I’m listening to Caliphate, which is very interesting so far, but I’d like some more options.
Thanks
Two that I like are:
No Such thing as a Fish; interesting facts uncovered by the researchers for QI.
Futility Closet; obscure historic events, hosted by a husband-and-wife team (and sometimes their cat). Each episode ends with a lateral-thinking puzzle from one of them to the other.
a few of my regulars follow, in no particular order and with no explanation:
Savage Love
A History of English
Risk
Story Collider
This American Life
Car Talk
99% invisible
Radiolab
Freakonomics
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore history
Hardcore History
Imaginary Worlds
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Planet Money
99% Invisible
Gastropod
The Allusionist
Judge John Hodgman
Oh No Ross and Carrie
Myths and Legends
In Our Time
Bullseye
The Moth
By the Book
Doughboys
The Sporkfull
And, if you are even a little bit of a sports fan: the Poscast.
The granddaddy of interview podcast, WTF with Marc Maron. He got Obama fercrissake. If you find you like his interview style, it’s good.
Pop Culture Happy Hour.- great NPR podcast, featuring (usually) the incomparable Glen Weldon, the David Hyde Pierce/Niles Crane of culture critics who speaks fluent MCU. I love this man.
Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air. If you know him from The Nightly Show, like that.
No Guitar is Safe
Everybody Loves Guitar
Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me: essential NPR news quiz show
Fresh Air
The Daily and/or Today, Explained - the NYTimes or Vox’s deep explainer podcast.
Dear Hank and John
StarTalk Radio
Hold On
I like funny stuff.
Oh, and Still Processing, a view of pop culture from a Black and LGBT perspective from the NYTimes.
The West Wing Weekly
Tides of History
Surviving Scientology
In Our Time (BBC Radio)
"The show where we don’t just report on spirituality, fringe science and the paranormal (from a scientific, evidence-based standpoint), but dive right in by joining religions, attending spiritual events, undergoing “alternative” treatments, partaking in paranormal investigations, and more. At Oh No, Ross and Carrie!, we show up, so you don’t have to.
Each episode of our show deals with an investigation of a religion, fringe group, or fringe science practice. Join us as we ask tough questions, explore the nature of belief, and always find the humor in life’s biggest mysteries."
Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast (You have to get over his voice. His guests have some great stories.)
The Dana Gould Hour
I only consistently listen to “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” and “Ellistronics.”
“Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” is a very funny NPR quiz show. Back in the day my Saturday routine was to wake up late and listen to “Car Talk” and “Wait, Wait” on the local NPR affiliate while I made and ate breakfast. Everyone who doesn’t love Donald Trump will laugh at “Wait, Wait.”
“Ellistronics” is… not for everyone. TLDR: Jason Ellis is a weird guy with weird point of view. I think it’s fucking amazing, but I’m a weird guy who likes weird shit. It’s hard to describe. The podcast is Jason Ellis (an Australian-born, openly bisexual, father of two, former pro-skateboarder, heavily tattooed, MMA fighter/enthusiast, satellite radio star) talking about whatever he wants with whoever he wants (and can get). If you’re looking for something to listen to with the kids, this is not what you want. His wife is often his co-host. Sex always comes up, either as a side topic or as a main topic. There’s no consistent theme, but if you’re looking for someone with a different outlook on the world, well, Jason Ellis is like no one else.
[ul]
[li]The Adam Buxton Podcast[/li][li]Ologies with Alie Ward[/li][li]Probably Science[/li][li]The Museum Of Curiosity[/li][li]Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo[/li][li]The Griefcast with Cariad Lloyd[/li][li]The JV Club with Janet Varney[/li][/ul]
You mentioned this one in another thread. . .I love it! (and also Radiolab, This American Life, and Savage Love, but I was already hip to them)
thanks,
mc
Stay Tuned with Preet
If you like true crime podcasts- there are several I enjoy like My Favorite Murder and Criminal but none of them hold a candle to Casefiles. Anonymous narrator from Australia - which means that you get to hear of all kinds of crimes not really on the radar here but he also does American crimes as well. The detail is amazing- and always a story well told and supported.
I also like Stuff you Missed in History Class, History of English and I love most of Hardcore History (except the WWII stuff but that always turns me off, blame the History Channel for WWII overload). Hardcore History’s series on the Mongols was especially great.
I can’t tell you the last time I listened to an actual podcast, but when I did, I really liked Coverville. An hour or so of cover songs, often with a theme of some type.
But, a lot of these podcasts are on NPR (on XM), so I get them there. Star Talk is great. Radiolab…I always like the subject matter and the stories, but their editing style annoys me. Car Talk was great as well, I wish it was still on XM.
Oh, you guys outdid yourselves. Thanks so much. I’ll get started on some of these.
The BBC’s In our Time
Hundreds of discussions with knowledgeable professionals on every subject you can think of. History, science, art, philosophy, etc., etc.
Download or listen online.
Full archive
Top 10
We don’t seem to read the posts before ours, do we? Hardcore History was first listed in post 3, then 4. Our Time in 4, 8, and 18 (8 was mine). Just a peeve of mine.
Anyway, I forgot about the H.P. Lovecraft podcast: hppodcraft.com.
I also like Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories, Revolutions, and Hollywood and Crime (initially about the Black Dahlia murder, but it goes into other, possibly related murders. For example, according to the podcast, there were other women in Los Angeles who were beaten and mutilated (though not bisected) and dumped just like Elizabeth Short was. These other murders were just after Short’s, in the winter and spring of 1947).
For voice theater, I highly recommend We’re Alive. Yes, another zombie apocalypse, but it’s very well done. I’m also enjoying the Black Tapes.
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