Best Toby Jenkins Podcasts (2025)

Real life historical atrocities rub shoulders with mythological and cosmic horror rub shoulders with James Bond spy thriller! There is much to discuss in this neglected and surprisingly contentious book...

1
The (X) Hamster Files - Ghost in the Machine (featuring Agent Ioan Morris) 50:32

Play Pause

5d ago50:32

50:32

Evil sentient technology…a portent of the future? How does The X-Files tackle HAL? Agent Morris is with me to do all the hard work and let me take all the credit!

1
A Mind-Blowing Way of Looking at Math (with David Bessis) 1:21:53

5d ago1:21:53

1:21:53

What if math isn't about grinding through equations, but about training your intuition and changing how your brain works? Mathematician and author David Bessis tells EconTalk's Russ Roberts that the secret of mathematics isn't logic--it's the way we learn to see. He explains why math books aren't meant to be read like novels, how great mathematicia…

1
Hamster Book Club - Vanderdekens Children by Christopher Bulis (featuring Luke Sims-Jenkins, Jon Arnold & Andrew Batty) 2:00:59

6d ago2:00:59

2:00:59

War in the Hamster Book Club! As we explore Christopher Bulis' gaping orifice, there is a huge spread of opinions. Is this the Middest of all Doctor Who writers...or are there some surprises?

1
Talks to Dr Simon Exton about his choice of The Moonbase (4/4) 35:39

7d ago35:39

35:39

That’s taken care of the Cybermen! The most powerful tea tray in history! Is gravity the best weakness of the Cybermen ever? And have you ever seen a bigger ray gun?

1
Talks to Dr Simon Exton about his choice of The Moonbase (3/4) 30:43

7d ago30:43

30:43

What the hell her the ingredients of a Polly cocktail? Is this her best episode? And are Jamie and Ben both in love with her?

1
Hamster Book Club - The Last Dodo by Jacqueline Rayner (featuring Gareth Bowley, Dan Pinn & David Gillespie-Pratt) 2:10:27

9d ago2:10:27

2:10:27

A throwaway New Series Adventure or a moving lesson in the human races extinction list? We tackle the thorny subject of extinction, of museums, and of conservation in this surprisingly touching book.

1
The (X) Hamster Files - Shadows (featuring Agent Frazer Gregory) 50:20

11d ago50:20

50:20

The first supernaural case in The X-Files - a woman haunted by her murdered boss who is trying to protect her from the people who killed him. Is this so serious that Frazer's journey will end before it begins?

1
Talks to Dr Simon Exton about his choice of The Moonbase (2/4) 26:12

12d ago26:12

26:12

Our discussion of this under appreciated story continues as we figure out…it’s in the sugar! Troughton charms, and his scenes with Polly charm the most.

1
Twenty Years of Freakonomics (with Stephen Dubner) 1:42:44

12d ago1:42:44

1:42:44

Quantitative, contrarian, and nuanced: these are the hallmarks of the Freakonomics approach. Hear journalist and podcaster Stephen Dubner speak with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the 20th anniversary of the popular-economics book Dubner co-authored with Steven Levitt. They discuss how the book came to be, how the journey changed Dubner's life, and …

1
Strictly Come Hamster - the rest of Hartnell (Jon Arnold, David Gillespie Pratt & Frazer Gregory) 3:51:48

13d ago3:51:48

3:51:48

The maddest, most contentious, most laughter filled Strictly yet! How can the fag end of Hartnell provoke so many potent opinions?

1
Talks to Dr Simon Exton about his choice of The Moonbase 36:07

15d ago36:07

36:07

Grab your Polly cocktails, zip up your quilted spacesuits, avoid the Phantom Piper...we're heading to the moon!

1
Talks to Paul Arthur about his choice of Kerblam! 1:30:36

16d ago1:30:36

1:30:36

Politics, adventure, a McCoy love in, sinister robots, terrorism, love...this one has it all! Paul steps into the Ham Fam and discusses a much undervalued episode...

1
The (X) Hamster Files - The Jersey Devil (featuring agent Jack Coyer) 58:58

18d ago58:58

58:58

What happens when Agent Coyer faces his first experience of The X-Files and comes up against Neanderthal woman?

1
The Magic of Tokyo (with Joe McReynolds) 1:09:23

19d ago1:09:23

1:09:23

What drives the seeming relentless dynamism of Tokyo? Is there something special about Japanese culture? Joe McReynolds, co-author of Emergent Tokyo, argues that the secret to Tokyo's energy and attractiveness as a place to live and visit comes from policies that allow Tokyo to emerge from the bottom up. Post-war black markets evolved into today's …

1
Talks to Lee, Andy & Cam about their choice of The Mind Robber (5/5) 44:50

20d ago44:50

44:50

It's time to bring this piece of art to an end with a celebration of the many positives about the story, the man positives about Scotland, and the man positives about Subbuteo!

1
Talks to Andy, Lee & Cam about their choice of The Mind Robber (4/5) 32:00

21d ago32:00

32:00

Lesson 42! It's time to beat up the Karkus, get trapped in a book and worry about a dollop of foamy spittle at the side of the mouth of a writer of weeklies...

1
Hamster Book Club - The Eyeless by Lance Parkin (featuring Kieran Pell) 1:30:11

22d ago1:30:11

1:30:11

A surprisingly bleak, dystopian world with huge things to say about war, weapons of mass destruction, genocide and scientific responsibility...aimed at children?

1
Talks to Glenn Fitzgerald about his choice of The Stones of Blood (4/4) 39:37

23d ago39:37

39:37

One of my favourite single episodes to record, beautiful Glenn reminds us of the joys of finding your tribe within Doctor Who fandom and how enriching it can be to your life...

1
Talks to Glenn Fitzgerald about his choice of The Stones of Blood (3/4) 26:57

24d ago26:57

26:57

The story takes a massive diversion into domesticity and science fiction as the Doctor and Amelia attempt to reach Romana in Hyperspace...

1
The (X) Hamster Files - Conduit (featuring Agent Iain Martin) 49:45

24d ago49:45

49:45

When Ruby goes missing in the woods, her mother becomes obsessed that she has been abducted. Scully is sceptical, but Mulder thinks this might be linked to the disappearance of his sister...

1
The Invisible Hierarchies that Rule Our World (with Toby Stuart) 1:13:15

26d ago1:13:15

1:13:15

Status isn't fixed; it's transferred and "bestowed," shaping who gets resources, attention, and opportunity. So argues author Toby Stuart of UC Berkeley in his book, Anointed. He and EconTalk's Russ Roberts explore why hierarchies persist--reducing conflict, allocating scarce resources, and curating our overwhelming choices--and how endorsements, b…

1
Strictly Come Hamster - Season 16 (featuring Nathan Bottomley, Toby Hadoke & Ioan Morris) 3:28:48

27d ago3:28:48

3:28:48

Segments, assignments from God, Pirate planets, blood sucking stones, swordplay, giant farting squids and nuclear war! Everything is to play for in this astonishing season of Doctor Who...

1
Hamster Book Club - The Sleep of Reason by Martin Day (featuring Michael Mills & Dylan Rees) 1:09:43

28d ago1:09:43

1:09:43

Content Warning - reading contains material pertaining to self harm One of us loved this book, one of us hated it and one of us sat squarely in the middle but doesn't ever want to read another Doctor Who book after this. Can Doctor Who tackle mental health sensitively in prose?

1
Hamster Book Club - The Romans (Redux) by Donald Cotton (featuring James Lark) 1:31:06

1M ago1:31:06

1:31:06

The gauntlet has been thrown. A less than favourable episode released on Donald Cotton's books released and James Lark, in a fit of epistolary pique, decides to build a defence for The Romans!

1
Talks to Andy, Lee & Cam about their choice of The Mind Robber (3/5) 30:09

1M ago30:09

30:09

It doesn't exist! Our waltz through the Doctor's weirdest, most literate adventure continues. And we discover precisely what Andy is available for by the end of the episode...

1
Eating with Intelligence (with Julia Belluz) 1:05:49

1M ago1:05:49

1:05:49

Losing weight should be simple: eat less, exercise more. But according to author and health journalist Julia Belluz, it's complicated. Listen as Belluz talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about her new book, Food Intelligence. Belluz argues that a calorie is pretty much a calorie whether it's carbs or fat. Keeping calories under control is often har…

1
Talks to Lee, Cam & Andy about their choice of The Mind Robber (2/5) 37:56

1M ago37:56

37:56

What fresh madness occurs when this foursome finally reaches The Land of Fiction? What can Joe be taught about football? And will Lee wow us all with his his incredible reading?

1
Talks to Glen Fitzgerald about his choice of The Stones of Blood (2/4) 28:27

1M ago28:27

28:27

Sausage sandwiches clamped in our hands, we are facing off against globulin feeding Stones! I know that woman...

1
Talks to the Lee, Cam & Andy about their choice of The Mind Robber (1/5) 37:23

1M ago37:23

37:23

This was a delightful, slightly deranged, love in for this quirky, imaginative story. Expect gags, flirting, revealing information and trivia!

1
Talks to Glenn Fitzgerald about his choice of The Stones of Blood (1/4) 41:50

1M ago41:50

41:50

Joe meets gorgeous Glenn Fitzgerald in the countryside to have a flask of tea and a sausage sandwich and to chase about with sinister stones...

1
Steven Pinker on Common Knowledge 1:23:20

1M ago1:23:20

1:23:20

Why are Super Bowl ads so good for launching certain kinds of new products? Why do we all drive on the same side of the road? And why, despite laughing and crying together, do we often misread what others think? According to bestselling author and Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, it all comes down to common knowledge, or the phenomenon that happ…

1
Hamster Book Club - The Androids of Tara by David Fisher (featuring David Gillespie-Pratt) 1:19:13

1M ago1:19:13

1:19:13

What has happened to our favourite lines? Fisher rewrites a rewrite and then rewrites Tom Baker's rewrite! But with charming prose, glorious backstory and some brilliant new jokes. A piece of sunshine.

1
Strictly Come Hamster - 12th Doctor Finale (featuring Joumana, Frazer, Mark & Dan) 2:44:13

1M ago2:44:13

2:44:13

Four huge Peter Capaldi fans assemble to celebrate and cajole the members of the Ham Fam that say nasty things about their favourite and we battle it out through the runners up and winners to find our favourite 12th Doctor story!

1
Talks to Jack Coyer & Steven B about their choice of The Awakening (2/2) 1:21:04

1M ago1:21:04

1:21:04

is this an atmospheric political statement of the time...or just a load of old tosh? Join Joe, Jack & Steven who investigate...

1
Talks to Steven B & Jack Coyer about their choice of The Awakening (1/2) 42:22

2M ago42:22

42:22

Devils in the church, ghosts in the crypt, demons from the far reaches of space…Joe, Steven and Jack investigate this atmospheric two parter…

1
Hamster Book Club - Face of the Enemy by David A. McIntee (featuring Luke Sims-Jenkins, Andrew Batty & Jon Arnold) 1:59:54

2M ago1:59:54

1:59:54

Where the book club learns to be REAL MEN! A McIntee love-in as we tackle one of his most celebrated and fun books; a ballsy, continuity filled, characterful piece with the best depiction of the Master in print. Badda-Badda-Badda!

1
How Did America Build the Arsenal of Democracy? (with Brian Potter) 1:05:05

2M ago1:05:05

1:05:05

American manufacturing of aircraft during WWII dwarfed that of its enemies. By the end of the war, an American assembly line was producing a B-24 bomber in less than an hour. But that success was far from inevitable. Structural engineer and writer Brian Potter speaks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the logistical challenges of ramping up product…

1
Talks to Paul Dunn about his choice of Revenge of the Cybermen (4/4) 37:49

2M ago37:49

37:49

Joe and Paul are heading for the biggest bang in history! My skystriker!

1
Talks to Paul Dunn about his choice of Revenge of the Cybermen (3/4) 31:03

2M ago31:03

31:03

We're down in the caves, bullets are firing, the Cybermen are massacring the Vogans, Sarah is trying to get back to the Beacon, the Doctor is bomb-loaded and Harry Sullivan is very possibly an imbecile! It's all going on!

1
The (X) Hamster Files - Squeeze (featuring Agent Morris) 1:01:04

2M ago1:01:04

1:01:04

Responsible for my every nightmare for about a decade - Eugene Victor Tooms! The baby faced, liver eating, body contorting mutant!