Julie Andrews’ wonderful take on Jane Austen: the best podcasts of the week

Pick of the week
Pride & Prejudice

Who better to retell Jane Austen’s most beloved story than her royal highness Julie Andrews? It may lack Colin Firth in a wet shirt, but the Hollywood great is a wonderful and faithful narrator of the original romcom classic about Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. The series, which is broken down into 25 episodes, not only celebrates the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth – it’s Andrews’s 90th birthday this year, too! Hollie Richardson
Widely available, episodes weekly

Grand Designs Deconstructed

Such is the strain of building your own mega-home, Grand Designs is one of the few TV property shows where divorce is a feature rather than a bug. Kevin McCloud teams up with Greg James for this amiable offshoot for superfans – and confesses that he has been close to opening up his own chequebook for cash-strapped contributors. Hannah J Davies
Spotify, episodes weekly

Woman’s Hour Guide to Life

Every Sunday, Woman’s Hour host Nuala McGovern presents a special episode that tackles a specific issue with familiar voices and experts. She starts off with friendship – how to make space for them and stay connected – by speaking with Dolly Alderton, Claire Cohen, Dr Julia Samuel and Dr Marisa G Franco. It’s conversational, helpful and, most importantly, reassuring. HR
BBC Sounds, episodes weekly

Music, Money & Mayhem

From Pink Floyd to Blur, EMI was home to a deluge of huge British acts. This Novel/BBC podcast hosted by Chris Atkins will surely satisfy both music nerds and business heads, as it ably charts the label’s collapse via interviews with the likes of Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant and controversial former chairman Guy Hands. HJD
Widely available, episodes weekly

Coining It

Hosted by Lewis Goodall (The News Agents), Global’s new series sounds like it could be another run-of-the-mill crypto crime story. Gladly, this tale of a man who found a bitcoin glitch that promised infinite cash and catapulted him from Blackpool to Dubai turns out to be a colourful and highly entertaining caper – if clearly a cautionary one. HJD
Widely available, episodes weekly