ELI5: audio edition
February 18, 2020 7:40 PM Subscribe
Layperson educational or informational podcast recommendation? I love Futility Closet but I'm approaching the end of my second complete series listen so I'm looking for new podcasts in a similar vein. Bonus points if they are on Spotify.
The Futility Closet episodes do just enough of a deep dive into a generally historical event to be complete enough to hold my interest. The content is well researched; varied; pacing is about right; and the podcast rarely touches on big event history, revolution or war.
I've also been listening to No Such Thing as a Fish however while the scope of their content is good it isn't well researched and is not rarely straight up wrong. (And sometimes their riffing via intentionally incorrect "facts" can be misleading if I am not devoting 100% attention to an episode). Plus they are randomly quite ableist which I'm finding offputting.
Expert interview shows would be good too. EG: Outbreak News Interviews, Ologies with Alie Ward.
Something like This Podcast Will Kill You is also good but a bit too depressing for binge listening.
The Futility Closet episodes do just enough of a deep dive into a generally historical event to be complete enough to hold my interest. The content is well researched; varied; pacing is about right; and the podcast rarely touches on big event history, revolution or war.
I've also been listening to No Such Thing as a Fish however while the scope of their content is good it isn't well researched and is not rarely straight up wrong. (And sometimes their riffing via intentionally incorrect "facts" can be misleading if I am not devoting 100% attention to an episode). Plus they are randomly quite ableist which I'm finding offputting.
Expert interview shows would be good too. EG: Outbreak News Interviews, Ologies with Alie Ward.
Something like This Podcast Will Kill You is also good but a bit too depressing for binge listening.
The House of Pod: A Medical Podcast is pretty interesting. It's also on Spotify. It contains plenty of levity.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:15 PM on February 18, 2020
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:15 PM on February 18, 2020
Second strong vote here for You're Wrong About. Also recommend Sawbones for medical history (well-researched, funny, but can be disturbing because of Olde Timey Medical Practices). Cautionary Tales by Tim Harford is also a good one for deep-dives into obscure historical events and how they illustrate common human failings.
posted by majorsteel at 8:23 PM on February 18, 2020
posted by majorsteel at 8:23 PM on February 18, 2020
The Life Scientific in BBC is fantastic, interviews with scientists about their speciality, how they got into the field and their working life. The interviewer is a scientist as well and It’s approximately 50% women.
I really like In Our Time, also BBC because it’sa conversation by a group of experts who basically explain their field to the interviewer. Huge archive.
The BBC also does lots of 50 Big Ideas in... and 100 objects from... their 100 objects of human history was brilliant and is still accessible.
I listen to a lot of BBC podcasts apparently.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 8:26 PM on February 18, 2020
I really like In Our Time, also BBC because it’sa conversation by a group of experts who basically explain their field to the interviewer. Huge archive.
The BBC also does lots of 50 Big Ideas in... and 100 objects from... their 100 objects of human history was brilliant and is still accessible.
I listen to a lot of BBC podcasts apparently.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 8:26 PM on February 18, 2020
I like:
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week, which seems to be from Pop Sci.
Ridiculous History
Our Fake History
The Brain Food Show by a couple kinda goofy guys that make me feel really smart
Stuff You Missed in History Class.
All these shows are pretty similar to Futility Closet-kinda light history/trivia kind of stuff. Easy to listen to, oddities kinda stuff. Episodes for all these podcasts tend to last 30-90 minutes. I listen when I'm doing repetitive crap at work once in a while. The similarities in these casts are such that topics sometimes overlap a bit.
posted by 2N2222 at 8:58 PM on February 18, 2020
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week, which seems to be from Pop Sci.
Ridiculous History
Our Fake History
The Brain Food Show by a couple kinda goofy guys that make me feel really smart
Stuff You Missed in History Class.
All these shows are pretty similar to Futility Closet-kinda light history/trivia kind of stuff. Easy to listen to, oddities kinda stuff. Episodes for all these podcasts tend to last 30-90 minutes. I listen when I'm doing repetitive crap at work once in a while. The similarities in these casts are such that topics sometimes overlap a bit.
posted by 2N2222 at 8:58 PM on February 18, 2020
Seconding In Our Time from BBC Radio 4
Arts & Ideas from BBC Radio 3 is another good one for discussions with experts.
BackStory covers a very broad range of social and cultural topics relating to US History.
The Lawfare Podcast has interviews with lots of experts, policymakers, and analysts on a wide range of subjects.
AskHistorians is good, but posts intermittently.
posted by theory at 10:36 PM on February 18, 2020
Arts & Ideas from BBC Radio 3 is another good one for discussions with experts.
BackStory covers a very broad range of social and cultural topics relating to US History.
The Lawfare Podcast has interviews with lots of experts, policymakers, and analysts on a wide range of subjects.
AskHistorians is good, but posts intermittently.
posted by theory at 10:36 PM on February 18, 2020
Pessimists Archive is "A History of why we resist new things." such as coffee, mirrors, comic books, electricity, the novel, and other now common things.
posted by Homer42 at 1:23 AM on February 19, 2020
posted by Homer42 at 1:23 AM on February 19, 2020
The Constant, The Dollop, Sawbones, Sidedoor, Damn Interesting, and The Memory Palace might be worth a try if you haven't listened to them already.
(I'll be watching the suggestions here.)
posted by eotvos at 1:15 PM on February 20, 2020
(I'll be watching the suggestions here.)
posted by eotvos at 1:15 PM on February 20, 2020
If you want to learn about food through the lens of science and history, Gastropod is the podcast for you.
posted by carrioncomfort at 2:01 PM on February 25, 2020
posted by carrioncomfort at 2:01 PM on February 25, 2020
Some recs:
The Boring Talks
Subjects that some may find boring spoken about with passion and authority. The recent episode on pencils is a favourite.
99% Invisible
A show about unnoticed architecture, design and objects (solid or otherwise) we perhaps don't always consider. The recent episode on the origin of "Who Let the Dogs Out?" is wild.
Ashes Ashes
A show about the systemic cracks and flaws in the modern era that *could* lead to collapse or the much heralded end of the world. It can be depressing to listen to a lot of these in a row but they are *extremely* well researched and presented. They just did an absolutely mammoth episode on the current U.S/Mexico border crisis.
posted by Werod at 8:22 AM on March 5, 2020
The Boring Talks
Subjects that some may find boring spoken about with passion and authority. The recent episode on pencils is a favourite.
99% Invisible
A show about unnoticed architecture, design and objects (solid or otherwise) we perhaps don't always consider. The recent episode on the origin of "Who Let the Dogs Out?" is wild.
Ashes Ashes
A show about the systemic cracks and flaws in the modern era that *could* lead to collapse or the much heralded end of the world. It can be depressing to listen to a lot of these in a row but they are *extremely* well researched and presented. They just did an absolutely mammoth episode on the current U.S/Mexico border crisis.
posted by Werod at 8:22 AM on March 5, 2020
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posted by Mender at 8:10 PM on February 18, 2020 [2 favorites]