Who spiked the chowder with PCP on the set of Titanic?

A new podcast tries to get to the bottom of one of Hollywood’s greatest lunch-based mysteries. Plus: five of the best podcasts about the occult

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It’s a varied week for food on podcasts this week. While, on the one hand, Comfort Eating returns to let David Baddiel hunger-inducingly talk Grace Dent through the virtues of a bacon-and-egg sandwich, on the other, there’s a show that tries to solve one of Hollywood’s greatest lunch-based mysteries: who spiked the chowder on the set of James Cameron’s Titanic with PCP? At least one of those meals sounds like a delicious prospect.

Elsewhere, we take a look at Frankie Boyle’s outspoken new series with two of his Glaswegian comedy pals, a riotous dive into the Daily Mail’s comments section, and the posthumous podcast from director Peter Bogdanovich. Plus, there’s a rounup of five of the best occult podcasts. Plenty to tuck into, then.

Alexi Duggins
Deputy TV editor

Picks of the week

Here Comes the Guillotine
Widely available, episodes weekly
“Themes are for cowards,” say the outspoken hosts of this new free form chat series between three Glaswegian comedy pals – Frankie Boyle, Susie McCabe and Christopher MacArthur-Boyd. It’s a no-holds-barred ramble through topics such as the ethics of having sex with Tories, whether Billy Connolly would have been radicalised if he’d grown up in the internet era, and if Boyle’s date with a “neo-Nazi” is likely to lead to romance. Alexi Duggins

Straight to the Comments
Widely available, episodes weekly
In this daft, peppy dive into Daily Mail readers’ brainfarts, celebrity guests hear comments on news stories they’ve featured in – and then try to guess which story it relates to. The first guest is Dani Dyer who chats about her dad’s love of Chinese restaurants, being babysat by Keira Knightley and blow-drying her Love Island fake eyelashes. AD

One Handshake Away: Peter Bogdanovich & the Icons of Cinema
Widely available, episodes weekly
Before American film-maker Peter Bogdanovich died he was working on an interview podcast. Now, thanks to his ex-wife and collaborator Louise Stratten, it sees the light of day. The guest list is impressive, with the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo del Toro, Greta Gerwig and Julie Delpy talking about other greats of moviemaking. Hannah Verdier

Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative
Widely available, episodes weekly
The public is hungry for tell-all documentaries, but at what cost? When Jess Shane flips the power by advertising on Craigslist and paying her subjects in this quirky podcast, she lays her techniques bare. After an awkward conversation with a disappointed previous interviewee, Shane vows to involve her new subjects in the process, starting with Ernesto the model. HV

Very Special Episodes
Widely available, episodes weekly
Who spiked the chowder on the Titanic set? The food poisoning of James Cameron’s cast and crew is the great 90s Hollywood mystery that kicks off this new series about stranger-than-fiction events. Dana Schwartz and Zaron Burnett are our hosts and promise top party-gossip stories. Hollie Richardson

There’s a podcast for that

This week, Ammar Kalia chooses five of the best podcasts on the occult, from first-hand paranormal encounters to the origins of tarot symbolism.

Occult Confessions
The occult is a hard thing to define. Encompassing aspects of the world that we cannot typically explain – from magic, mysticism and spells to paranormal activity – it’s a niche pursuit that defies an easy understanding. Thanks to its inherent strangeness, there has long been a tradition of occultists and mystical devotees putting their own spin on unusual goings on and this comprehensive series aims to delve into each and every theory. Host Rob C Thompson is a chatty and entertaining guide who deftly unpicks the speculation behind everything from Rasputin’s magic to the history of witch-hunts and the idea of parallel universes.

The Battersea Poltergeist
Ghost stories are a cornerstone of the occult and you’ll be hard pressed to find any as suspenseful and dramatically satisfying as this 2021 series from the writer of West End hit 2:22 A Ghost Story, Danny Robbins. We hear how the discovery of a mystery key in 1956 led 15-year-old Shirley Hitchings of No 63 Wycliffe Road in Battersea, London, to become a focal point of national interest and the subject of a paranormal investigation. Robbins’s other series Uncanny and Witch Hunt also carry on a similar theme, exploring first-hand paranormal encounters and the haunting of a rural Welsh house.

Weird Studies
Strange tales often demand to be unusually told and this wide-ranging series from academic Phil Ford and writer JF Martel is a masterclass in eccentric discussions. Sometimes rambling and somewhat pretentious, Ford and Martel’s episodes take in everything from analysing art and culture to theorising on social criticism and philosophy. When it comes to the occult, though, their enthusiastic style is a perfect match for its slippery themes, garnering fresh insights into topics as varied as the origins of tarot symbolism, Carl Jung’s views on UFOs and the meaning of mystery. A deep dive for those ready to explore the occult further.

Ghost of a Podcast
If poltergeists and hauntings populate the darker side of the occult, on the lighter end of the spectrum is the mysticism of astrology. To some, astrology is no more than a made up collection of musings based on fictitious star signs, but for Jessica Lanyadoo it is serious business. Using her two decades of experience as a medium and astrologer, Lanyadoo’s weekly podcast provides detailed analysis of listeners’ horoscopes for the week ahead. For those hoping to apply astrology to the wider world, David Odyssey’s The Luminaries is also worth a listen, joyfully examining how the stars might have aligned for the fall of the Berlin Wall and much more.

Unexplained
Having recently begun its seventh season, this popular series from Richard Maclean Smith combines immersive audio design with artful narration to detail real-life stories of supernatural mysteries. Rather than trying to come up with rationales, Smith revels in the unknown and lets listeners make up their own minds when it comes to the occult explanations behind everything from haunted British roads to mysterious Amazonian tribes and psychokinetic French children. With no expert guests or first-hand testimonies, Smith’s stories are compelling pieces of single voice audio drama, straddling the worlds of horror and mysticism. Probably best to avoid listening before bedtime.

Why not try …

• What led to a 74-year-old man to be shot with a crossbow through the chest as he fixed his satellite dish one spring night on Anglesey (Ynys Môn)? Find out in the The Crossbow Killer.
  

• Hosted by The Athletic’s NFL reporter Jourdan Rodrigue, The Playcallers explores the innovation, competition and sometimes even self-destruction inside the NFL’s youngest coaching family.

• City of Women looks at the calculated strategies, backdoor negotiations and often absurd lengths Indian women have to go to, to have fun and feel free in the city of Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore).