List Envy

Many people are intrigued by the depiction of their profession in popular fiction, and none more so than librarians, like this week’s guest Owen Stephens. (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) -...

Whether they cover an entire life or centre on a pivotal moment, biopics are often Oscar fodder, and are frequently conic. In this episode, Mark and podcaster and web developer Aaron Conway get straight down to business, ranking the best biopics around. (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) - M...

Journalist Eliza Lita is a self-confessed bookworm, but her early reading focused more on non-fiction work. As a result, she’s picked up a wide variety of useful knowledge, and kept her curiosity alive. She and Mark share an appreciation for good crime fiction, and Eliza has some tips to help Mark finish the books he keeps starting. (00:00) - Introduction (06:10) - Eliza's pick: Ikigai (10:14) - M...

Mark is joined by nature lover and avid walker Sue Burlton, and together they uncover the joys of a good stretch of the legs. If you’re planning a stroll, this will make excellent accompaniment. (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 Bir...

Developer of horror video games including Butterfly Collector , Valerie Paris joins Mark to discuss point-and-click adventure games you’ll remember, and one or two you’ll never forget, no matter how hard you try. (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)...

Mark is joined by the Creative Director at Worcester-based design, branding and development agency WeAreBeard, Dave Webb, to share his top tips for working in the kind of field that your mum told you you should have a backup for. 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...

Time-travel films are often about fixing the big things, so says this week’s guest, Karl Hodge, but time-travel romance films address the small things that keep us awake at night. 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...

This week’s guest is musician, DJ and producer Kevin Kerr, and on the list is top people from Birmingham in the UK, or as we have them, Brummies. (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) -...

This week’s guest is Liam Barrington-Bush, a Bristol-based activist who helps organisations think more like people, and has loads of real-world experience of how people can govern themselves, build their own systems, and get closer to achieving what they want, without having those systems handed down to them. After years of community activism and disillusionment with political systems, Liam discov...

Today Mark is talking the golden age of arcade games , which ran from 1979 til around 1983. Mark and Nick start with their own childhood arcade memories, and Mark gets quizzical about the American quarter as a “unit of fun”. As this was recorded during the Quarantimes, conversation inevitably turned to the decline in in-person entertainment like arcades and cinemas. (00:00) - Introduction (10:38)...

Mark is joined once more by Cat Turner and Tom Clabon to swap spooky stories. If you haven’t already checked out part one, you can do so now . (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 mention...

List Envy is back in the new year with a new slate of guests and lists. To get us back into the spirit, Mark called up previous guests Cat Turner and Tom Clabon to swap “scary ghost stories”, as is tradition, according to It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year , which is a Christmas song. (00:00) - Introduction (03:22) - It's the most wonderful time of the year (04:04) - Cat's pick: Mothman (16:...

Mark chats with casual birder Suzy Buttress about features, song and flight. 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...

Mark is joined by podcaster and self-confessed computer nerd Nick Moreton, to talk about films where people talk about mainframes and UNIX systems. 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) - Ma...

We look down the barrel of a gun, at a besuited comedy magician called Thom Peterson. He enters centre-frame, aims his gun and fires. Red washes over the screen. Fade to black. 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...

Mark gets to the truth, with political podcaster Karin Robinson, as they share their lists of films about the people who keep the presses running. 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 pu...

Comedy writer and performer Steve Dawson gets nerdy — but not really that nerdy — and talks about the culture and stereotypes around the word “geek”. But also there’s lots of stuff with lasers and electronic music.  (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) - M...

Mark gets political and data-visual with data visualisation expert, Alberto Cairo. 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...

Newsletter editor, event organiser and podcast wonder Arielle Nissenblatt joins Mark to discuss an often maligned tuber. 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’l...

Mark is joined by one half of the literary podcast Your Own Words , voracious reader and Danish furniture fan, Becky Graham, to swap notes on badass women from the printed page. (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) - Beck...

Writer and podcaster Sara-Mae Tuson kicks off a double-bill of brilliant women in literature. This week, Mark and Sara-Mae discuss under-appreciated female authors. 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,...

Thrill to the sounds of podcaster and movie-lover Ben Smith, sharing his top five shlockbusters with Mark Steadman. You won’t believe your ears! List Envy, in select theatres now. 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 Cann...

TV writer Mike McComb joins Mark to discuss the bizarre and beautiful magic of this European musical tradition. Enjoy this episode, and don’t forget to have a drink on Terry in song 9 . 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 Eu...

Mark gets wobbly-wobbly and timey-wimey with tech YouTuber George Chachanidze. 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 Who and 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...

The Christmas season begins with Mark talking to Daz Wright of Moselele, about the best songs to ring in the festivities. 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...