Podcasts of the week: The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon and Athletico Mince

The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon

Available on Spotify

One of the things that is so appealing about Kevin Bacon is that he seems quite happy to send himself up at any opportunity. In this podcast drama, he gamely plays a lonely, slightly naive version of himself who takes on a bitter, washed-up actor (who holds a grudge; he was also up for the starring role in Footloose) as his assistant.

But does Bacon’s new PA have a dark ulterior motive?

Athletico Mince

Available on various platforms

Just the title of this podcast makes you want to listen.

It purports to be about football, but you really don’t need to know much about (or even like) the beautiful game to enjoy it. For a football podcast, by its own admission this doesn’t actually feature very much football.

Co-created by cuddly comedian Bob Mortimer, this sees the affable other half of the legendary comedy duo Reeves and Mortimer pair up with a different partner, in the form of co-host Andy Dawson.

It is mostly just the pair chatting about all sorts of stuff, with football very occasionally creeping in. Between them, they create a relaxed, slightly surreal world of banter and quirky alternative realities, peopled with recognisable characters that may, or may not, have an equivalent in the real world.

It may take a while to catch up on all the various in-jokes, but it is worth sticking with and, as much-needed good-humoured, off the cuff, slightly leftfield escapism, it’s certainly a winner.

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