New hosts for BBC Sounds Tearjerker and The Music & Meditation Podcast

Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora is to host Tearjerker and violinist, bestselling author and mindfulness practitioner Izzy Judd will host The Music and Meditation Podcast.

Tearjerker returns to BBC Sounds for its fourth season, following series curated by Jorja Smith, Jordan Rakei and Sigrid.

Aurora’s choices – focusing on classical through to pop, electronica and beyond will explore themes such as “the first tear”, and “songs of hope”.

Each episode includes a special feature ‘The Song That Saves Me’, with listeners’ suggestions of tracks to get through hard times. Music featured includes pieces by Beethoven, Kate Bush, Sakamoto, Julee Cruise, Florence Price, Arvo Pärt, FKA Twigs and Tchaikovsky – amongst others.

Author and broadcaster Izzy Judd takes over The Music and Meditation Podcast from singer-songwriter NAO, who hosted the first two instalments in 2022 and 2023. The BBC Sounds podcast provides an escape from the noise of everyday life through a combination of classical music and meditation.

Author of bestselling books such as Dare to Dream: My Struggle to Become a Mum, Judd focuses on specific themes in each episode, such as “make peace with imperfections”, “focus on gratitude”, and “embrace vulnerability” – amongst others.

She is joined by special guests such as writer and broadcaster Katie Piper, motivational speaker Gabby Bernstein, and meditation teacher Gelong Thubten.

Each episode also features new music especially commissioned for the series, recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra and written by up-and-coming young composers Misha Mullov-Abbado, Anita Datta, Emily Lim and Tayla-Leigh Payne, and more.

Tearjerker with Aurora, 12 x one-hour episodes are available from today Thursday 22 February.

The Music & Meditation Podcast with Izzy Judd, two boxsets of four x 30-minute episodes will be available from Monday 18 and Monday 25 March.