ISO conversational podcasts by subject-matter experts

February 3, 2021 7:30 PM

I'm looking for informative podcasts where I'm going to learn something, done in a conversational, friendly way, by subject-matter experts. The expertise might be due to academic degrees or real-world professional experience, but it is not "pair of friends reads Wikipedia article on X subject and then recites it back with color commentary" or "host interviews an expert" or even "host goes on a journey to learn about X".

Examples that fit the bill:
Common Descent - two paleontologists talk about... paleontology. I like that they have studied and practiced paleontology in real life.
Lexicon Valley - a linguist talks about... linguistics
This Week in Virology - virologists talking about (you guessed it).

Examples that don't fit the bill (for this question! not that they aren't great podcasts!)
Ologies - due to it being interviews with experts, not conversations between experts
Oh No Ross and Carrie - they learn about different things experientially and interview experts, but they are coming from a journalistic/experiential view not a committed practitioner's view

posted by rogerroger to Media & Arts (30 answers total)

This Podcast Will Kill You: Ecologists and epidemiologists Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke make infectious diseases acceptable fodder for dinner party conversation and provide the perfect cocktail recipe to match.
posted by cgg at 7:33 PM on February 3, 2021

Lingthusiasm is another Linguistics podcast by two professors. Very conversational and accessible!
posted by wsquared at 7:33 PM on February 3, 2021

Very Bad Wizards has guests, but it's mainly a philosopher and a psychologist talking about the intersection of philosophy and psychology (especially ethics).
posted by lgyre at 7:41 PM on February 3, 2021

Maybe Women in Crime? Two criminology experts/professors discuss real cases where women have been either victims or perpetrators of crime. Definitely have an understanding of how the legal system works that differentiates them from normal case of the week shows.
posted by itsamermaid at 7:46 PM on February 3, 2021

The Partially Examined Life is a bunch of philosophy Ph.Ds talking about philosophy.

In Our Time features a different panel of experts each week. There’s a host, but he mainly guides discussion rather than interrogating experts.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:53 PM on February 3, 2021

I second the vote for In Our Time. The show covers subjects from Pericles to the Solar Wind. There's a panel of two to four experts in each episode's subject, ably moderated by Melvyn Bragg.
posted by monotreme at 8:11 PM on February 3, 2021

I think you are looking for the New Books Network. Great collection of podcasts by subject where a host, usually an academic of some kind, interviews the author of a new book on a subject, also usually an academic. It's nicely organized by theme, so for example, I subscribe to the Middle Eastern Studies NBN podcast, and the Religion NBN podcast, as well as too many others. They update way too regularly for me to be able to keep up. My only gripe is that because the hosts seem to be a lot of volunteer PhD students etc, and the interviews are all remote, the sound quality is not often great.

Thirding In Our Time, which is like a streamlined, condensed, wonderfully hosted and high quality audio version of NBN.
posted by Corduroy at 9:56 PM on February 3, 2021

I agree with everyone above who recommended In Our Time, but it may not be exactly what you're looking for since you say you don't want a host-guest structure. It does often develop into conversations between the subject-area experts though. Note that it consists of five different podcasts centered around subject areas: Science, History, Culture, Religion, and Philosophy, with some episodes crossing over. Others I can recommend are:

Farm to Taber - Dr. Sarah Taber on “the inner guts of the food system”
Arms Control Wonk - Dr. Jeffrey Lewis and other experts on arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament
Rule of Three - comedy writers talking about their favorite pieces of comedy (movies, stand-up routines, TV shows, etc.), frequently getting into very interesting discussions about creativity and what makes comedy work (each episode starts off as a sort-of interview, but only for a few minutes)
History of Egypt Podcast - PhD student in Egyptian archaeology Dominic Perry talks about ancient Egypt
The Lawfare Podcast - policy experts talk to other policy experts (largely —but not exclusively— US-centric)
The Supermassive - from the Royal Astronomical Society, astrophysicist Dr. Becky Smethurst and science journalist Izzie Clark discuss the latest astronomical research and other stuff about space
Inquiring Minds - neuroscientist Indre Viskontas talks to other scientists about science and society
Brady Heywood Podcast - forensic engineer Sean Brady talks about engineering failures and disasters
Omega Tau Podcast - very in-depth episodes by scientists and engineers about science and engineering (some are only in German)
Backstory - a team of historians with different areas of expertise talk about issues in US history (although it ended production last year, they've got lots of good episodes going back to 2008)
The Life Scientific - theoretical physicst Jim Al-Khalili talks to other scientists about their life's work
Talking Feds - roundtable discussion among prominent former government officials and political journalists about US political issues
New Books Network - puts out a few dozen podcasts every week hosted by scholars talking to fellow scholars about their latest books
posted by theory at 9:57 PM on February 3, 2021

I forgot to include Team Deakins - cinematographer Roger Deakins and his wife James Ellis Deakins, who also works in film, talk to other creative professionals and technicians in the film industry - some very well known and others who aren’t
posted by theory at 10:23 PM on February 3, 2021

Archaeological Fantasies and Sidedoor are worth a try. (Also perhaps From Our Own Correspondent and Farm to Taber, which feature journalists, but journalists talking about specific stuff they specialize in.)
posted by eotvos at 11:00 PM on February 3, 2021

Maybe Coronacast?
posted by freethefeet at 11:03 PM on February 3, 2021

I'll put in a plug for Econtalk. An acclaimed economist talks with other expert-economists in a wide variety of fields in an approachable way.
posted by goodnight moon at 11:35 PM on February 3, 2021

I'll throw in Negotiate Anything. The host Kwame is a lawyer and negotiation professional/professor who each episode interviews another professional negotiator.

From lawyers to salespersons to FBI hostage negotiators.

Things you might not enjoy are the endless self promoting advertisements for his training courses
posted by McNulty at 12:28 AM on February 4, 2021

99% invisible is a podcast about design in the broadest sense, from modernist architecture to sound design in hospitals, to homelessness and city planning, to food photography. Every episode has interviews with subject experts and there is an enormous archive of past episodes.
posted by Zumbador at 1:52 AM on February 4, 2021

Dog trainer Hannah Branigan's podcast Drinking from the Toilet might fit the bill. She frequently has guests and they discuss a variety of subjects getting into the nitty gritty of modern dog training.
posted by ruddlehead at 2:32 AM on February 4, 2021

Under the influence - marketing expert Terry O'Reilly takes a deep dive in to an advertising campaign.
posted by Mitheral at 4:09 AM on February 4, 2021

Work Life with Adam Grant may fit this criteria for you.

"Organizational psychologist Adam Grant takes you inside some truly unusual places, where they’ve figured out how to make work not suck."

He interviews experts, but he's an expert too, and the interviews feel like water-cooler conversations between peers.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 6:01 AM on February 4, 2021

Have You Heard — 2 education experts talk about education expert things
Strict Scrutiny — handful of lawyers and law professors talk about law things
posted by shesdeadimalive at 6:04 AM on February 4, 2021

The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry. A pair of working scientists (a biologist and a mathematician) attempt to answer misleadingly simple questions. They aren't always operating within their own scientific disciplines, and the tone of a lot of the episodes is somewhat silly, but the differences from a Wikipedia dive are palpable.
posted by Acheman at 9:27 AM on February 4, 2021

Here are some very good barebow archers interviewing other very good barebow archers. They are some of the best archers in the world! They are not some of the best podcast producers in the world.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:21 PM on February 4, 2021

The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
Bloggingheads (some episodes)
posted by catquas at 4:50 PM on February 4, 2021

You mentioned TWiV. What about his others? The whole list.
posted by kathrynm at 4:51 PM on February 4, 2021

Merriam-Webster has a delightful little podcast called Word Matters that I think fits the bill
posted by radioamy at 5:05 PM on February 4, 2021

The Ezra Klein Show. Great hosts, great guests. It is never not interesting.
posted by panama joe at 9:34 PM on February 4, 2021

One of them is more of an expert about MMA than the other but this episode of Current Affairs might still be what you’re looking for: Sparky speaks to Sam Yang of Southpaw, a radical podcast about combat sports. In the first of this two-parter, Sam explains why he's building an alternative to the Joe Rogan universe, labor issues in the world of MMA, and exploitation and liberation in the Western practice of martial arts.
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:13 AM on February 6, 2021

I hope I'm not to late. I have a ton of podcasts like these.

• Adventure Rider Radio Motorcycle Podcast - motorcycle adventure rider talks about adventure riding/talks to other people who do adventure riding
• American Diplomat - American diplomats interview other American diplomats about life as an American diplomat
• Art of the Cut - Film editor interviews other film editors
• Art of the Score - three guys who have worked on soundtracks talk about movie soundtracks
• BJJ Mental Models - two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teachers talk about BJJ
• Conlangery Podcast - people who create languages talk about creating languages
• Consulting Logistics - Logistics company has podcast about logistics
• Dressed: the History of Fashion - two fashion historians talk about the history of fashion
• Dig - four female historians talk about various topics in history
• History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps - philosopher covers the history of philosophy from pre-Socratic Greece until today. Currently up the Renaissance. Also covers Indian, islamic and Africana philosophy.
• Inbound Logistics - logistics magazine has a podcast about current issues in logistics
• Jokes with Mark Simmons - Comedian talks to other comedians about jokes they can't get to work
• Lawyer Life Podcast - Two lawyers talk about being lawyers
• Lingthusiam - two linguists talk about linguistics
• Linguistics with Laura - one linguists talks about linguistics
• MikiDz podcast - DJs talk about being DJs
• Military Wife Life - Military wife talks to military wives and husband about being married to someone in the military
• PreparedEx Crisis Management Podcast - crisis manager talks about crisis management
• Songwriting for Everyone - composer dissects popular songs to see how they work and gives advice on writing songs
• Spycast - spy historian interviews ex-spies, intelligence experts, and espionage scholars. This podcast is from the International Spy Museum.
• Talking Law - lawyer in the UK talks to other lawyers in the UK about being in the legal profession in the UK
• The 1958 Lawyer - lawyers talk about the business of law, specifically alternatives to the billable hour concept most law firms use
• The Art of Bombing - comedian talks to other comedians about the time they bombed
• The Ask Us Desk - three librarians talk about libraries and the library profession
• The Clean Comedy podcast - two comedians talk about the business of comedy
• The Former Lawyer Podcast - former lawyer, who helps lawyers quit being lawyers, talks about the issues that face lawyers who want to leave the law profession.
• Ancient Warfare - ancient military historians talk about ancient military history
• The Mediator’s Studio - former diplomat interviews diplomatic mediators about their work in working with groups in conflict to negotiate peace.
• The Midwife Crisis - two midwives talk about being midwives
• The Project Management Podcast - project manager talks about project management/interviews other project managers about being a project manager
• The Psychology of Copywriting - copywriter talks about copywriting
• The Safety Geek Podcast - workplace safety manager talks about being a workplace safety manager
• Warehouse and Operations as a Career - guy who has worked in warehouses, and helps people get jobs in warehoues talks about working in warehouses
• Women in the Military - woman who was in the military talks about issues facing women in the military/interviews women who are or were in the military
• Women Offshore - woman who works in marine industry talks about issues facing women who work in the marine industry and interviews other women who work/worked in marine industries/female seafarers.

posted by brandnewday989 at 10:44 AM on February 7, 2021

psychologists off the clock
posted by meijusa at 5:50 AM on February 9, 2021

The BBC's "In Our Time: Science" is a LOT of fun.
posted by Caxton1476 at 7:42 AM on February 11, 2021

Offbeat suggestion: Triple Click. A handful of video game experts (journalists and players) discuss games. I am at best a mild gamer and I find lots of it interesting, though I skip some of the episodes about games/trends I have no interest in.
posted by hepta at 10:04 AM on February 11, 2021

Go Dig a Hole - archaeologists working to make better archaeologists and to make archaeology more inclusive
posted by theory at 3:56 AM on February 14, 2021