Picks of the week Go Ask Your Mother While there’s no shortage of parenting podcasts, there’s something instantly likeable about listening to Sindy and Vanel cackling as they talk about their family set-up in this new BBC Sounds series. The first episode is all about dating and how Sindy went from being a single mum to having a family of four via a chance meeting, “drunk goggles” and Vanel tracking her down months later on Twitter. So far, so fairytale. Then Sindy had to navigate meeting the parents for the first time while pregnant, while Vanel adjusted to being a stepdad, all told with warmth and many a Destiny’s Child reference. Hannah Verdier Guru Wondery, makers of real-life fright fests Dirty John and Dr Death, are sure to make you even more fearful of human interaction with their latest series, subtitled The Dark Side of Enlightenment. Focusing on the lure of self-proclaimed spiritual guides, we hear from former followers of James Arthur Ray, an “Oprah-endorsed” self-help impresario who told braying crowds that “if you’re not growing, you’re dying”. Naturally, his retreats were not what they seemed to be, proving fatal in some cases. Chilling, occasionally gruesome stuff. Hannah J Davies Guardian pick: Innermost In life, there are things we are told we should do – like learning how to ride a bike or being kind to those who are grieving. But, as Hima and Bernard reveal to Leah Green in our fourth episode of Innermost from the Guardian, doing the right thing isn’t always as straightforward as we like to think. Producer pick: The Rob Auton Daily Podcast Chosen by Max Sanderson As is now commonplace, The British Podcast Awards were live streamed this year, including the door-stepping of winners. It was a good night for The Guardian, with our Today in Focus team bagging a gold (Current Affairs) and two silvers (Best Interview and Best Daily) and our entire suite of podcasts winning a bronze in the Best Network category. But it was also a good night for discovering new podcasts, including, for me, The Rob Auton Daily Podcast. It’s hard to explain exactly what this podcast is, so I urge people to just give it a listen – especially those of you who are fans of the likes of illustrator David Shrigley or comedian Joe Wilkinson. As per the show notes, each episode features the eponymous writer and performer reciting “some of what he writes” – whether that be insights into why seagulls aren’t good at climbing trees, or, my favourite thus far, musings on his own body (“the closest thing I own to a solar system is my digestive system”). Juxtaposed with episodes of a more sincere tone – his response to George Floyd was short and powerful – there are an array of instalments that keeps you guessing and get you excited for what each new day will bring (or did bring; I’m still working my way through the 200-strong archive). The production is simple and pared back, and rightfully so – because it’s the writing and Yorkshire-tinted delivery that you’re here for. And for those of you, like me, thinking ‘the last thing I need is yet another podcast to add to my daily listening’, fear not as each episode is only a couple of minutes long. A small temporal sacrifice for a sizeable – and indefinable – reward. Talking points Pushing the limits of podcasting ever further, fiction pod makers QCODE and “short and sexy” audio experts Dipsea have teamed up with Demi Moore for an erotic new podcast, titled Dirty Diana. Why not try: Calm Down Dear | Blood Ties | Give Me Some Good News