‘The greatest stories in pop culture history…’
Josh Widdecombe has already proven himself as an incredibly adept broadcaster through his TV work but mainly due to his podcasting abilities. Quickly Kevin, Will He Score?, the ’90s football podcast co-hosted by Widdecombe, embraced the warm glow of nostalgia without ever succumbing to simply listing things from the past. I was devastated when QK ended, but Josh has now returned as the host of Museum of Pop Culture. Unsurprisingly, it’s excellent…
The format is simple. Topics as diverse as Mr Blobby, David Hasselhoff, the Spice Girls and Studio 54 are studiously examined and lampooned across four episodes per topic by Josh and a rotating cast of guest hosts (Tom Craine, Suzi Ruffell, Matthew Crosby etc). Impressively researched and uproariously funny, Widdecombe is superb at finding the most absurd aspects of a given topic and then zoning in on them to explore why they are so ridiculous (this is particularly enjoyable in relation to Noel Edmunds who is one of the most preposterous people to have ever walked the earth). While your mileage may vary depending on topic (I loved Blobby and the Spice Girls but have struggled with the episodes on iconic New York nightclub Studio 54), there is no denying that Widdecombe’s enthusiasm is so infectious that he makes any topic interesting.
Museum of Pop Culture continues Widdecombe’s relentless spiral into nostalgia. As someone who spends most of his time living in the past, I’m definitely the target audience here. In truth, however, everyone with an interest in pop culture will find something to enjoy here.