List Envy

Everyone’s pretty, everyone eventually gets down to it, no-one throws up, and occasionally steam comes out of someone’s ears. Is there more to cute Korean dramas than this?Turns out yes, yes there is, as positive psychologist and K-drama stan Anya Pearse explains.(00:00) - A lot of thought wente into this (00:11) - Introduction (00:57) - What makes K-dramas different? (04:39) - Anya’s pick: Extraordinary Attorney Woo (09:02) - Mark’s pick: I am Not a Robot (12:50) - Anya’s pick: Are You Human? (16:21) - Mark’s pick: Strong Girl Bong-soon (22:03) - Anya’s pick: Navillera (25:58) - Mark’s pick: Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (30:10) - Anya’s pick: Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung (34:13) - Mark’s pick: It’s OK Not to be OK (38:27) - Anya’s pick: 100 Days My Prince (40:42) - Mark’s pick: Queen of Tears (42:31) - We’re on a break! (44:24) - Get List Envy + (45:37) - Back to the show (45:46) - Building the final list (46:45) - Honourable mentions (47:40) - Strong female leads need not apply Join List Envy + and get bonus content and an ad-free feed.If this episode has made you happy and you want to keep feeling happy, Anya’s Unlocking Happiness online summit is available to watch for free.

Whether you’re 🤩, 😡, or 🫤 about them, emoji are a useful way to express in one tiny image what would take reams of text to express.So today, George Chachanidze rejoins Mark to pick their top 5 emoji reactions, and create a definitive list.(00:00) - 👋 (00:17) - Introduction (01:08) - History of the emoji (05:14) - George’s pick: 😂 (08:16) - Mark’s pick: 🤗 (10:16) - George’s pick: 🤔 (12:11) - Mark’s pick: 🙏 (14:09) - George’s pick: 👍 (17:03) - Mark’s pick: 👋 (18:49) - George’s pick: 👀 (20:31) - Mark’s pick: 😘 (24:11) - George’s pick: 👉👈 (26:14) - Mark’s pick: 🐴 (28:03) - ✂️ (28:56) - Join List Envy + (29:57) - Back to the show (30:11) - Building the final list (32:47) - Honourable mentions (36:57) - More of George You can find George all over the socials @GeorgeProbably, and via his blog.Also mentionedTextExpanderThe shrug emoticon: ¯*(ツ)*/¯

Stuart Moore joins Mark to discuss their top-5 characters from America’s longest-running animated show.Snowball II, Groundskeeper Willy, Frank Grimes. These are just some of the characters that get absolutely no mention in this week’s episode.(00:00) - Do the Bartman (00:25) - Introduction (01:22) - Changing voices of the Simpsons (04:40) - Stuart's pick: Homer Simpson (10:17) - Mark's pick: Ralph Wiggum (12:51) - Stuart's pick: Lisa Simpson (15:57) - Mark's pick: Hank Scorpio (18:00) - Stuart's pick: Disco Stu (20:01) - Mark's pick: Dr Nick Riviera (23:06) - Stuart's pick: Sideshow Bob (25:49) - Mark's pick: Professor Frink (28:52) - Stuart's pick: Mr Burns (31:28) - Mark's pick: Gil Gunderson (33:36) - Get List Envy + (34:58) - Back to the show (35:27) - Building the final list (36:09) - Honourable mentions (42:16) - More of Stuart Moore Find Stuart @StuartVincentMoore wherever you’re social, and check out the Dandelions Poetry Podcast.

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.

Mark is joined by the Creative Director at Worcester-based design, branding and development agency WeAreBeard, Dave Webb, to share his top tips for working in the kind of field that your mum told you you should have a backup for.Dave remembers the first day he was praised for drawing something good, instead of being made to feel like he was falling behind academically, which is where his affinity for creative work began.A creative person’s priorities often don’t fit in with a “professional” culture, which can lead to clashes, of which both Mark and Dave have experience.(00:00) - Introduction (06:32) - Dave's tip: Don't have a plan B (14:40) - Mark's tip: Be supportive (19:46) - Dave's tip: Be childlike, but not childish (22:58) - Mark's tip: Be stubborn (27:52) - Dave's tip: Be excited by your work (33:58) - Mark's tip: Run your own race (43:00) - Dave's tip: Failing is learning (49:42) - Mark's tip: Use what you have to hand (56:00) - Dave's tip: It's a numbers game (59:26) - Mark's tip: Take all advice with a pinch of salt (01:03:34) - Refer a friend (01:06:38) - Building the final list (01:09:00) - Honourable mentions (01:20:12) - More of Dave Webb Follow Dave on Instagram and @illustratteddave, and check out the wonderful WeAreBeard, of which he is Creative Director.LinksCompare the MeerkatMark’s meme thing@obscurestvinyl on Instagram

Time-travel films are often about fixing the big things, so says this week’s guest, Karl Hodge, but time-travel romance films address the small things that keep us awake at night.Mark and Karl begin by looking at some of Christopher Nolan’s work, from Memento to Tenet, and trying to figure out whether they qualify as time-travel films.(00:00) - Introduction (05:48) - Karl's pick: Groundhog Day (08:32) - Mark's pick: Back to the Future (12:02) - Karl's pick: The Time Travellers Wife (15:24) - Mark's pick: About Time (20:10) - Karl's pick: Kate & Leopold (23:50) - Mark's pick: Safety Not Guaranteed (26:14) - Karl's pick: The Lake House (32:18) - Mark's pick: Happy Accidents (33:54) - Karl's pick: Time After Time (38:34) - Time Break (44:26) - Building the final list (48:12) - Honourable mentions (49:48) - Goodbyes

This week’s guest is musician, DJ and producer Kevin Kerr, and on the list is top people from Birmingham in the UK, or as we have them, Brummies.(00:00) - Introduction (04:38) - Rusty's pick: Benjamin Zephaniah (07:14) - Mark's pick: Stewart Lee (10:12) - Rusty's pick: Tony Iommi (12:32) - Mark's pick: John Cadbury (15:50) - Rusty's pick: Mike Skinner (20:14) - Mark's pick: John Oliver (22:50) - Rusty's pick: Pat Malloy (28:52) - Mark's pick: Janice Connolly (31:10) - Rusty's pick: Joe Lycett (34:50) - Brummie in the middle (36:22) - Putting the final list together (39:24) - Honourable mentions (46:10) - More of Rusty Nails Follow @RustyNailsBeats on Twitter and listen to Titans of Doom’s latest single, Rise Up, in aid of the Northfield Community Partnership food bank.LinksGary Sambrook eats big dinners

This week’s guest is Liam Barrington-Bush, a Bristol-based activist who helps organisations think more like people, and has loads of real-world experience of how people can govern themselves, build their own systems, and get closer to achieving what they want, without having those systems handed down to them.After years of community activism and disillusionment with political systems, Liam discovered that people were capable of remarkable things when they weren’t being told what to do. Mark and Liam discuss the way the Internet has enabled or changed activism, but allowing information to spread to places that wouldn’t ordinarily be affected or invested. They also examine what happens after the dust has settled.(00:00) - Introduction (05:54) - Liam's pick: Argentine Occupy Factory movement (20:50) - Mark's pick: Indignados movement (24:10) - Liam's pick: People's uprising in Oaxaca, Mexico (31:10) - Mark's pick: Singing Revolution (37:02) - Liam's pick: Sweets Way regeneration (43:52) - Mark's pick: Inner-London squatting in the 70s (49:12) - Liam's pick: Rojava revolution (54:58) - Mark's pick: Sous les pavés, la plage! (56:36) - Liam's pick: Viome factory occupation (01:02:10) - Mark's pick: Rage Against the Machine for Christmas #1 (01:04:26) - Au milieu de la discussion, la pause! (01:09:48) - Putting the final list together (01:13:38) - Honourable mentions (01:17:32) - What happens next? Follow Liam on Twitter @hackofalltrades, and check out his website.LinksDavid Graeber, anthropologist, anarchist activist, and authorAccidental Anarchist, a film by Carne RossTeaching RebellionAnarchists in the Boardroom, Liam’s book

Today Mark is talking the golden age of arcade games, which ran from 1979 til around 1983. Mark and Nick start with their own childhood arcade memories, and Mark gets quizzical about the American quarter as a “unit of fun”. As this was recorded during the Quarantimes, conversation inevitably turned to the decline in in-person entertainment like arcades and cinemas.(00:00) - Introduction (10:38) - Nicholas's pick: Pac-Man (22:17) - Mark's pick: Space Invaders (26:57) - Nicholas's pick: Defender (32:44) - Mark's pick: Pole Position (36:41) - Nicholas's pick: Mario Bros (46:58) - Mark's pick: Paperboy (48:40) - Nicholas's pick: Galaga (53:22) - Mark's pick: Asteroids (56:17) - A primer on vector graphics (59:56) - Nicholas's pick: Robotron 2048 (01:03:32) - Dispatches from the past (01:08:38) - Building the final list (01:11:20) - Honourable mentions (01:13:08) - More of Nicholas Bond Nick blogs at the Retrogame Deconstruction Zone, and you can find him on Twitter @MrVGBrow.LinksHigh Score documentary series on NetflixPsygnosis (the video game publisher with the owl logo Mark was trying to think of)10 hours of arcade noiseMasters of DoomPodcast My Startup

Mark is joined once more by Cat Turner and Tom Clabon to swap spooky stories. If you haven’t already checked out part one, you can do so now.(00:00) - Introduction (01:10) - Mark's pick: The call is coming from inside the house (05:40) - Tom's pick: Boston Dynamics robot dog revenge (07:54) - Mark's pick: Petscop (16:16) - Mark's pick: The Young Ones' fifth housemate (27:42) - Honourable mentions (35:58) - Postamble

List Envy is back in the new year with a new slate of guests and lists. To get us back into the spirit, Mark called up previous guests Cat Turner and Tom Clabon to swap “scary ghost stories”, as is tradition, according to It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, which is a Christmas song.(00:00) - Introduction (03:22) - It's the most wonderful time of the year (04:04) - Cat's pick: Mothman (16:50) - Mark's pick: Cropsey (19:08) - Tom's pick: Talking Angela (24:15) - Cat's pick: Olivia Mabel (37:09) - Mark's pick: The body under the bed (39:45) - Cat's pick: Russian sleep experiment (45:16) - End of part one