Pod, Actually

Giorgia ❤️ Today In Focus

• Catherine Harris

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0:00 | 9:46

Today on Pod, Actually, we are joined by Giorgia, a visual artist and science communication manager from London. Giorgia talks to us about the podcast she listens to “almost religiously” every morning: Today In Focus from The Guardian.

For Giorgia, In Focus isn’t background noise. It’s ritual. It’s dog-walk companion. It’s commute soundtrack. It’s how she makes sense of a relentless news cycle without drowning in it.

Giorgia also shares how listening shapes conversations with her partner and friends — and why she’d notice if the show disappeared tomorrow.

It’s a thoughtful conversation about information, identity, and the small daily habits that quietly anchor us.

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SPEAKER_00

Hello, I'm Catherine and welcome to Pod Actually, a podcast about people's favorite podcasts. On today's program, I'm talking with Georgia, a visual artist and a science communication manager from London, England. So let's jump in. Georgia, what is your favorite podcast?

SPEAKER_01

This is a hard one, actually, because I listen to a lot of different podcasts. And I think what I listen to depends on what mood I'm in sometimes. Whether I want something a little bit more uplifting or more informative, but in general, the podcasts that I listen to are either about science, science communication, the lives of scientists, things like the BBC, Life Scientific, or The Conversation, which is another great one. So things about which tell stories about science. But I listen to these maybe once a week or so because they don't come out more often. The podcast that I do listen to almost religiously every morning is The Guardians in Focus, which is a 20 to half hour slot that delves a little bit deeper into something that is topical in the news that day or has been in the news over the last week. And that's a daily program? It's a daily program now, twice a day, given that the news are dynamic and yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And do you listen to that one twice a day?

SPEAKER_01

Often, yes, because the I guess that ties into when I listen to podcasts. So I have a dog and I go dog walking every morning. I actually walk the dog twice a day, and I also commute into work, not every day, but most days. And my commute is long. It's about an hour, an hour and 15 minutes each way. So that also gives me ample podcast listening time, which means that I'll usually I listen to the morning episode on my morning walk, whether it's my commute or my dog walk. And then when I'm home in the evening, walking home in the evening from work from the tube station, I'll sometimes listen to the evening one. Not always. The morning one is almost religious. And how long are the episodes? They're about twenty to thirty minutes, which I like because I find that if they're much longer, either I'll lose attention or it's it fits into the length of my walk to the tube station, for example, or walking dog.

SPEAKER_00

And do you remember how you discovered the podcast?

SPEAKER_01

I actually don't, but I do read The Guardian as my main newspaper here in the UK. So probably through the news portal. But I actually don't remember because I've been listening to it for years.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, because I was going to ask when you first started listening to it.

SPEAKER_01

Years ago. Years ago. And they've got a uh sister podcast that is called The Guardian Investigates, where they will take some of these topics and do deep dive into some of the topics that last several episodes. And those have listened been listening to for two or three years, I think. In focus for probably longer. I don't know. I actually don't know how long it's been around.

SPEAKER_00

Do you listen on your phone or do you have a smartwatch?

SPEAKER_01

Phone.

SPEAKER_00

Phone. Phone. Okay. Do you ever talk about the podcast with other people?

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Or yeah. You do? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. It's very much both at home to my partner, because we both listen, so we'll say, Oh, did you hear yesterday's episode about this and this? And I'll spark conversation about the topic and with friends who also listen, who have similar interests and will therefore also listen, or you know, if if the subject comes up, it'll be a point of reference for information.

SPEAKER_00

So this is a podcast that people in your circle are likely to listen to?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, I would say yes. In my because I'm obviously an academic, so I work. Not that all my my social circle isn't of academics at all, but like-minded people. Yes, I would say so.

SPEAKER_00

Has listening to In Focus changed the way that you think about a topic? Are you mindful that it's shifted your perspective on something at some time?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, absolutely, because it'll what it does is a 20-minute to half-hour deep dive into a topic of conversation and what sometimes happens if I'm reading the news, I just don't I'll just read the headlines. I just don't have capacity, the brain space, because work is busy and life is busy. I don't sometimes have the capacity to deep dive into that topic, but in addition to the fact that any information you might want will require hours and hours and hours of research nowadays. So I like the fact that it offers up points of view and information about things that maybe I wouldn't normally have researched myself because they might not always be of interest. Some are very much of something that might be interesting to me, but other things might be some political stance that I just don't have less knowledge about.

SPEAKER_00

So you feel that the program's information is highly credible? I would hope so. Can you say that about anything nowadays? Yeah, yeah. How many hosts are there on the program?

SPEAKER_01

There used to be two, and now there's one main one. Occasionally there are others, the guest host, depending on the topic.

SPEAKER_00

So if you found out that the host was less than ethical in their private life, would it undermine the program for you?

SPEAKER_01

It depends on how unethical I guess.

SPEAKER_00

So it's a maybe.

SPEAKER_01

Maybe.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, are we talking Epstein territory? Then that would be challenging. Yeah. Well, if the podcast stopped tomorrow, how long would it take you to notice?

SPEAKER_01

Oh, the next day. Because I it's the first I open, I take my phone out when I put my headphones on, put the dog on the lead, walk out the house, and I turn on the podcast app, and it's the first one shows up, it's the first one I listen to. Once that's finished, I'll listen to other things that will vary. But it's my first the first podcast I listen to in the morning. So yes, I'd I'd notice the next day.

SPEAKER_00

What would you miss most?

SPEAKER_01

Having access to information, I think.

SPEAKER_00

So is this a podcast that you would recommend to people? Or only if if they ask? I do.

SPEAKER_01

I have of quite a uh few of my friends listen to podcasts and we share podcasts, recommendations.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so this is one that you'd happily suggest to people. Have you ever misjudged the person you've recommended it to and thought, oh, maybe I shouldn't have?

SPEAKER_01

No, no, you know, if they don't find it interesting. I think we all have very particular, it's a bit like art or anything. You know, you're it's very subjective what will resonate with you, and this just resonates with me in terms of how the information is presented, how the interviews are are carried out, the length of the podcast, I think, works well with my timeline of how I structure my day, the fact that it's available first thing in the morning, which is when I'm most likely to listen. Not first, first thing in the morning, not when I get up, but uh when I leave the house.

SPEAKER_00

Final question. Do you think liking this podcast says something about you? And if so, what is that?

SPEAKER_01

I mean, you can argue that if you're listening to uh The Guardian, which is obviously a bit of a left for in the UK is a left-leaning newspaper, you can probably paint a picture about my worldview. On the other hand, you can also say that I'm someone who's curious or want to know, I want to know a little bit more about what's happening in today's world when it's hard to find out really what it's not hard. It's I think it's it's challenging that you we're presented with so much information around so many different topics, and there's so much going on. It's hard to be able to access everything, and this is a way for me to be able to get, as I said, do a little bit of a deep dive into different topics and feel a little bit more knowledgeable.

SPEAKER_00

Georgia, thank you so much. You're very welcome. And that's the show. Podactually is produced and hosted by me, Katherine Harris. If you like the program, please tell a friend. And you can also support us over at Patreon at Pod Actually or on Substaff. Thanks for listening. See you soon.

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Catherine Harris

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