List Envy

List Envy is returning, with a brand new set of comedians, writers, performers, and layabouts. Join Mark and his guests every week as they continue to rank things in order from 1 to 5, so you don't have to.

Indie music blogger Kamala Adams joins Mark to discuss all things modern indie, and to define what “modern” means.(00:00) - Introduction (05:22) - Kamala's pick: Porridge Radio (07:40) - Mark's pick: The Corteeners (10:28) - Kamala's pick: Wolf Alice (13:42) - Mark's pick: Maxïmo Park (16:28) - Kamala's pick: Blaenavon (19:04) - Mark's pick: Gerry Cinnamon (22:22) - Kamala's pick: The Vaccines (24:34) - Mark's pick: Nothing But Thieves (26:54) - Kamala's pick: Courting (29:26) - Mark's pick: Courtney Barnett (31:46) - Breakdown (38:30) - Building the final list (39:56) - Honourable mentions (43:56) - Honourable mentions Kamala setup and writes for The Indie Scene, a blog championing new music, with articles by a number of writers.

Mark talks vinyl and hunts down new music to enjoy, with music podcaster Elliott Farrar.(00:00) - Introduction (09:26) - Elliott's pick: Weird!, by Yungblud (13:04) - Mark's pick: RTJ4, by Run the Jewels (16:06) - Elliott's pick: Girlfriends, by Girlfriends (20:00) - Mark's pick: Women in Music Pt III, by Haim (21:24) - Elliott's pick: Grime MC, by Jme (32:50) - Mark's pick: Letter to You, by Bruce Springstein (36:30) - Elliott's pick: Fake it Flowers, by Beabadoobee (39:46) - Mark's pick: Saint Cloud, by Waxahatchee (42:50) - Elliott's pick: Foolish Loving Spaces, by Blossoms (46:02) - Mark's pick: Shore, by Fleet Foxes (48:58) - Turn over for Side B (51:30) - Building the final list (53:44) - Honourable mentions (56:04) - The Scratched Record Podcast Elliott is one half of the Scratched Record podcast, which you can find in all your usual podcast places, and which brings indie music artists out of the shadows and into your ears every Tuesday.

Mark is joined by super-talented singer-songwriter Bryony Williams. Bryony realised she could sing in her early teens, and spent most of her mid-to-late teens honing her craft. At nineteen she was in the electro-pop duo Field Harmonics, and has been recording solo since 2018.(00:00) - Introduction (05:50) - Bryony's pick: Cleaning (08:02) - Mark's pick: Over-planning the task (13:28) - Bryony's pick: Spontaneous trips out with pals (17:58) - Mark's pick: Organising and taxonomising (21:20) - Brony's pick: The mobile (27:32) - Mark's pick: Putting the kettle on (29:00) - Bryony's pick: Bingewatching (33:26) - Mark's pick: Bothering the cats (37:12) - Silhouette, by Bryony Williams (38:52) - Building the final list (41:16) - Honourable mentions (44:52) - Van conversions You can get a limited edition copy of Bryony’s EP Growing / Fading, and follow her on Instagram or Twitter for more.

Mark kicks off a music mini-season with artist manager Ella Gregg, who’s been supporting emerging music artists since she was a teenager.Tech has always been an important aspect of Ella’s work, including her early days helping artists get their work played in films or adverts.(00:00) - Introduction (07:20) - Ella's pick: Livestreaming (13:04) - Mark's pick: Loop pedal (18:22) - Ella's pick: Multi-participant video calling (23:50) - Mark's pick: Handheld SD card recorder (28:16) - Ella's pick: Digital audio workstations (34:58) - Mark's pick: Music distribution services (41:04) - Ella's pick: Music recognition algorithms (46:12) - MArk's pick: iPad (51:00) - Ella's pick: Social ads (56:48) - Mark's pick: YouTube (01:06:32) - Tech a break (01:09:16) - Building the final list (01:11:30) - Honourable mentions (01:13:06) - More of Ella Gregg You can find Ella at 321 Artists, where you can sign up for her mailing list to get exclusive downloads you won’t find elswhere.

Many people are intrigued by the depiction of their profession in popular fiction, and none more so than librarians, like this week’s guest Owen Stephens.(00:00) - Introduction (06:35) - Owen's pick: Bunny Watson (12:13) - Mark's pick: Horace Worblehat (18:33) - Owen's pick: Lirael (24:02) - Mark's pick: Mrs Phelps (28:26) - Owen's pick: Oswald Bates (34:32) - Mark's pick: Brooks Hatlen (39:06) - Owen's pick: Tammy 2 (45:22) - Mark's pick: Joe Bookman (48:00) - Breaktime (51:00) - Building the final list (52:16) - Honourable mentions (01:04:00) - More of Owen Stephens You can follow @ostephens on Twitter, or find him working on the Folio open source library project.

Whether they cover an entire life or centre on a pivotal moment, biopics are often Oscar fodder, and are frequently conic. In this episode, Mark and podcaster and web developer Aaron Conway get straight down to business, ranking the best biopics around.(00:00) - Introduction (02:29) - Aaron's pick: The Social Network (06:52) - Mark's pick: Shadowlands (11:44) - Aaron's pick: Rocketman (19:46) - Mark's pick: Stan and Ollie (21:50) - Aaron's pick: The Wolf of Wall Street (27:22) - Mark's pick: Hillbilly Elegy (30:46) - Aaron's pick: Dangal (36:38) - Mark's pick: Lion (39:24) - Aaron's pick: Marvellous (43:10) - Mark's pick: Private Parts (46:44) - Bio break (50:44) - Building the final list (52:46) - More of Aaron Conway You can follow @aaronconway7 on Twitter and on Instagram, and make sure to check out his podcast, The Third Wheel.

Journalist Eliza Lita is a self-confessed bookworm, but her early reading focused more on non-fiction work. As a result, she’s picked up a wide variety of useful knowledge, and kept her curiosity alive. She and Mark share an appreciation for good crime fiction, and Eliza has some tips to help Mark finish the books he keeps starting.(00:00) - Introduction (06:10) - Eliza's pick: Ikigai (10:14) - MArk's pick: The Chimp Paradox (12:14) - Eliza's pick: The Face (15:56) - Mark's pick: Self-compassion (18:56) - Eliza's pick: Sleep Well (24:28) - MArk's pick: The Infinite Game (27:08) - Eliza's pick: Beyond Mars and Venus (31:34) - Mark's pick: Three Men in a Boat (34:24) - Eliza's pick: Lady in Waiting (41:10) - Mark's pick: Alexander Hamilton (44:08) - Bookmark (46:56) - Building the final list (48:24) - Honourable mentions (52:32) - Goodbyes You can read Eliza’s writings on Medium, and follow @lita_eliza on Twitter. Eliza is also Europe Editor for The Meridian magazine, and you can read some of her contributions there.

Mark is joined by nature lover and avid walker Sue Burlton, and together they uncover the joys of a good stretch of the legs. If you’re planning a stroll, this will make excellent accompaniment.(00:00) - Introduction (03:40) - Sue's pick: Wildlife (06:46) - Mark's pick: Time to yourself (10:28) - Sue's pick: Green space (13:38) - Mark's pick: Get stuff done (19:46) - Sue's pick: The canals of Birmingham (21:28) - Mark's pick: Time offline (23:34) - Sue's pick: The Seven Wonders Way (29:26) - Mark's pick: Collecting things (31:32) - Sue's pick: Discovering history (34:34) - Mark's pick: Time with company (37:58) - A wee sit down (40:04) - Putting the final list together (42:58) - Goodbyes You can follow Sue on Twitter @sueburly.

Developer of horror video games including Butterfly Collector, Valerie Paris joins Mark to discuss point-and-click adventure games you’ll remember, and one or two you’ll never forget, no matter how hard you try.(00:00) - Introduction (46:55) - Honourable mentions (11:44) - Valerie's pick: Myst (27:42) - Valerie's pick: Loom (50:28) - More of Valerie Paris (23:49) - Mark's pick: Discworld (42:42) - Please insert disk two (19:45) - Valerie's pick: Still Life (38:21) - Mark's pick: Space Quest IV (07:11) - Valerie's pick: Grim Fandango (44:40) - Putting the final list together (08:59) - Mark's pick: Day of the Tentacle (16:39) - Mark's pick: Little Big Adventure (30:40) - Mark's pick: Under a Killing Moon (34:20) - Valerie's pick: Bad Day on the Midway You can follow @UncannyVallerie on Twitter and on Itch to experience her games, and look out for Apolysis when it arrives.