Melvyn Bragg steps down from presenting In Our Time

In Our Time has been my favorite podcast to listen. It made me appreciate how well moderated a discussion among experts can be and how poorly most moderators on other radio programs or conference panels do their jobs.

My complaint with In Our Time is that BBC started inserting the "this program is supported by ads outside of the U.K." ads in the middle of the discussions. The ads start and end with an extremely annoying loud chime that just blows out the speakers if I have the volume turned up to understand a guest that's speaking in a more soft voice.

They closed off the website to unregistered in the UK too, last time I tried to access content it asked me for a license number (I don't have a TV license).

I used to follow topical comedy podcasts but they put a large delay in their publication cycle so they're no longer topical.

They also nag you to install the app. They seem often to just repeat the worst habits of commercial media.