Looking for new podcasts to try?

Look no further! We polled the Gimlet team for some of their non-Gimlet favorites.

If you haven’t heard, March is the new official month to tell your friends about podcasts (although, let’s be honest — you can tell them any time). We’ve teamed up with a bunch of other amazing folks in the podcast industry to get behind a word-of-mouth campaign called #trypod and as part of that campaign we wanted to share with you some of our favorites. Let us know on social media if you try them and love them or if you have a favorite of your own — using the hashtag #trypod, of course. And be sure to tell a friend who’s never heard of podcasts how they can listen as well. You can start them with some Gimlet shows and then point them to some of these picks. So pull out the podcast app of your choice, and hit “subscribe” on some of our favorites, as presented by those on the Gimlet team who listen to them:

Christine Driscoll

Producer for the soon-to-be-renamed Surprisingly-Awesome

Imaginary Worlds — a show about science fiction and fantasy and why we suspend disbelief. That’s the tagline but it’s very true.

Let’s Find Out — a show by Edmonton’s historian laureate. In each episode someone from Edmonton (the capital of Alberta, Canada) brings him a question about local history and then they use research to solve it. It’s not just boosterism — they do one about the KKK’s accepted presence in Edmonton.

Mollie Horan

Midwest Sales Director

The Hilarious World of Depression — it features a comedian in each episode talking about their depression. It can be really funny and refreshing and relatable!

Kaitlyn Sawrey

Science Vs Senior Producer

Spun — true stories told in the Territory. When I’m feeling a bit homesick for Aussie accents, this does it every time. If you want to know what “real” Australia sounds like, this podcast is it. Funny stories, with a sometimes understated emotional twist, told in front of a live audience.

The Conversation Hour with Richard Fidler — one of the best long-form interviewers around, Fidler draws stories out of people in a way that makes your heart sing. After listening to the episode with Andrew Harper about walking across Australia’s deserts I’m so inspired to give it a go.

The Heart — when I want to have my heartstrings pulled, this is my go to.

Who Weekly — when I want to take my brain out and let it soak in D-grade pop culture I smash Who Weekly — the podcast that tells you everything you need to know about the celebrities you don’t.

Drew Nelles

Crimetown producer

Chapo Trap House —this is the only podcast that makes me laugh out loud in public. I’ve found it extremely cathartic, during and after the election, to listen to a hard-left podcast that is angry, profane, funny, offensive, and as hard on the Democrats for blowing the election as it is on the Republicans for winning it.

Love + Radio — probably the best sound-designed and edited podcast in the country and this season has been great. I suggest starting with The Enemy Within, Doing the No No, and A Girl of Ivory.

Kelly Coonan

Ad Ops Manager

The Daily — I’ve been very into The Daily. It has prevented me from listening to a lot of other podcasts because it takes up every morning commute for me now. I get bombarded every morning with sensationalist headlines from all directions. The Daily talks with experts in the field and people directly connected to the stories in the news, adding much needed context to the main topics and stories each day. A good place to start is the episode ‘Carlos’s Secret’, which explores the complexities of immigration enforcement by talking with the residents of an Illinois coal-mining town.

Katelyn Bogucki

Gimlet Creative Producer

Pod Save America — my favorite political podcast. I don’t feel any existential dread when I listen to it, which makes it a nice departure from other political coverage.

Judge John Hodgman — it gives trivial disagreements the airtime they deserve.

Here To Make Friends — it’s great if you enjoy The Bachelor. It’s hosted by Emma Gray and Claire Fallon, who are two of the most intelligent and hilarious women in the pod game (and full disclosure, also my friends).

Rachel Ward

Gimlet Media producer

The Future of What — it’s great because you get to hear your favorite bands talk about ~ the music biz ~. I feel smarter after listening to it, but also more bummed out because it’s so hard to survive being an artist in this country. So I guess it also makes me grateful for my desk job.

Yo, Is This Racist — I also want to recommend Yo, Is This Racist. Despite the fact that the answer is almost always “yes,” this podcast is very very very funny. Andrew Ti is a True Gem of a Human.

Jorge Just

Editor

The History Channeler — my friend Scott makes it and it’s an absurd premise executed absurdly. He does all the voices, makes all the music, and it’s just so completely asinine, but in the most wonderful way.

Home of the Brave — Scott Carrier, who’s one of the most unique radio reporters, does things the way you aren’t supposed to do things and it turns out beautifully.

Overall Favorite: Missing Richard Simmons

We had at least 5 people choose this one as a favorite. Some quotes on why they love it:

“Because it takes a character that we’re all sort of familiar with, and delves deep beneath the spandex. It’s a sympathetic, yet comprehensive, look at someone most of us think we know, but don’t. And it has something else going for it: We’re not just going on a quest to find out about him, we’re going on a quest to find him (because he’s missing, see).” — Matthew Nelson, Development Producer

“There’s a mystery to be solved! They deploy all the tricks that make you want to keep listening to all the episodes.. cliffhangers…unanswered questions…, etc.” — Julia Botero, Gimlet Creative

“You know when you see or hear something and wish that you had made it? That’s what Missing Richard Simmons is for me. It’s a story that could so easily be cheap and careless, but there is something about it that feels elevated. It humanizes Simmons far beyond the punchline that he’s sort of became over the past ten years, and host Dan Taberski goes into it with this earnestness and humor that I really appreciate.” — Luke Malone, StartUp producer

We hope you find something you love in this list. And be sure to take some time this week to share podcasts with someone who’s never heard of them — let us know how it goes! #trypod