What podcasts should I listen to?
April 22, 2019 11:48 PM Subscribe
I’ve been getting into podcasts recently and am looking for suggestions- turns out that I am a bit picky!
I’m not interested in anything wellness or self-improvement related- I want to be entertained and learn about a topic I wasn’t familiar with. I prefer formats that stick to one topic per session with stand-alone episodes. Even though I love gritty crime dramas on television, I have tried a couple of true crime podcasts with mixed results (The Teacher’s Pet and Someone Knows Something were too slow for me, and I liked but didn’t love Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc.). Thus far the only podcast I really like is Getting Curious by Jonathan Van Ness. I did recently listen to a What If podcast about three men who vanished from a lighthouse and really enjoyed that one. Would be great to get some suggestions for content produced by women, POC, and other underrepresented voices.
I’m not interested in anything wellness or self-improvement related- I want to be entertained and learn about a topic I wasn’t familiar with. I prefer formats that stick to one topic per session with stand-alone episodes. Even though I love gritty crime dramas on television, I have tried a couple of true crime podcasts with mixed results (The Teacher’s Pet and Someone Knows Something were too slow for me, and I liked but didn’t love Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc.). Thus far the only podcast I really like is Getting Curious by Jonathan Van Ness. I did recently listen to a What If podcast about three men who vanished from a lighthouse and really enjoyed that one. Would be great to get some suggestions for content produced by women, POC, and other underrepresented voices.
The Nod by Gimlet Media is one I find interesting. There's often a sort of investigative tone or narrative to it but with a wide variety of topics rather than just crime.
The Food Chain from the BBC is quite informative and straddles the lines between cuisine, science, and frequently political and further cultural subjects around the world, without being as dry as science or domestic political podcasts can be.
I dip into the podcasts on Singapore's Channel News Asia site sometimes. The quality can vary quite widely even within the same series but for an English-language source they often present a very divergent perspective from the ones I'm accustomed to. (Though not usually a minority one within Singapore itself, I don't think. But Singapore is extremely multi-ethnic.)
Raidió Teilifís Éireann / Radio Ireland's Documentary on One (English-language) podcast has some good stuff, usually topics in modern history and sometimes true crime, with a narrative expository approach and completely stand-alone episodes even by different journalists and production teams.
Years ago in some other AskMe thread someone recommended Radio New Zealand's Sunday morning lineup. You have to pick through lots of domestic political stuff which can be difficult to appreciate from afar but since the recommendation I've kept it on my list. Plus the anchors and some guests constantly intersperse their speech with Māori words and phrases (and, I suppose, what are Māori cognates in New Zealand English by this point) and it's a bit like a game to figure out what each one means from context. There's also the occasional bit of good coverage from other parts of Oceania and the Western Pacific, which you don't hear so much elsewhere.
posted by XMLicious at 12:37 AM on April 23, 2019 [4 favorites]
The Food Chain from the BBC is quite informative and straddles the lines between cuisine, science, and frequently political and further cultural subjects around the world, without being as dry as science or domestic political podcasts can be.
I dip into the podcasts on Singapore's Channel News Asia site sometimes. The quality can vary quite widely even within the same series but for an English-language source they often present a very divergent perspective from the ones I'm accustomed to. (Though not usually a minority one within Singapore itself, I don't think. But Singapore is extremely multi-ethnic.)
Raidió Teilifís Éireann / Radio Ireland's Documentary on One (English-language) podcast has some good stuff, usually topics in modern history and sometimes true crime, with a narrative expository approach and completely stand-alone episodes even by different journalists and production teams.
Years ago in some other AskMe thread someone recommended Radio New Zealand's Sunday morning lineup. You have to pick through lots of domestic political stuff which can be difficult to appreciate from afar but since the recommendation I've kept it on my list. Plus the anchors and some guests constantly intersperse their speech with Māori words and phrases (and, I suppose, what are Māori cognates in New Zealand English by this point) and it's a bit like a game to figure out what each one means from context. There's also the occasional bit of good coverage from other parts of Oceania and the Western Pacific, which you don't hear so much elsewhere.
posted by XMLicious at 12:37 AM on April 23, 2019 [4 favorites]
Gastropod is hosted and produced by two women and looks at a different food item or trend each episode "through the lens of science and history".
posted by spindrifter at 12:56 AM on April 23, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by spindrifter at 12:56 AM on April 23, 2019 [7 favorites]
I enjoy All killa no filla, a podcast about serial killers by two female comedians. Lots of banter and some running jokes but each episode is standalone.
posted by JonB at 1:09 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by JonB at 1:09 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Do you like language and linguistics? Helen Zaltzman's The Allusionist is good for that.
Reply All is very engaging and generally focuses on one topic, usually a tech mystery or phenomenon of some sort. So, for example, one time they focused on these strange automated phone calls people were getting. Another time, they looked into the origin of a photo posted to a website. Another time, they investigated a specific type of mail theft scam.
Phoebe Judge's Criminal is really good--it is well paced and the episodes are a good length, usually about 30 minutes focused on one topic. I heard one recently about the guy who started the Witness Protection Program in the US and it was really interesting.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:13 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
Reply All is very engaging and generally focuses on one topic, usually a tech mystery or phenomenon of some sort. So, for example, one time they focused on these strange automated phone calls people were getting. Another time, they looked into the origin of a photo posted to a website. Another time, they investigated a specific type of mail theft scam.
Phoebe Judge's Criminal is really good--it is well paced and the episodes are a good length, usually about 30 minutes focused on one topic. I heard one recently about the guy who started the Witness Protection Program in the US and it was really interesting.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:13 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
You Must Remember This is a podcast by film critic Karina Longworth about “the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood's first century“.
posted by Catseye at 1:40 AM on April 23, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by Catseye at 1:40 AM on April 23, 2019 [5 favorites]
Hit Parade and How I Built This.
posted by sallybrown at 3:44 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by sallybrown at 3:44 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
Ologies!
An hour, more or less, of a very entertaining interviewer talking to an expert about their field, in depth. And mostly she just lets them talk.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 3:54 AM on April 23, 2019 [4 favorites]
An hour, more or less, of a very entertaining interviewer talking to an expert about their field, in depth. And mostly she just lets them talk.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 3:54 AM on April 23, 2019 [4 favorites]
Getting Curious is pretty great. Here are some of my favorites.
Pop Rocket - Weekly pop culture podcast - diverse panel discusses pop culture but in a serious, thoughtful way.
Cocaine and Rhinestones - Carefully researched episodes on various country music performers and/or songs. I've enjoyed it even when I wasn't particularly interested in the music - it's more about history.
Fictional - Narrator retells classic tales with snarky asides for sexism, racism, etc. Though a big reader I just avoided a lot of novels that didn't sound interesting to me when I was a kid and this podcast has made me see that I've missed out.
RadioLab - They talk about science in a very entertaining way.
This American Life - Public radio show and podcast. Mostly broadcast journalism with a specific theme for each episode.
Unladylike - feminist podcast with specific topics
ReplyAll - a podcast about the internet which is far more fascinating than it has a right to be
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History - intensely researched, highly informative history podcast
In Our Time - a BBC podcast on the history of ideas
Happier with Gretchen Rubin - Gretchen and her sister talk about life improvement
Life, Right and Center - panel discusses politics
TED Radio Hour (NPR) - Curated TED talks. Usually each episode has clips from about 3 TED talks on a central theme with presenter interviews and other info.
Selected Shorts (NPR) - Actors read short stories. It's awesome.
Stay Tuned With Preet - former US Attorney Preet Bharara talks about criminal justice, politics and more with various guests.
How Stuff Works - multiple podcasts including Stuff Mom Never Told You, Stuff You Should Know, Stuff to Blow Your Mind and several others
Storytelling podcasts include The Moth, Story Collider, Risk!
I've had good luck using google searches like [american history podcast] or just searching Spotify and Apple Podcasts for specific topics. I usually check out one episode each from the most promising podcasts to see 1) if I get through the first episode and 2) if I want to seriously get into it.
posted by bunderful at 5:47 AM on April 23, 2019 [4 favorites]
Pop Rocket - Weekly pop culture podcast - diverse panel discusses pop culture but in a serious, thoughtful way.
Cocaine and Rhinestones - Carefully researched episodes on various country music performers and/or songs. I've enjoyed it even when I wasn't particularly interested in the music - it's more about history.
Fictional - Narrator retells classic tales with snarky asides for sexism, racism, etc. Though a big reader I just avoided a lot of novels that didn't sound interesting to me when I was a kid and this podcast has made me see that I've missed out.
RadioLab - They talk about science in a very entertaining way.
This American Life - Public radio show and podcast. Mostly broadcast journalism with a specific theme for each episode.
Unladylike - feminist podcast with specific topics
ReplyAll - a podcast about the internet which is far more fascinating than it has a right to be
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History - intensely researched, highly informative history podcast
In Our Time - a BBC podcast on the history of ideas
Happier with Gretchen Rubin - Gretchen and her sister talk about life improvement
Life, Right and Center - panel discusses politics
TED Radio Hour (NPR) - Curated TED talks. Usually each episode has clips from about 3 TED talks on a central theme with presenter interviews and other info.
Selected Shorts (NPR) - Actors read short stories. It's awesome.
Stay Tuned With Preet - former US Attorney Preet Bharara talks about criminal justice, politics and more with various guests.
How Stuff Works - multiple podcasts including Stuff Mom Never Told You, Stuff You Should Know, Stuff to Blow Your Mind and several others
Storytelling podcasts include The Moth, Story Collider, Risk!
I've had good luck using google searches like [american history podcast] or just searching Spotify and Apple Podcasts for specific topics. I usually check out one episode each from the most promising podcasts to see 1) if I get through the first episode and 2) if I want to seriously get into it.
posted by bunderful at 5:47 AM on April 23, 2019 [4 favorites]
I absolutely adore Another Round. It is currently on hiatus, but I can't recommend it enough. Entertainingly funny, deep, and with a lot of heart from fabulous women.
posted by thirteenthletter at 6:09 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by thirteenthletter at 6:09 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
Well - both of the following are CBC Radio programs, but you can get them in podcast form - fascinating if you find marketing/advertising interesting.
Under the Influence and The Age of Persuasion
posted by jkaczor at 6:33 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Under the Influence and The Age of Persuasion
posted by jkaczor at 6:33 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
You may also enjoy:
The Guilty Feminist - one topic per week, usually running between 1 and 1½ hours
No Such Thing as a Fish - four topics per week presented by researchers for the quiz show QI (Quite Interesting)
More or Less: Behind the Statistics - there are periodic runs of 30-minute podcasts, covering three-ish topic to do with statistics in the news, with 10-minute single-topic mini-programmes during hiatus
posted by dogsbody at 6:34 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
The Guilty Feminist - one topic per week, usually running between 1 and 1½ hours
No Such Thing as a Fish - four topics per week presented by researchers for the quiz show QI (Quite Interesting)
More or Less: Behind the Statistics - there are periodic runs of 30-minute podcasts, covering three-ish topic to do with statistics in the news, with 10-minute single-topic mini-programmes during hiatus
posted by dogsbody at 6:34 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
How has nobody mentioned My Favorite Murder or This Podcast Will Kill You?
Both are co-hosted by women. MFM is about murders - each host does 1 per episode. A little more chatty. TPWKY covers one disease each episode - hosted by epidemiologists and they do a great job of explaining the science.
posted by DoubleLune at 6:55 AM on April 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
Both are co-hosted by women. MFM is about murders - each host does 1 per episode. A little more chatty. TPWKY covers one disease each episode - hosted by epidemiologists and they do a great job of explaining the science.
posted by DoubleLune at 6:55 AM on April 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
Snap Judgment fulfills your POC criterion and continually amazes me with how interesting their stories are.
Would second Ologies and Gastropod, and maybe suggest This Podcast Will Kill You and Sawbones.
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:56 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Would second Ologies and Gastropod, and maybe suggest This Podcast Will Kill You and Sawbones.
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:56 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
You know, I'd also suggest that your experience is not unusual. For every podcast I listen to regularly (and there's a LOT), I have probably turned off two that seemed interesting but annoyed me for one reason or another.
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:57 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:57 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
My latest favorite in the True Crime genre is Crime Junkie. Shortish one-off episodes (though they will occasionally have two-parters and/or updates on previous episodes) that focus on a specific crime or criminal. Created and hosted by two women, the hosts are personable and chatty, but not nearly as much as other similar shows (I could never get into MFM for this reason, as a popular example).
posted by Rock Steady at 7:07 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 7:07 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
Meant to say: FanFare has a podcast section that might be another resource for finding podcasts you like.
posted by bunderful at 7:10 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by bunderful at 7:10 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
I suggest Omnibus, which takes one topic and discusses it informatively but chattily. Hosts are indie musician John Roderick and Ken Jennings of Jeopardy fame. The conceit is that they're preserving things for an audience post-cataclysm (thus the occasional speculations about whether their audience is evolved sentient lobsters or possibly telepathic mold.
Also strongly seconding In Our Time, Sawbones, and This Podcast will Kill You.
posted by PussKillian at 7:34 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
Also strongly seconding In Our Time, Sawbones, and This Podcast will Kill You.
posted by PussKillian at 7:34 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
You might enjoy "You're Wrong About," a podcast about, um, things that people tend to be wrong about--where the narrative as reported in the media and recounted by people since then tends to be skewed. Hosts are a woman and a gay man. It's fairly new, but off to a good start.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 8:00 AM on April 23, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by Pater Aletheias at 8:00 AM on April 23, 2019 [6 favorites]
I second gastropod.
Not sure if this is your thing but I am currently enjoying Behind the Bastards which is a breezy deep dive into some truly horrible people. The host is your standard issue white guy but his guests are a fairly diverse bunch.
In a similar vein, I recently enjoyed to The Dream (which is hosted by a woman) about MLM scams.
posted by AndrewStephens at 8:23 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Not sure if this is your thing but I am currently enjoying Behind the Bastards which is a breezy deep dive into some truly horrible people. The host is your standard issue white guy but his guests are a fairly diverse bunch.
In a similar vein, I recently enjoyed to The Dream (which is hosted by a woman) about MLM scams.
posted by AndrewStephens at 8:23 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Nthing Ologies, NSTAAF, Sawbones, and Snap Judgement and its Halloween-season spinoff Spooked!.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:36 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 9:36 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
I've been enjoying Hidden Brain which is an NPR podcast hosted by Shankar Vedantam. Per their description, "using science and storytelling, Hidden Brain reveals the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, and the biases that shape our choices." Each episode focuses on a certain theme and recent episodes I've enjoyed have discussed personality tests (from Meyers Briggs to Harry Potter houses), what we can learn from studies of twin siblings, whether you should be able to sell parts of your own body, etc. If you're a fan of sociology and psychology it can sometimes be a little obvious, but it's still a fun and interesting listen.
posted by wuzandfuzz at 9:51 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by wuzandfuzz at 9:51 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Answer Me This is completely wonderful - you'll learn lots of fascinating tid-bits with a lot of humour
No Such Thing as a Fish is also very funny and in a similar vein as the above.
The Modern Mann is WONDERFUL, loads of really interesting interviews with ordinary people with great stories
The Strangers Podcast used to be great, but died a death - there are a few excellent episodes worth checking out
My Dad Wrote A Porno is hysterical... not anything related to the genre you're interested in, but it is the only podcast that has ever had me in such fits of laughter that I had to turn it off, because people on the bus thought I was mad.
posted by JenThePro at 9:52 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
No Such Thing as a Fish is also very funny and in a similar vein as the above.
The Modern Mann is WONDERFUL, loads of really interesting interviews with ordinary people with great stories
The Strangers Podcast used to be great, but died a death - there are a few excellent episodes worth checking out
My Dad Wrote A Porno is hysterical... not anything related to the genre you're interested in, but it is the only podcast that has ever had me in such fits of laughter that I had to turn it off, because people on the bus thought I was mad.
posted by JenThePro at 9:52 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Omnibus is a fun podcast about "strange and obscure human knowledge."
Swindled is a good true crime show about grifters, scammers, and other scumbags.
Currently on hiatus but Aria Code takes a look at opera arias from a musical _and_ sociological perspective.
Flash Forward is a podcast about possible (and not-so-possible) futures.
Pessimists Archive looks at the often absurd backlashes to new things, from bicycles to The Walkman.
posted by SansPoint at 10:44 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
Swindled is a good true crime show about grifters, scammers, and other scumbags.
Currently on hiatus but Aria Code takes a look at opera arias from a musical _and_ sociological perspective.
Flash Forward is a podcast about possible (and not-so-possible) futures.
Pessimists Archive looks at the often absurd backlashes to new things, from bicycles to The Walkman.
posted by SansPoint at 10:44 AM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
You might like Invisibilia; it is produced and hosted by women, focuses on a single topic per episode, sometimes the stories are created by POC. The production value is very high.
posted by vunder at 11:24 AM on April 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by vunder at 11:24 AM on April 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
Stuff You Missed in History Class - hosts are two women, each episode is about a distinct topic
99% Invisible - distinct topic each episode, fun guests, cool podcast about design and the ways it impacts our lives
Behind the Bastards - this is a lot more fun than it should be. Robert Evans researches terrible people in history. He has a guest who comes in cold and tells them about the historical terrible person. Informative and surprisingly funny.
Queer as Fact - Australian history nerds talk about LGBT history. One topic per with some two-part episodes, lots of fun information. Hosts are LGBT.
One from the Vaults - there hasn't been a new episode in a while, but it's a fun trans history podcast by a trans woman from Canada. Each episode focuses on one person, so you don't have to go in order or anything.
Reply All - internet and culture podcast, each episode is usually one topic. Their piece on FOSTA/SESTA was great.
Helen Zaltzmann's The Allusionist is a lovely podcast about language.
Making Gay History - Eric Marcus' tapes from his research for the book, Gay History. Each episode is one of the interviews he did. There are some really priceless oral histories here.
If you like comic books, Black Comics Chat is not to be missed.
posted by bile and syntax at 11:28 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
99% Invisible - distinct topic each episode, fun guests, cool podcast about design and the ways it impacts our lives
Behind the Bastards - this is a lot more fun than it should be. Robert Evans researches terrible people in history. He has a guest who comes in cold and tells them about the historical terrible person. Informative and surprisingly funny.
Queer as Fact - Australian history nerds talk about LGBT history. One topic per with some two-part episodes, lots of fun information. Hosts are LGBT.
One from the Vaults - there hasn't been a new episode in a while, but it's a fun trans history podcast by a trans woman from Canada. Each episode focuses on one person, so you don't have to go in order or anything.
Reply All - internet and culture podcast, each episode is usually one topic. Their piece on FOSTA/SESTA was great.
Helen Zaltzmann's The Allusionist is a lovely podcast about language.
Making Gay History - Eric Marcus' tapes from his research for the book, Gay History. Each episode is one of the interviews he did. There are some really priceless oral histories here.
If you like comic books, Black Comics Chat is not to be missed.
posted by bile and syntax at 11:28 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Highly recommend Futility Closet (at least the main segment). Weekly ~15 minute dive into "forgotten stories from the pages of history". The later part of each episode is listener mail, lateral thinking puzzles, etc. Made by a husband and wife (and their cat).
If you want to go really deep into a single topic, Space Rocket History is quite good.
posted by hankscorpio83 at 12:14 PM on April 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
If you want to go really deep into a single topic, Space Rocket History is quite good.
posted by hankscorpio83 at 12:14 PM on April 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
Also Intelligence Squared provides a deeper dive into current events through Oxford style debates.
posted by hankscorpio83 at 12:21 PM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by hankscorpio83 at 12:21 PM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
I haven't listened to all of them but The Wing's podcast No Man's Land is really interesting.
"A history podcast about women who were too bad for your textbooks.
Follow along with Alexis Coe, The Wing's in-house historian, as she shares the stories of the rulebreakers of yesteryear. From a 1930s Harlem gangstress to 1960s LGBT activists, learn more about these legendary women who refused to follow the rules."
posted by apricot at 1:00 PM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
"A history podcast about women who were too bad for your textbooks.
Follow along with Alexis Coe, The Wing's in-house historian, as she shares the stories of the rulebreakers of yesteryear. From a 1930s Harlem gangstress to 1960s LGBT activists, learn more about these legendary women who refused to follow the rules."
posted by apricot at 1:00 PM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks to all for these wonderful suggestions!
posted by emd3737 at 2:20 PM on April 23, 2019
posted by emd3737 at 2:20 PM on April 23, 2019
even if you don't listen to the Mountain Goats, you really should listen to "I only listen to the mountain goats" one of the most interesting podcasts I've heard in years. Deals with artistic creation, inspiration, politics, history, religion, touring, drugs, parenting, and more.
posted by evilmonk at 3:00 PM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by evilmonk at 3:00 PM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
You're the Expert is a game show format of comedians learning about a different scientist each episode.
posted by ridogi at 6:46 PM on April 23, 2019
posted by ridogi at 6:46 PM on April 23, 2019
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posted by charmedimsure at 12:17 AM on April 23, 2019 [4 favorites]