👂 Hosted by British presenter and reality star Jamie Laing, Great Company is a weekly podcast that tackles pretty much every topic under the sun, spanning art, social issues, politics, business, and much more. Since March 2024, Laing has released over 80 episodes under one common theme: the search for stories that bring humans together.

The guests are just as diverse as the topics. The podcast features everyone from sleepexperts that argue lack of sleep is just as dangerous as smoking, businessmen who lost everything in the blink of an eye, and neuroscientists discussing phone addiction, making browsing through the podcast’s backlog itself an enjoyable experience.

On friendship and intimacy: Given the fact that we’re big fans of contemporary British philosopher and bestselling author Alain de Botton, his episode with Laing was one we simply couldn’t miss. Over the course of 75 minutes, they discuss the difficulties of building new friendships as one gets older, with de Botton adeptly discussing the concept of forming connections, the specific problems facing men when it comes to emotional expression and affection, and the psychological states that lead people to remain in toxic relationships out of fear of loneliness.

What truly caught our attention — beyond the guests and the engaging topics — is Laing’s ability to volley with his guests. The host proves sincere, as is evident in his interactions with de Botton and his admissions of fear about fatherhood. In this way, Laing is not only a host, but rather an engaging conversationalist who isn’t afraid to open up. Our only criticism is that oftentimes integrated advertisements took away from otherwise genuine and heartfelt moments.

WHERE TO LISTEN- You can tune in on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Anghami | Deezer | Audible | Amazon Music | YouTube | YouTube Music.

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