Podcasts now have an incredible 15 million+ regular listeners in the U.K. alone, covering literally any topic you can think of – from ‘An Unusual History of Gnomes‘ to the frankly terrifying-sounding ‘Dental Hacks.’ Thankfully, some more pleasant topics are also included, and we’re continually excited to see the growing number of fragrance and smell-related podcasts.
According to the website statista.com, ‘Podcast listenership in the United Kingdom (UK) has been increasing year-on-year, reaching an estimated 15.6 million listeners in 2020‘ because, simply put, ‘more brands start to see opportunity in this format due to its audience reach and ability to build a following…’ What’s more, they continue, ‘podcasts (news, interviews, and serialised formats) were named as the top three audio initiatives publishing experts saw as being crucial areas of focus in the year ahead.’
We’re constantly keeping an ear out for fragrance-related content of all kinds we can share with you, and if you type ‘podcast’ in the search bar, you’ll see several lists of scent-themed shows we’ve already recommended. But if you’re anything like us you’ll always need more on the listening list, so here’s some further fragrant offerings to be going on with…
Top Notes
Describing themselves as ‘A blissfully stupid, miserably niche, and earnestly fascinated podcast that exists at the intersection of perfumery, comedy, art, critique, alchemy, 16th-century Venetian fashion, and queer emotional baggage,’ hosts Kris and Montana get up close and personal with the movers and shakers of the niche fragrance world.
BBC Radio 4 Thinking Allowed: Perfume
In a fragrantly-themed episode of the long-running series, presenter Laurie Taylor looks at the new book, Scent of Empires, A fascinating slice of scent history we’ll be reviewing soon! Exploring with author Karl Schloegel ‘the history of the 20th century through the prism of two scents, Chanel No 5 and Red Moscow. Also, how do scents become invested with meaning?’
Behind the Fragrance
Matt and Antonio are the founders of Thomas Clipper, an indie men’s cologne and grooming company in London. The series follows the development their latest fragrance – Atlantic – but goes beyond to discuss men’s fragrance and smell in general. It’s a fun & fact-filled listen, as they say: ‘The source of the word “inspire” means “to breathe in”. …Bottom line: scent matters.’
The Sniff Podcast
Nicola’s a fragrance blogger and long-time friend of The Perfume Society, and she regularly interviews interesting people from the perfume world. This time it’s a deep dive into the world and work of niche perfume Karen Timson, where ‘We also uncover some of Karen’s scented memories and talk about what it takes to be an indie perfumer in the marketplace today.’
Outspoken Beauty: On the Scent Episode 3
On the Scent is an olfactory offshoot of the Outspoken Beauty podcast series, hosted by Nicola Bonn – named one of Top 10 podcasts by Harpers Bazaar, Stylist and Glamour among others. Nicola teams up with fragrance expert, freelance fragrance journalist (and our senior writer) Suzy Nightingale to discuss favourites and give ‘perfume prescriptions’ to listener queries.
