# Favorite podcasts-No audiobooks or concerts, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** radio-podcast\ **Created:** [December 18, 2025, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841 "2025-12-18T22:21:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/41 "2025-12-20T00:42:11Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I’m not as crazy about Behind the Bastards, because it has a very common podcast format that I loathe, which is to say there are two hosts who chit-chat back and forth, filling a lot of air time with meaningless joking around/pointless comments. What I hate are waaaay overproduced podcasts like More Perfect. They have interesting content but it is like some movies where they seem to cut to something else every five seconds and the hosts are overly chirpy and energized. Sucks because the info they are relaying is good. How they do it is what sucks. You can listen to one example here (below). Fascinating story if you can tolerate listening to it. BtB does not seem too bad to me. They are both pushing the same info and trying not to just read a laundry list of crap of whoever it is they are on about (which would be deadly dull). - [Object Anyway | More Perfect | WNYC Studios](https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolabmoreperfect/episodes/object-anyway) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/42 "2025-12-20T01:20:39Z")
If you like to make fun of bad movies, I would recommend _The Flop House_. I think the best espisodes are when they have a guest, especially Hallie Haglund. I prefer it over _How Did This Get Made_ because Jason Mantzoukas gets on my nerves. ---
**Author:** ![turtlescanfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/43 "2025-12-20T02:22:08Z")
Stuff You Should Know, a spinoff of How Stuff Works. The co-hosts Josh and Chuck present a reasonably well researched treatise on a variety of topics, sometimes biographical, sometimes scientific, sometimes miscellaneous other. Their banter is free flowing and tangents are numerous, but always entertaining. Recent listens have included “How Monopoly Works” “How Cabbage Patch Kids Work” and “How Black Friday Works”. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/44 "2025-12-20T19:36:46Z")
Stuff You Should Know taught me that it’s always more water efficient to use the dishwasher. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/45 "2025-12-20T19:44:11Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I also like _The Rest Is History_ seconded (although I listen on YouTube). Tom Holland (not the actor) and Dominic Sandbrook discuss anything that happened in the past, from wars and social movements, to the occasional true crime (they did Jack the Ripper recently). They go very deep into well-documented detail, if that’s your bag. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/46 "2025-12-20T19:59:28Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Stuff You Should Know taught me that it’s always more water efficient to use the dishwasher. It definitely is the way I wash dishes. The water is running constantly when I hand-wash. Unfortunately, I have some pans and dishes that can’t be washed in the dishwasher, but I don’t have too many. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/47 "2025-12-21T01:06:52Z")
Retired DJ/talk radio host Paul Harris [has been podcasting bits of his old shows,](https://harrisonline.com/) which were promoted as “talk radio for people who don’t listen to talk radio.” For example, his 2018 interview with Dr. Demento can be found [on this page.](https://harrisonline.com/dr-demento/) [This story from 1938](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/3644) is from a [podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/4klltl7931koAbu50ReVGr) called “This One Time in Kankakee” – an ongoing collection of offbeat stories from Kankakee County. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/48 "2025-12-21T03:33:25Z")
I agree with listening to _99% Invisible_ and _Ologies._ I recommend you try _The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong_ and _20,000 Hertz._ ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/49 "2025-12-21T04:11:41Z")
One that I enjoyed from way back in the 2010s was Mike Duncan’s History of Rome. The format is simple. Each episode is a monologue, about 20 minutes, going through the history of Rome from Aeneis to Romulus Augustus. Two science oriented ones that I like are Science Friday and the AAAS Science podcast. Both are interview format, either with journalists or scientists. ---
**Author:** ![Meatwater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meatwater/32/20074_2.png) [@Meatwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatwater)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/50 "2025-12-21T21:26:08Z")
_The Last Podcast on the Left_ is by far one of my favorites. They do true crime and historical events. I think they are a better version of Behind the Bastards. LPotL are very well sourced and I can’t recommend them enough. The only drawback for some is they can be quite crude, but it usually adds to the humor. For video game stuff _The Nextlander Podcast_ can’t be beat! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/51 "2025-12-21T21:29:53Z")
I am currently listening to Mobituaries-The Death Of The “Very Special Episode”. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/52 "2025-12-21T21:52:14Z")
> [@Meatwater](#): > > _The Last Podcast on the Left_ is by far one of my favorites. They do true crime and historical events. I think they are a better version of Behind the Bastards I agree. I follow both and immediately listen to LPOTL (except Side Stories). Behind the Bastards is one of my “I’m all caught up on everything else” backups. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/53 "2025-12-22T01:54:13Z")
_Cold War Conversations_, _Listening to America_ (LTA was formerly _The Thomas Jefferson Hour_), and C-Span’s _Lectures in History_. I too liked _Hardcore History_ but hadn’t listened in awhile. I like history podcasts, but a lot of the ‘recommended’ ones are just crank-out corporate serials with no depth. Tripler I \*\*do \*\*listen to _WWDTM_ but I consider that primarily a radio show. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2026, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/54 "2026-01-09T13:37:33Z")
Another podcast I listen to, 20 Thousand Hertz, which is about sound, did something really clever in an episode (it’s an older one but I have been working my way back as well as forward) that made me laugh out loud. The episode title was “One weird trick to stop snoring” and I will spoiler what happens in case anyone cares to listen… The episode begins about snoring and the suddenly they cut to “Never Gonna Give You Up” You’ve been Rickrolled and then the real episode begins, about the history of Rickrolling (it’s origin, the history of the song etc.). It was really funny and totally got me and was an interesting episode to boot, complete with an interview with Rick Ashley himself. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/55 "2026-01-09T18:45:13Z")
I started listening to _A Slob Comes Clean_ and I’m finding it really useful and often applicable beyond the main subject of cleaning, decluttering and organizing. For example she said not to try to do things consistently when you’re trying to make a change. Instead of telling yourself, “I have to do this every day from now on,” say, “No, I just have to do it today.” It’s less intimidating that way. That could apply to any change you’re trying to make. Very ADHD friendly. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2026, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/56 "2026-01-10T23:17:01Z")
_Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast_. Fortunately he recorded many episodes before his death and they are very entertaining if you enjoy old Hollywood. _You Must Remember This_ with Karina Longworth. This is a storytelling podcast exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century. _The Rialto Report._ A podcast and article series documenting the Golden Age of Porn. It consists of oral history, audio, photo, and documentary archives. Even when they cover people or topics I’m not really interested in, it is still fascinating about a world I know very little about. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/57 "2026-01-11T01:12:23Z")
Are you aware of Frank Santopadre’s new podcast, _Fun for All Ages_? It picks up where Gilbert’s left off and he’s getting some good guests. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/58 "2026-01-11T02:07:38Z")
Yes. I just finished the Remembering Gilbert and next up is the first episode. I’m looking forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/59 "2026-01-12T02:37:01Z")
I’m mentioned as a Patron in one of the recent episodes. Frank mangles my name but it’s cool just to be recognized. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841/60 "2026-01-12T02:45:31Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > Frank mangles my name This is standard operating practice for podcasting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-podcasts-no-audiobooks-or-concerts-please/1025841.md?page=4)