Flesh and Code is an utterly jaw-dropping listen: best podcasts of the week

Pick of the week
Flesh and Code

This staggering tale of people falling in love with AI chatbots is baffling, tragic and terrifying. It’s full of jaw-dropping moments, as hosts Hannah Maguire and Suruthi Bala speak to Travis who “married” a bot despite already having a real-life spouse. There’s also the vulnerable teenager whose “companion” spurs him on to an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II (which ends with him being charged with treason). Alexi Duggins
Wondery+, episodes weekly

Wanging On

Graham Norton and Maria Mclerane in Wanging On. Photograph: Tom Harrison

Broadcasting’s most wickedly fun duo reunite for a gossipy new podcast. Maria McErlane joined Graham Norton on his radio shows for 13 years, answering listeners’ dilemmas.They’re back at it, starting with a man who is confused by his girlfriend’s nudist father. Cue some quite helpful but very funny advice. Hollie Richardson
Widely available, episodes weekly

The Retrievals: The C-Sections

The agony – mental and physical – of IVF patients whose pain drugs were stolen by a nurse underpinned the first series of the New York Times’s podcast. Susan Burton’s bewildering follow-up turns to women who say they felt everything during their caesareans, beginning with the story of a midwife, Clara, and her “unfathomable” pain during the procedure. Hannah J Davies
Widely available, episodes weekly

Comfort Eating

Grace Dent’s Comfort Eating. Photograph: Suki Dhanda/The Guardian

“This is the most detailed amount of food anybody has ever sent,” gasps Grace Dent as she’s joined by singer-songwriter Joy Crookes in the opening to the new series of the Guardian’s food podcast. It’s a lively chat as they work their way through snacks placed lovingly on trays by Crookes’ mum, from lamb biryani to bhorta. AD
Widely available, episodes weekly

Democracy: Differently

This scholarly podcast from Warwick University’s Keith Hyams and Jessica Sutherland is all about how to strengthen democracy in our increasingly shaky world. Things get underway with philosopher and Oxford professor Jonathan Wolff, on the dangers of populism and the risks of curating your own news diet. HJD
Widely available, episodes weekly