‘The Weekly Planet’ is the only one I listen to regularly. Couple of blokes from Melbourne, Aus talking about pop culture, but I’m mostly there for the funny banter and obscure Australian references.
I binged on Tony Martin’s ‘Sizzletown’ a while back. It’s a ‘late night talk-back podcast’ - basically Tony doing a bunch of characters that ‘call in’ to the show. Pretty funny, especially the first couple of seasons.
Cautionary Tales by Tim Harford.
Takes stories of errors, mistakes, catastrophes of the far and recent past and analyses the causes of them and what lessons can be learned. Everything from assigning success to personality over circumstance to the “curse of information” to what to do in a plane crash.
Interesting, insightful, exceptionally well written and presented, always interesting and entertaining.
I have two recommendations from BBC Podcasts:
13 Minutes to the Moon
And
History of Music (hosted by Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason)
If you’re at all interested in numbers and statistics, and even if you’re not but like hearing experts deconstruct the claims and lies made by politicians and business people, then I highly recommend More or Less also from the BBC.
If you’re into HP Lovecraft - there’s a brilliant dramatisation/reworking of his stories setup as a real investigative podcast called “The Lovecraft Investigations”.
There are four seasons: 1, 3 and 4 are on BBC Sounds:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06w5zwg?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile
Season 2 is available on the internet archive: https://archive.org/details/the-lovecraft-investigations-the-whisperer-in-darkness/The+Whisperer+In+Darkness/Ep.+1+–+The+Whisperer+in+Darkness.mp3
Thanks for the tip, can’t wait to listen in. It’s also available on Spotify
I think season 2 (Whisperer in Darkness) is missing from Spotify too, but the internet archive copy is good
True. Weird, wonder why that has vanished from the web…
It got too close to the truth!
I made a list for a friend very recently.
404 Media is really good independent journalism. I’m subscribed to their Patreon.
Darknet Diaries is good computer security and privacy focused.
You’re Wrong About focuses on cultural issues.
Noble Blood focuses on historical events through the lenses of nobility (I’m a history nerd).
Grumpy Old Geeks focuses on tech, books, television, etc. the one positive thing in my life that came from Aaron.
Better Offline is Ed Zitron’s excellent newsletters in audio format talking about the tech industry. He’s pretty pissed off about a lot of things and articulates why effectively.
Behind the Bastards is audio essays about terrible people both current and historical.
Last Podcast on the Left (horror movie reference, not political) does true crime-ish stuff, but for example the assassinations of JFK and Lincoln, too.
Strong Songs dissects pop songs with the artists. Depends on if you care about the song for the episode.
Stuff the British Stole is a seasonal show that deep-dives stolen museum items and their legacy.
Maintenance Phase takes on cultural issues like diet fads and policy decisions.
Alphabet Boys looks at cases with government agencies.
Chapo Traphouse is Leftist policy-driven and usually pretty funny.
QAA Podcast originally focused on people involved in the Qanon movement, but broadened to include other cultural issues. One of the funnier shows that I listen to.
American Hysteria focuses on cultural topics like the Satanic Panic or the development of Halloween.
Boonta Vista is a news-based comedy podcast out of Australia that is pretty funny.
Bad Blood is a short investigative journalism show about HIV-contaminated blood exported from USA for blood transfers.
Who the Hell is Hamish is a short investigative journalism show about a conman.
S-Town is a short investigative journalism show about corruption in a southern small town and a genius redneck.
Bed of Lies does seasonal short investigative journalism show about multiple topics.
In the Dark is a seasonal investigative journalism show about multiple topics.
Serial is a seasonal investigative journalism show about government and such. The season on USA crime was mind-blowingly good. They’re very prestige.
The Story Behind the Song is similar to Strong Songs.
What Went Wrong is an excellent behind the scenes film examiner.
The Women’s War is a short investigative journalism show about women in terrorist-adjacent Middle East. Very good. Behind the Bastards-adjacent.
Your Favorite Band Sucks. Two guys who know a lot about music and the schtick is that everyone sucks, don’t take them seriously. Start by listening to an ep of a band you don’t care about, not someone you really like.
The Fall of Civilizations podcast deep-dives ancient civilizations. Phenomenal.
99% Invisible looks at the built world. It’s produced in Oakland. The episode on progress bars in software was surprisingly interesting.
A Tradition of Violence was a short investigative journalism show about sheriff gangs. Holy crap, it was good.
Bechdel Cast reviews movies from a female perspective.
Behind the Police is another Behind the Bastards-adjacent short run.
History of Rome is a long series of short episodes from a historian. It’s very amateur at the beginning.
Kids of Rutherford County is a short investigative journalism show about state corruption and mismanagement.
Nice White Parents is a short investigative journalism show about policy and education. Very good.
According to Need is a short investigative journalism show about homelessness I. The Bay Area. Very good. 99% Invisible-adjacent.
Order 9066 is a short investigative journalism show about Japanese internment during WW2.
Sad Oligarch is a short investigative journalism show about Russian oligarchs dying mysteriously over the last few years. Good stuff.
Song Exploder is similar to the other song shows.
The Line is a short investigative journalism show about murder by soldiers in Afghanistan.
The Coldest Case in Laramie is a short investigative journalism show about an unsolved murder. Serial-adjacent.
Blowback looks at USA global policy failures by season.
Bed of Lies focuses on British government murder and coverup. Bad Blood-adjacent.
1619 is a short investigative journalism show about slavery in the USA.
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History is one I’ve been meaning to get to for a long time, but I already had to reduce how much time I listen to podcasts as it is. People rave about it.
The Fall of Civilizations podcast deep-dives ancient civilizations. Phenomenal.
One of my all time favourites. I even got one of the signed copies of his book
Ha! Me too!
Bonus: I recently learned that another podcast that I listen too has his wife as a contributer. I won’t name it. It was just a fun reveal.
Recently commented in a similar post, so I’ll paste that comment:
Podcasts are my thing. I’ve got you covered.
Depends on what you’re into:
More or Less: Behind the Stats - analysis of some statistic from the news
The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos - what science says about how to be happy
The Audio Long Read - long form articles from the Guardian newspaper
You Are Not So Smart - cognitive science related. How we know things, our biases, how our thinking is flawed, etc.
Dan Snow’s History Hit - One of the few history podcasts I really like
Short History Of… - a short history of some specific thing
The Forum - expert panel discussion about some topic
Behind the Bastards - Very well known podcast focusing on some bastard personality
CrowdScience - in depth investigation of a listener science question
Radiolab - in depth investigation of a topic of their interest. Quite broad scope.
Unexpected Elements - a very varied mix of discussions around a science topic from the news
Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford - Tim Harford is the podcast king for me. This show is a deep dive into something that went wrong in news or history, and an investigation of all the systemic failures around it. It tries to show how blame is hardly ever warranted on a single person and the systems are at fault.
The Martin Lewis Podcast - UK consumer advocate and saving guru
The Inquiry - a deep dive into a news story
Revisionist History - Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast about a range of different things
The Law Show - UK legal system issues
The Infinite Monkey Cage - comedy science panel show
The Supermassive Podcast - space related podcast
File on 4 investigates - detailed story from deep investigative journalism
Thinking Allowed - light philosophical ramblings
When It Hits the Fan - two public relations experts talk about PR issues from current events
Discovery - science related. Currently mostly doing shows about “a life scientific” I.e. talking to a scientist about their life
Overthink - philosophy made accessible
What It’s Like To Be… - a person from a particular occupation talks about their job
People Fixing the World - people from different parts of the world fixing some local problem in their community in a creative way
Hidden Brain - my absolute favourite. Cognitive science related. Explains how the brain works and how to use the understanding to male your own love better.
Within Reason
Your Parenting Mojo - evidence based parenting. Can be a very dry long-winded research presentation, but this has improved my parenting (and life) immensely
Sideways - different ideas and how to look at things differently
Darknet Diaries - stories from the dark underbelly of the internet
The Reith Lectures - once a year short lecture series, but well worth listening to the backlog
Evil Genius with Russell Kane - comedians discuss how some villains from history weren’t so bad and how some heroes from history were terrible people
Owls at Dawn - ramblings of a couple of philosophers
Sound of Gaming - excellent music show about music soundtracks from videogames
Playing god? - medical ethics discussion
30 Animals That Made Us Smarter - this series has ended but it is worth listening to the backlog
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - this series has ended but it is worth listening to the backlog
A History of the World in 100 Objects - this series has ended but it is worth listening to the backlog
I would also recommend the podcast series made to accompany the Chernobyl and Last of Us TV series.
S Town - a nice fiction mini series drama story.
That’s a great list, but are there even enough hours in the day to listen to all of those? That seems like a lot.
I’ve been meaning to listen to Behind The Bastards, but the back catalogue of that podcast alone would keep me going for weeks.
Maybe you typo’d that description of S-Town, but it was definitely non-fiction/investigative journalism!
Growing up in a rural area and having experienced a period of social isolation in my young adulthood, that story absolutely haunts me.
I recently started listening to Cautionary Tales and I love it, I’m going to check out more on your list. Thanks for providing a blurb on them, it’s so frustrating in these types of posts when people just give a list of names with no context of why they like it.
Valley Heat. It’s a fictional podcast about a guy who’s a freelance insurance adjuster who thinks his pool guy is using his garbage can as a drug drop. He talks about his neighbors and all the weird stuff they do. One guy has a car wash in his driveway and turns his garage into a 80s style arcade and night club. He gets mad at his wife’s yoga instructor because he sent her a mermaid emoji through venmo. It’s chock full of zaniness.
You Made It Weird, with Pete Holmes. Really fucking funny comedian Pete has had lots of interesting guests. Usually starts with relatively normal stuff, but usually by the end of any given episode he gets into “Do you believe in God?”, “What do you think happens when we die?”, and “You ever do ayahuasca?” territory. Pete is SMART and has been going on his own spiritual and philosophical journey for a while, and it feels like every guest is another step on that journey. Look up the episode list and find someone you like and listen to their conversation.
So many excellent suggestions, I have to ask. Where do y’all find the time to listen to all of this!?
Knowledge Fight
Trailer Park Boys Park After Dark
The Daily Zeitgeist
Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know
Last Podcast on the Left
True Crime Garage
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here
The Best of Coast to Coast AM
StarTalk Radio
Really? no, Really?
Stone Cold Steve Austin has one too if wrasslin’ is your thing. He did an amazing episode about a woodpecker I can’t seem to find anymore. Everything else is just talking shop about the biz.
These are all still active podcasts as far as I can tell. The first four are probably my favorite of the bunch. I’ve listened to podcasts for close to 40 hours a week some weeks. Sometimes I get the urge to look up what the people I’ve listened to for hundreds of hours look like. Just to see how close my imagination is to reality. Never acted on it but it is an itch I want to scratch.
Crime junkie
Ty and That Guy. They mostly talk about movies, especially 80s and 90s movies, and that’s my jam.
