Mark's pick: Tamora Pierce
• (59:08) - Reading glasses off
• (01:03:26) - Building the final list
• (01:06:04) - Fable Gazers

Ben is the co-host of the EuroWhat? podcast with previous guest Mike McComb, and hailing from the same state as Mystery Science Theater 3000 has a keen eye for a film that’s so bad it’s good. But that’s not all the Cannon studio had to offer; some of the work is surprisingly meaningful, if buried under piles of rubble caused by explosions set off by breakdancing ninjas.

Sign up to the weekly newsletter so you never miss a list, and for some links to help you get your next bad movie night off the ground.

Mark especially is quite liberal with the spoiler sauce in this episode, so if you plan on watching any of these films, just be warned that the element of surprise — at least in terms of plot — might be diminished.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (04:46) - Ben's pick: The Apple
• (09:06) - Mark's pick: Lifeforce
• (11:14) - Ben's pick: Brekain’
• (13:57) - Mark's pick: House of the Long Shadows
• (16:34) - Ben's pick: Ninja 3: The Domation
• (21:41) - Mark's pick: Runaway Train
• (26:12) - Ben's pick: Invasion USA
• (29:57) - Mark's pick: Barfly
• (33:22) - Popcorn time
• (36:18) - More of Ben Smith
• (37:38) - Building the final list
• (38:58) - Honourable mentions and goodbyes

Mike is a Eurovision aficionado, having come to it via the Sounds Like Teen Spirit documentary. He’s not let being American and thus being geofenced out of most live broadcasts steer him away, as his work on the EuroWhat? podcast will attest.

Sign up to the weekly newsletter so you never miss a list, and for some unmissable Eurovision recommendations you won’t get elsewhere.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (10:26) - Mike's pick: Stockholm, 2016
• (16:52) - Mark's pick: Düsseldorf, 2011
• (19:36) - Mike's pick: Copenhagen, 2014
• (22:50) - Mark's pick: Tel Aviv, 2019
• (28:36) - Mike's pick: Baku, 2012
• (31:50) - Mark's pick: Oslo, 2010
• (35:18) - Mike's pick: Malmö, 2013
• (38:30) - Honourable mentions
• (41:14) - What makes a good Eurovision show?
• (44:30) - A break while we tally up the votes
• (46:44) - The EuroWhat? podcast
• (49:42) - Building the final list
• (50:38) - Goodbyes

The pair started by discussing their favourite incarnations of the Doctor, and then their favourite — or least favourite — companions.

Spoilers abound

If you’re not caught up with Doctor Whoand you intend to, be warned that Mark and George will spoil the hell out of it for you.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (10:04) - George's pick: Heaven Sent
• (13:28) - Mark's pick: Father's Day
• (16:29) - George's pick: Blink
• (20:56) - Mark's pick: The Beast Below
• (25:19) - George's pick: Midnight
• (30:05) - Mark's pick: The Impossible Planet
• (36:27) - George's pick: Silence in the Library
• (42:32) - Mark's Pick: World Enough and Time
• (49:01) - George's pick:
• (54:40) - A break in time
• (57:10) - Building the final list
• (59:20) - Honourable mentions
• (01:07:31) - Goodbyes

You can follow George on Twitter, find him and Paul on YouTube discussing tech, and follow his journey living a life without a smartphone.

Daz is a musician, and a founder-member of the Birmingham-based ukulele group Moselele. He’s also a big fan of Christmas, and delivered a sack full of joy to the List Envy studio, along with an honest-to-goodness Christmas cracker and actual sleigh bells.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (08:08) - Daz's pick: Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody
• (11:28) - Mark's pick: Greg Lake - I Believe in Father Christmas
• (13:14) - Daz's pick: Elton John - Step into Christmas
• (17:16) - Mark's pick: The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping
• (20:24) - Daz's pick: Wham! - Last Christmas
• (23:18) - Mark's pick: The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York
• (28:02) - Maria Carey - All I Want for Christmas is You
• (30:40) - Mark's pick: Johnny Mathis — When a Child is Born
• (33:12) - Daz's pick: Weathergirls - Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man this Christmas (Part 1)
• (35:56) - Mark's pick: Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews - Baby It's Cold Outside
• (40:22) - Honourable mentions
• (46:04) - Jingletime
• (49:58) - Building the final list
• (53:46) - And to all a good night

Join Moselele twice a month at the Prince of Wales pub in Moseley, Birmingham, to play popular songs of the day. And be sure to join them on Sunday December 22nd where they’ll be singing Christmas songs in the beer garden of said pub. Mark will be there, and we hope you will too.

Jon co-hosts the hilarious and often genuinely moving – no pun intended — fitness, running and tech podcast You Don’t Look Like a Runner with Nick Moreton, and Thread with Mark.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (04:58) - Jon's pick: Kevin Smith movies
• (15:36) - Mark's pick: Smash Mouth
• (23:28) - Jon's pick: Pop charts
• (28:44) - Mark's pick: Bill Hicks
• (37:58) - Jon's pick: Graham Linehan
• (42:20) - Mark's pick: American Beauty
• (50:42) - Jon's pick: Cheeky Nando's'
• (55:02) - Mark's pick: The chip on his shoulder
• (59:00) - Pit stop
• (01:01:02) - Building the final list
• (01:06:14) - Marker 12

You can follow Jon Hickman on Twitter, and add 101 Things Birmingham Gave the World to your Christmas wish list.

Emma’s personal day of relevation – perhaps not dissimilar to Albert Hofmann’s bicycle day, as covered in our first episode — came about when Emma realised how transformative she found the act of dressing up at a grown-up function, not like a fancy duchess, but like a banana.

Emma believes part of her purpose is, not only to help people laugh, but to encourage them to think more as a result. But that’s not where the healing ends: the pair uncover a way to save yourself from embarrassment at the hands of a mushy apple, and Mark asks Emma if she’s ever eaten a noni.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (16:54) - Emma's pick: Banana
• (19:48) - Mark's pick: Avocado
• (22:40) - Emma's friend: Orange
• (24:54) - Mark's pick: Pear
• (26:44) - Emma's pick: Grape
• (29:46) - Mark's pick: Apple
• (32:24) - Emma's pick: Strawberry
• (35:06) - Mark's pick: Olive
• (37:58) - Emma's pick: Blueberry
• (39:32) - Mark's pick: Cherry tomato
• (41:26) - Juice break
• (43:56) - Building the final list
• (48:12) - Goodbyes

You can follow Emma on Instagram, and on Twitter. Also check out her website.

Sophie describes herself as an “accidental mathematician”, getting into the subject after studying to be an engineer. She got her PhD on the job, and transitioned from fluid mechanics to Bayesian statistics.

Here’s the piping speech from Patriot Mark mentioned.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (08:58) - Sophie's pick: Turbo codes
• (11:34) - Mark's pick: LZ 77 compression
• (14:04) - Sophie's pick: UUIDs
• (18:16) - Mark's pick: RSA
• (22:26) - Sophie's pick: PageRank
• (25:04) - Mark's pick: Proof of work
• (27:32) - Sophie's pick: Proportional integral derivative control
• (29:52) - Mark's pick: Reinforcement learning
• (31:40) - Mark's pick: Dynamic range compression
• (35:00) - Interlude
• (39:58) - Building the final list
• (41:50) - Baystastic

Sophie runs Bays Consulting, who you can follow on Twitter along with Sophie herself.

Both Mark and Jamie grew up with Saturday morning programming from the BBC, including /Going Live!/, /Live & Kicking/ and What’s Up Doc?, which showed cartoons and showcased some of the UK’s newest pop acts.

Mark does not pass up the opportunity to discuss the kids’ presenter Andy Crane, and the fact that he narrated one of his favourite children’s books. Incidentally, you can hear more about that book and MArk’s thoughts on it — and Andy Crane — on a recent episode of Your Own Words.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (04:42) - Jamie's pick: Dungeons & Dragons
• (07:24) - Mark's pick: Danger Mouse
• (09:42) - Jamie's pick: ThunderCats
• (16:06) - Mark's pick: Animaniacs
• (21:52) - Jamie's pick: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
• (26:32) - Mark's pick: Ox Tales
• (30:24) - Jamie's pick: X-Men
• (35:22) - Mark's pick: Count Duckula
• (38:14) - Jamie's pick: Batman: The Animated Series
• (45:44) - Commercial break
• (48:36) - Building the final list
• (53:52) - Honourable mentions
• (57:50) - Goodbyes

Follow Jamie on Twitter, and maybe one day he’ll release a podcast again.

Ben co-created the Thrilling Adventure Hour with his writing partner Ben Acker as a live theatre show in the style of an old-timey evening of radio entertainment. There’s over a decade’s worth of Thrilling to enjoy, so subscribe to the free newsletter to get some hand-picked favourites you can see and hear via YouTube.

Ben’s picks

In order of discussion

1. Xenomorph
   Known more commonly as “the alien from Alien(s)”, the Xenomorph or internecivus raptus is Ben’s top pick because at its heart, Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien is a horror film, and this monster ticks all the boxes.
2. The Creature from the Black Lagoon
   Whether in its original 1954 form or its most recent, romantic incarnation, the Creature makes Ben’s list for its exceptional design, its pathos, and because childhood memories. If you’d like to know more, you can read Ben’s friend Mallory’s book, The Lady from the Black Lagoon, about the Creature’s designer, an overlooked name in Hollywood’s history.
3. Gremlins
   The original Gremlins is fun for most, if not all the family, as it so well intersects comedy and horror. Ben appreciates how the rules are set out, but that as an audience we don’t yet know what the consequences are for breaking them. Ben is not a fan of the sequel, as it skews too much towards the funny.
4. The Thing
   The titular Thing from The Thing is terrifying in its amorphousness. It can take the shape of anything it touches, and although it involves some body horror — of which Ben isn’t a big fan — it comfortably makes Ben’s list as a full-on monster, albeit a somewhat formless one.
5. Graboid
   Ben’s final pick is the worm things from Tremors, one of his favourite movies (and a firm favourite of Mark’s). Ben appreciates the cool, gross and classic monsteriness of these underground creatures, but is not on board with the name “graboid”, and he wishes to make this position absolutely clear.

Mark’s pick

In order of discussion

1. Zombie
   For Mark, a proper zombie film ends with courage in the face of utter hopelessness. They’re one of the few fictional entities that still scare Mark. Although he originally lauded  28 Days Later as a great modern take on the zombie, he’s not so sure it holds up.
2. Audrey II
   Although Ben doesn’t consider this Little Shop of Horrors baddy scary, Mark thinks potentially being grabbed by the balls and eaten by a giant blood-sucking plant with the voice of a Motown legend to be a little intimidating.
3. Hannibal Lecter
   Hannibal the cannibal, in all his incarnations, makes Mark’s list as an almost supernaturally naughty man, but can Ben reconcile this against his criteria, or does this constitute a slippery slope?
4. Pennywise
   Mark put Pennywise the dancing clown on his list for similar reasons to Ben’s selection of the Thing. (And yes, Mark understands that Pennywise is just one form of It, but it’s the version we see most in the films.) Mark finds the films not only funny, but really scary (especially the first).

More of Ben Blacker

Follow Ben on Twitter, order your copy of Hex Wives and read his Writers Panel blog.

Photo credit for Ben’s headshot: Roman Cho

Adam spent many years editing and publishing books on photography, which over the years has become more about technology than chemicals.

He and Mark discuss the fun and frustration that can be had when delving into the world of smart home tech, and you can read more of Adam’s thoughts on this — and other desirable tech — on his Tech Yearning blog.

Like Mark, Adam had a Game Gear, which you can hear discussed in episode 2 of this very podcast.

The pair also discuss the “Privacy: It’s a Crime” campaign.

As a listening note: the pair do talk about the Amazon Echo devices and the lady that lives inside them, but rest assured, thanks to the ingenious editing technique of cutting out a bit of the word Alea*, your costly egg timer won’t be set off.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (12:00) - Adam's pick: Apple iPhone
• (18:50) - Mark's pick: Apple iPad
• (25:56) - Adam's pick: USB flash drive
• (28:16) - Mark's pick: Flip Video
• (32:20) - Adam's pick: Parrot AR Drone
• (36:22) - Mark's pick: Nintendo Switch
• (42:12) - Adam's pick: Electric car
• (46:12) - Mark's pick: Apple AirPods
• (50:28) - Adam's pick: Smart speaker
• (56:18) - Building the final list
• (01:00:38) - Honourable mentions
• (01:09:42) - Goodbyes

As well as Adam’s blog, you can also buy his books on Amazon, follow him on Instagram and on Twitter, listen to the Photographer Podcast and That Option No Longer Exists, and ask him about publishing.

Simon has dedicated his life to making, as he calls it, “a better mouse trap”, and now specialises in designing products for sport. You might know Simon’s work from Dragons’ Den, or perhaps you’ve bought his potato masher?

Simon once designed a CD player and argued for a sense of jeopardy within the mechanism (in the same way that there is a way to put a record on wrong), and Mark finds another member to join the ranks of those who mourn the passing of the MiniDisc. He also discovers that the Japanese may have the word he’s long searched for, to describe that wonderful sense of joy and satisfaction you get from a mechanical interaction: a good button, a sturdy spring or a crunchy click.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (09:26) - Simon's pick: the wheel
• (11:40) - Mark's pick: wireless radio
• (15:04) - Simon's pick: the match
• (17:58) - Mark's pick: commercial aviation
• (24:02) - Simon's pick: penicillin
• (26:50) - Mark's pick: Nokia 8110
• (32:16) - Simon's pick: World Wide Web
• (36:20) - Mark's pick: Apple Macintosh
• (41:52) - Simon's pick: marine chronometer
• (44:12) - Mark's pick: audio cassette
• (50:38) - Building the final list
• (55:52) - Goodbyes

Follow Simon on Twitter and LinkedIn, check out his latest business, Rugged Interactive, and his consultancy, Design for Sport.

Alison flies a lot, and finds pinning her destinations on a map lends itself to a sense of perspective. Mark responds by finding another way to tie this into his favourite sci-fi series, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Alison, like Mark, enjoys — or enjoyed - a Bloody Mary, which has — for reasons best known to others — become de rigueur for those who enjoy boozing above the clouds.

Public service announcement: if you have Netflix and are on a long-haul flight, do remember to download a season of something to watch before you fly. No-one wants to be caught short if the in-flight media selection is sub-par.

Born in Glasgow and a self-styled extravert, Alison is not content with spending all day every day on the beach or in the local British theme pub, watching endless Only Fools repeats. She wants to mix it up with the people that make up the places she visits.

As well as a couple of good cocktail recommendations, this episode also includes a game you can play at the airport.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (09:40) - Alison's pick: Cape Town
• (12:46) - Mark's pick: Sydney
• (14:54) - Alison's pick: California
• (16:36) - Mark's pick: New York City
• (19:42) - Alison's pick: Shanghai
• (24:18) - Mark's pick: Egypt
• (30:10) - Alison's pick: Dubai
• (34:26) - Mark's pick: Jamaica
• (37:54) - Building the final list
• (40:42) - Goodbyds

Alison is the Managing Director of Sales Coaching Solutions, author of Secrets of Successful Sales, and business speaker. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, and on LinkedIn.

Tani presents SpeshFX, a narrative podcast that dives deep into the fascinating world of competitive beatboxing. If you’re familiar with the rap battle scene, it’s like that but nicer, and where people make their O face when being hit by several megatons of sick beats (just helping ease you in with the lingo).

Tani got into the scene via his brother, and started charting not only the beatbox battle scene, but also his own education, through SpeshFX. If you want a primer, start with his Beatboxing Basics YouTube playlist.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (12:14) - Tani's pick: Alem
• (15:28) - Mark's pick: NaPoM
• (17:24) - Tani's pick: Alexinho
• (19:20) - Mark's pick: Codfish
• (22:04) - Tani's pick: Hiss
• (23:38) - Mark's' pick: D-Low
• (27:36) - What do beatbox champs win?
• (30:16) - Tani's pick: Gene Shinozaki
• (32:02) - Mark's pick: MB14
• (34:26) - Honourable mentions
• (40:32) - Finalising the list
• (44:42) - More honourable mentions
• (49:32) - How to follow the competetive beatbox scene
• (53:36) - Goodbyes

If this has got you ready for more, you can follow the scene on YouTube via SwissBeatbox, the host of the Grand Beatbox Battle, or Beatbox Battle who host the World Championships every two years, and on Instagram via Alem, Hiss, and Madox for the shoutouts, or Swish Beatbox for the goofs.

You should subscribe to SpeshFX (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts), to learn infinitely more about the beatbox scene than you will here.

Oliver loves this fusion of more traditional latin melodies — with complex chords and meandering melodies — and the growing soul music movement, prevalent in 1960s New York, not just because of its inherently physical nature — this stuff just makes you wanna move — but because of what it teaches us about the culture at the time.

Just as a previous generation of immigrants embarked on a cultural exchange with the US and established themselves as the kings and queens of mambo and cha-cha-cha, so a new wave of second-generation American-raised Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Dominicans (to name a few) brought their musical heritage and mashed it up with the popular doo-wop and early R&B styles of the day.

Latin boogaloo wasn’t a lauded genre by purists, who saw it as a bit of a debasement of the complex and intricate style they were used to. It’s a story as old as time.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (06:10) - Bubble-gum boogaloo
• (15:20) - Heat Rocks
• (19:14) - Oliver's pick: Gypsy Woman, by Joe Bataan
• (23:00) - Mark's pick: Ali Baba, by Louie Ramirez
• (26:34) - Oliver's pick: I Like it Like That, by Pete Rodríguez
• (27:20) - Oliver's pick: Wanted Dead or Alive, by the Joe Cuba Sextette
• (29:40) - Mark's pick: Watermelon Man!, by Mongo Santamaria
• (33:08) - Oliver's pick: Acid, by Ray Barretto
• (37:18) - Mark's pick: Laberinto de Pasiones, by La Lupe
• (40:50) - Oliver's pick: My Latin Soul, by Bobby Matos and the Combo Conquistadores
• (43:22) - Mark's pick: At the Party, by Hector Rivera
• (45:16) - Honourable mentions
• (47:34) - Building the final list
• (49:32) - More honourable mentions
• (52:20) - Goodbyes

To follow our Spotify playlist, full of all the songs we mention, sign up to Extra Envy, our free newsletter. It’s the perfect antidote to the encroaching autumn (the playlist, not the newsletter).

As we recorded, Heat Rocks, the podcast he hosts with music supervisor Morgan Rhodes, was celebrating their 100th episode. You can, and absolutely should, check it out. You can follow Oliver on Twitter and on Instagram, and read his long-running music blog. All of his links can also be found on his website.

And by Birmingham, we mean Birmingham. The proper one, in the UK.

Tom has performed in bands (like Bussy), and like Mark knows the pain of publishing music to Bandcamp to little fanfare. But they’re both absolutely not bitter about it. Tom also presented Indie Mixtape on local station Brum Radio.

The pair share gig-playing memories, the venues they’ve nearly been thrown out of (Mark), and the ones they’ve scammed their way into (Tom’s dad).

If you’ve heard of the majority of Tom’s picks, then you already know more about Birmingham’s music scene in 2019 than Mark does. If you’ve heard of the majority of Mark’s picks, then you’re a granddad and death will claim you soon.

Also, Mark tries to coin a phrase for the pro-life movement, but doesn’t do a good job, and Tom threatens to give Mark a weird handshake.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (12:13) - Honourable mentions
• (22:52) - Tom's pick: Johnny Foreigner
• (27:10) - Mark's pick: Electric Light Orchestra
• (31:14) - Tom's pick: Mutes
• (35:36) - Mark's pick: Misty's Big Adventure
• (39:53) - Tom's pick: Hoopla Blue
• (43:29) - Mark doesn't pick Pram
• (45:40) - Mark's pick: The Moody Blues
• (48:47) - More of Tom's honourable mentions
• (49:34) - Tom's pick: The Cosmics
• (52:53) - Building the final list
• (57:05) - Final honourable mentions
• (01:00:08) - Wrapping up

Check out Cat’s Cabinet of Curiosities, the podcast Tom co-hosts, and OK Stop, the improv troupe he and Mark can be found performing in, every month.

Brendan loves pop punk for its energy and reasons of nostalgia, and has lots of names to bring to the table. He also helps Mark define what isn’t pop punk.

Mark based his list on bands who had seminal or otherwise important albums during the early 2000s, and while Brendan’s picks are perhaps from slightly younger bands, none of them formed post-2005.

Mark shares stories about plectra, music he discovered through Kerrang! Radio, and stuff he used to play on his old radio show (like this from Of Kings and Captains).

Brendan also sings the praises of Bowling for Soup’s guitarist, who performs tricks with his pick!

Hear Brendan and his Nobody Asked for This co-host Arron Wong discuss the first part of this episode, director’s commentary style.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (08:12) - Honourable mentions
• (18:59) - Mark's pick: Sum 41
• (20:49) - Brendan's pick: Goldfinger
• (23:18) - Mark's pick: Green Day
• (26:35) - Brendan's pick: Blink 182
• (27:57) - Mark's pick: Bowling for Soup
• (30:30) - Brendan's pick: Good Charlotte
• (31:58) - Mark's pick: All-American Rejects
• (32:47) - Brendan's pick: New Found Glory
• (35:55) - Mark's pick: Fountains of Wayne
• (37:29) - Brendan's pick: Sugarcult
• (38:53) - Brendan makes another case for Goldfinger
• (40:04) - Ordering the final list
• (49:09) - More honourable mentions
• (53:24) - Bonus pick: Of Kings and Captains
• (55:01) - Drummers and plectrums and goodbyes

You can follow Brendan on Twitter, check out the Podcast Advocate Network and check out his new single, Fall Fast.

Jon grew up on 70s sitcoms and wants nothing more than to share his love. If you’re in the UK, these might be shows you can check out on Yesterday or in film-form via Talking Pictures.

Jon is a student of erstwhile TV, a fact clearly demonstrated by his massive affection for the 80s tele-phenomenon than is Boon.

Mark and Jon’s differences in comedy tastes are perhaps best illustrated by the fact that Jon quite likes Not Going Out, and Josh, which Mark really doesn’t.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (08:50) - Honourable mentions
• (20:22) - Jon's pick: Porridge
• (26:52) - Mark's pick: Open All Hours
• (29:33) - Jon's pick: Fawlty Towers
• (36:02) - Mark's pick: Man About the House
• (39:05) - Jon's pick: Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
• (41:22) - Mark's pick: Some Mothers do 'Ave 'Em
• (44:28) - Jon's pick: Citizen Smith
• (47:21) - Mark's pick: The Good Life
• (50:04) - Final honourable mentions
• (53:02) - Building the final list
• (01:02:52) - Wrapping up

You can listen to Jon’s new podcast, That Option No Longer Exists, read his writings on Paradise Circus, and follow him on Twitter.

As a young girl, Jen was persuaded to watch a BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and has since made it her mission to consume all things Brit. As well as eating, Jen likes to cook, learning from /The Great British Bake Off/ and demonstrating more knowledge of British baked goods than the host of this podcast. Case in point: the popover.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (07:44) - Jen's pick: Afternoon tea
• (12:48) - Mark's pick: Fish and chips
• (15:46) - Jen's pick: Cornish pasty
• (22:02) - Mark's pick: Sunday roast
• (26:22) - Jen's pick: Full English breakfast
• (30:46) - Mark's pick: Balti
• (33:44) - Honourable mentions
• (37:04) - Finalising the list
• (43:34) - Jen's favourite British foods to cook
• (45:08) - Our Parents Did What?
• (49:04) - Goodbyes

Mark was a guest on Jen’s erstwhile podcast back in March 2018, talking about some songs he’d made, but Jen has a new podcast all about parenting, called Our Parents Did What?, which, if you enjoy Sawbones or This Podcast Will Kill You, you’ll be sure to love (you’ll quickly become acquainted with how charming Jen is, as you listen to this episode).

If spoilers are a thing you want to avoid, maybe skip this one until you’re all caught up. Like Mark maybe should’ve.

Cat grew up listening to Stephen Fry read the Harry Potter books, and wants to sort her soon-to-arrive hamster into the appropriate Hogwarts house, but she insists she isn’t a nerd about it.

Mark’s seen some of the Harry Potter films and listened, a little distractedly, to the first four Potter audiobooks.

As well as knowing everything there is to know about Harry Potter, Cat is also a maths genius, which is something she credits partially with her own Professor McGonagall. Cat also presents Cat’s Cabinet of Curiosities, a podcast uncovering the weird things people believe, like that the Titanic was switched at the last minute, or that Beyoncé faked her pregnancy.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (06:00) - Mr Nibbles’ sorting ceremony
• (11:56) - We have bones to pick with JK Rowling
• (18:49) - Honourable mentions
• (20:34) - Cat’s pick: Rubeus Hagrid
• (23:09) - Mark’s pick: Professor Snape
• (25:02) - Cat’s pick: Regulus Black
• (28:38) - Mark’s pick: Professor Dumbledore
• (31:06) - Cat’s pick: Lavender Brown
• (32:51) - Mark’s pick: Neville Longbottom
• (36:25) - Cat’s pick: Professor McGonagall
• (40:20) - Mark's pick: R̶o̶n̶ ̶W̶e̶a̶s̶l̶e̶y̶ Hermione Granger
• (42:27) - Cat's pick: the house elf
• (43:49) - Finalising the list
• (46:45) - Is there someone missing?
• (49:04) - Goodbyes

You can, and should, find Cat’s Cabinet of Curiosities wherever you find fine podcasts, and follow her and the show on Twitter.

Max makes a living out of making people breathless, which is a cool way of saying he studies how people breathe, and often has to make them not breathe very well so he can find out why they’re not breathing very well… you’re smart, you get it.

This episode was recorded on Black Wednesday, which, it has been posited, might not be the day you want to find yourself in hospital, as it’s the day when trainee doctors start their residencies. But we’re pretty sure it’s fine now.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (02:38) - Meeting Max
• (06:13) - Max's pick: Carbon dating
• (11:35) - Mark's pick: the X-Ray
• (14:25) - Max's pick: Sildenafil
• (19:51) - Max's pick: LSD
• (27:02) - Mark's pick: Penicillin
• (29:06) - Max's pick: self-experimentation
• (36:49) - Mark's pick: Insulin
• (39:14) - Max's pick: Stomach ulsers
• (44:42) - Mark's pick: Laminated glass
• (46:24) - Mark's pick: Pacemaker
• (48:44) - Mark's pick: Microwaves
• (52:20) - Building the final list
• (55:23) - A late pick fro mMark: Quinine
• (01:01:00) - Honourable mentions
• (01:04:01) - Finishing up

Max is part of Birmingham-based improv comedy troupe OK Stop!, who you can see perform at 1000 Trades in the Jewellery Quarter on the last Wednesday of every month. You can also follow Max on Twitter @maximum_science.

Both Mark and Lucy wanted a Mr Frosty but were denied one, and were both fans of the wonderful book and TV series The Animals of Farthing Wood. Mark nearly tells a story about showing a family member his organ (it’s fine), and Lucy reveals the toys that made her anxious as a child, namely Crocodile Dentist and Etch-a-Sketch.

Trigger warning: if you ever put on a show for your parents and they told you they were watching, they weren’t. Sorry. Also, it turns out that growing up isn’t about not being able to do anything you want, but about being able to do anything you want, but having to face the consequences.

The pair also compare the dogs they had. You can be the decider as to which one is best.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (03:06) - Meeting Lucy
• (05:37) - The toys we didn't have
• (12:36) - Lucy's pick: Dressing-up box
• (15:04) - Mark's pick: Karaoke machine and portable tape player
• (18:17) - Lucy's pick: Sega MegaDrive
• (19:56) - Mark's pick: Sega Game Gear
• (22:14) - Lucy's pick: Lego
• (24:12) - Mark's pick: Teddy bear
• (27:29) - Lucy's pick: Sindy
• (30:52) - Mark's pick: Magna Doodle
• (34:23) - Lucy's pick: Spirograph
• (36:33) - Mark's pick: Train set
• (39:46) - Honourable mentions
• (46:33) - Finalising the list

This is List Envy, a podcast where Mark Steadman collaborate with actors, writers, musicians, comedians, scientists and podcasters to build a definitive top 5 list on a topic of the guest’s choosing.

Clips in this trailer include * Cat Turner from Cat’s Cabinet of Curiosities, talking about Harry Potter characters * Writer Jon Bounds on 70s British sitcoms * Musician Brendan Hutchins on pop punk banks of the 2000s * Comedian Lucy Day on the toys we had as kids

List Envy launches on August 13th with 2 episodes, and new episodes come out every Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you’re reading this now. Search for the podcast by name, or visit the website.