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RULES (updated 01/22/25)
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Cumtown when it was still around
Matt and Shane’s secret podcast before Shane got mega famous and stopped showing up to most shows
Lemon Party
some Radiolab
some This American Life
This is important
The very first Serial
I like crass comedy podcasts for the most part and ones that tell interesting stories; as well as good serialized true dramas like the first Serial but there’s so many that suck ass cuz they try to follow a formula instead of trying their own thing
First off, I love these comments more than a typical Reddit thread because back in the day they would create a list and leave it at that. Everyone here has stated either what it is or why they like it. Awesome.
Since most of my podcasts have already been listed, I'll just mention one.
If Books Could Kill - two people reviewing books and typically ripping on them. These are non-fiction books and back in my day a lot of the books were these "intellectual" books that you just "had" to read. I hated a lot of them so this is a lot of confirmation bias for me :P
Yes I find that there's a much better community feel here than reddit. It's just a more positive place to be.
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
Show Me The Meaning! A Wisecrack podcast - a couple of philosophers talk about a movie
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.
Do you ever not listen to podcasts? I can barely keep up to date with 2 or 3!
You can change playback speed in podcast apps. Start listening at x1.3 speed and build up from there. In a couple of weeks you'll find x2 speed to be comfortably comprehensible (and normal speed will seem annoyingly slow). If you're at x2 speed and skip show intros and end of show plugs, then you're done with a 60 min episode in about 25 min.
Every episode isn't of interest and I skip boring episodes.
Podcasts are perfect to hear during housework, commute, when kids are running around in the park, gym, even during a shower or alongside simple video games. Combined with x2 speed, this means I can routinely get through about 3+ hours of episode time in a day (this is all time that I'm doing other tasks, so it's not like I have to put time aside for podcast listening).
Here's my top 10 and a suggestion for each
1-5. Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
Search Engine with PJ Vogt is an excellent periodic deep dive into random questions from the internet. It’s always interesting and it always goes somewhere I didn’t expect. 10/10 would dive into attendance filtering philosophy at an underground Berlin club again.
The podcast scene is an absolute haven for incredible journalism, from the deeply humanist short pieces from This American Life to the deeply told longform series like Serial or Scene On Radio, to the focused single-target (and often single-season) shows like Hazard NJ, Empire City, Ghost of a Chance, or Homegrown OKC (or many many others).
There is, lastly, plenty of ground-breaking audio fiction, from genre-bending scripted dramas like Give me Away or The Electric Easy to medium-aware quasi-fourth-wall-breakers like Sherlock &Co. or The Lovecraft Investigations, to the comically weird absurdism of Death By Dying or Midnight Burger. Also Impact Winter and The Bookburners, my two absolute favorites.
Basically podcasts are shit and you should just give up now.
I don't listen to podcasts as much as I used to but these were the ones I liked
Darknet Diaries - Stories about viruses, hacks, penetration testing and similar stuff. Basically war stories from cyberspace explained in a way dummies like me can understand.
Hardcore History - Long form and in depth look at different eras in human history. The host likes to focus on the human stories and does a great job at keeping things interesting.
Time Suck - Comedian talks about history, true crime, cults, myths, legends and other interesting stories. A lighter take on some darker subjects
99 Percent Invisible - A podcast about design that people see or use all the time but rarely give a second thought. Trains, buildings, kids books, movie theaters, bikes and more
Since we share 2 out of 4 favorites I have to check out the design one! A book I really enjoyed at the time was The Design Of Everyday Things. It really opened my eyes to the level of attention to detail put on almost everything around us.
Oooooh hardcore history sounds right up my street! Gonna give time suck a go too
The big two for me are
History of philosophy without any gaps: starting in 2010, and 465 episodes later, we're finally in the early modernity and starting with Descartes. It's also have a parallel podcast of History of [Aficana | Indian | Chinese] philosophy.
I don't listen to many podcasts these days but right now I am listening start to finish to The Chinese Revolution Podcast (it is about the Chinese revolution if that wasn't clear). The production is not great and there is sometimes bg music which I hate because it makes me tired, but the content is really good with complementary maps on substack etc.
My favorites over time have been:
Martyr Made. Very in depth history. We are talking 10 episodes of 5 hours each in some cases. My favorite one was about the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the history of the region.
Behind The Bastards. I do not like this pod anymore, it turned into a series of bad jokes imo. The first 150 or so episodes are grwat though. Some of the most interesting and bizarre bastards from history are covered and it is a lot of fun as well as informative.
Darknet Diaries. Interesting stories from tech, but no need for in depth technical knowledge to listen.
Hardcore History. Like Martyr Made but with focus on different things.
Honorary mention to Drunk Tank. RIP. Was my favorite podcast before it became super well produced and boring and everyone had a thousand scandals and shit.. The early episodes were a lot of fun at the time, idk if they hold up tho.
Edit: I forgot this one which I actually listen to regularly because I watch the show on YouTube, but it is technically a podcast and the only podcast I still regularly listen to:
Another one is:
The Rest is History is pretty good as well. I'm going to try out Martyr Made.
You might try Behind the Bastards again, I did enjoy the 4-part Zizz series. But the damn ads are getting out of control. I either have to find a way to cut them and repackage the podcast or I'm going to drop it. Anything on Iheart is shit now.
Do yourself a favour and find and listen to all the back episodes of Heavyweight
I was crushed when they announced that Spotify cancelled the show but a recent update says they have found a new home and they're working on a new season.
No other show has made me feel so many feelings so strongly.
I just googled. Is it quite sad? It sounds like it might be
Sometimes. It's usually about helping people get closure on things that happened quite a long time back, usually by helping them connect with someone they lost contact with or helping them do something they have been meaning to do. But to be very clear, this is not a show about helping people deal with long-held traumas or PTSD or things like that.
There are some really heart-warming tales and the narrative style is filled with humour.
Some of my favourite episodes:
In many episodes, they don't succeed in what they originally set out to do, but the endings are usually very good regardless.
Sounds great thanks 😊
I enjoy the Rest Is Politics podcast (the original UK version) for a civilised, nuanced discussion by two highly experienced and eloquent political frenemies about current events.
Oh I listen to The Rest is History, the original podcast from the same company. It was going to be one of my answers to the question. Reqlly great stuff.
I quite enjoy The Rest Is Entertainment for Richard Osman's take on all things media related. Marina Hyde is okay too, but she has some poor takes on a lot of things...
I'm still tuning into 'My brother my brother and me', and for some more McElroy fun with a game slant I really like 'The Besties'. Those two and 'Regulation Podcast' which came from the fallout of rooster teeth collapsing are my 3 very regular podcasts.
Seconding Mbmbam, the McElroy brothers are hilarious and always put me in a good mood! Love The Besties too 🎮
I like park after dark by the trailer park boys. Just three guys bullshitting about dumb stuff they found on the internet for half an hour. My mom and I would watch them each week.
I like TirarADeguello, Kindred Frequencies, Chili B. Things I can listen to with my eyes closed to relax or go to sleep.
Have you listened to the sleep with me podcast? I listen to it every night it really helps me sleep. Took me a week to get used to it but I love it now
I haven't tried that one, but I'm adding it to my list.
Fall of Civilizations is one of the best history pods out there. Really thorough, in-depth episodes about empires in history.
I like comedy podcasts, so Distractible is my #1
Behind the Bastards.
Jim Cornette's Drive Thru.
Tell Me A Story With Eddie Lenihan, though I'm pretty sure it's been discontinued.
Old Gods of Appalachia, though I've fallen off of following it.
The Beef And Dairy Network Podcast. It's the number one podcast for those involved or just interested in the production of beef animals and dairy herds. https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/beef-and-dairy-network/
Any on the Last Podcast network, they're all great. https://www.lastpodcastontheleft.com/
Timesuck with Dan Cummins. Well researched stories with a hilarious host and a fantastic message of positivity. https://www.badmagicproductions.com/
The Dollop. Great obscure stories from American history with hilarious comedy. https://www.dolloppodcast.com/podcast
All Killa No Filla. Two brilliant comedians who talk about serial killers and constantly go off topic in the best way possible. https://allkillanofilla.libsyn.com/
Dark Net Diaries. Cyber crime interviews. https://darknetdiaries.com/
Modern Wisdom by Chris Williamson.
It's like the more serious version of Joe Rogan Experience and without Joe.
5-4, Blank Check,Hiw Did This Get Made
Stuff you should know, but I haven't really tried many other podcasts.
I started with SYSK, too! Then I found ZOE Science & Nutrition and, man, their ep on seed oils will make you want to drink a spoonful of pure EVOO nightly, hahaha. I also added TED Talks Daily and some other stuff.
Wiser than me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus - she interviews a lot of senior famous ladies and talk about all the knowledge they gathered during their lives. I really like it. It is full of knowledge, humor, feelings, it is a privilege to learn from these women with such vast experiences.
I believe it's finished for now, but 'From Rewatch With Love' is a James Bond rewatch podcast with the two hosts talking about the movies in order and ranking them in a few categories.
I don't like James Bond movies. But I like listening to people that do, and I like the music in the movies. The podcast war made by Loading Ready Run.
TrueAnon. The only political… thing I can tolerate. It’s extremely good.
I like the ones that involve Michael Hobbes. None of these have commercials which is important to me because I listen to podcasts when I'm doing other things and don't want to have to skip past annoying commercials. It also keeps advertisers from having an influence.
Maintenance Phase - criticism of diet and wellness fads.
You're Wrong About - revisiting popular cultural narratives from disco to the DC snipers.
If Books Could Kill - criticism of popular non fiction, e.g. Freakanomics, The Game, Rich Dad Poor Dad
Retronauts and Hardcore History.
Retronauts gives perspectives on old games. They try to be informative, but sometimes it's more casual too. It's good, nostalgic stuff. And it's a small thing, but the way they intersperse samples of game soundtracks really sets the mood well.
As for Hardcore History, Carlin is just such a good host. Sounds so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about whatever the topic. It's history, in particular military history, though so it obviously gets pretty dark and depressing sometimes.
Digital Foundry Direct Weekly. I hardly play games anymore but enjoy passionate people being passionate.
Fear the Boot, an unfortunately infrequent but excellent RPG discussion podcast. Don't let the absurd name put you off, the discussions are top notch.
Origin Story, a really great podcast going in to the history of things. Mostly political ideologies (a recent episode was entitled "the myth of cultural Marxism — anatomy of a conspiracy theory", for example, but their episodes on Neoliberalism and Centrism were also excellent), but also often political figures (the scathing review of Ayn Rand was very amusing, and the more recent Elon Musk episodes were rather enlightening), and the occasional lighter one (like the origin of Super Heroes and more recently Doctor Who). It's a podcast with few enough episodes and a slow enough release schedule (they do a few episodes one per week, then take a long season break) that it's really worth going back through the archives to listen to older episodes.
The musk one sounds interesting... what were your main takeaways?
Most of the episode just helped reinforce what I already understood to be the case. But I thought one particularly interesting bit was about how he never really had his dad's approval, and seeking it (whether consciously or not) is likely a part of why he is how he is.
Sounds interesting thanks
Let me preface this by saying... I am not really into podcasts and lesser interested in d&d. I just have a hard time locking into some things...
The Unexpectables.
It's from some of the team four star alumni, so it's well voiced and well written. They're on the second campaign and it's just so good. It's as funny as it is deep in lore.