Happy International Podcast Day from the RadioPublic Reference Desk

In honor of International Podcast Day, I’ve compiled a selection of recommendations based on requests that came to RadioPublic’s podcast librarian this week. Soon, firing up the RadioPublic app will make this and other playlists will magically appear for your listening enjoyment. Til then, enjoy!

Help me find: something that teaches me interesting things.

Inquiring Minds: a Mother Jones podcast that explore the intersection of science, politics, and society.

Help me find: tech.

The Pitch: Each episode includes a pitch for a startup (since it’s 2016, most of the startups involve tech in some way or another) and feedback from investors.

Help me find: great storytelling or reporting.

Reveal: in-depth reporting from a collaboration between the Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX (not for the faint of heart, since they cover some pretty intense topics).

Help me find: something well done and goofy.

The Bright Sessions: an audio drama about therapy for strange and unusual people.

Help me find: something interesting that’s not in the top 200 lists.

Life of the Law: a living, breathing exploration of the day-to-day lives of the people law affects.

Help me find: great narrative nonfiction about life in America, historically or in the present day.

The Most Wonderful Wonder: a history storytelling podcast with a melancholy country tune.

Help me find: podcasts dealing with real life issues with hosts that are compelling, honest, and authentic.

The Unmistakable Creative Podcast: candid conversations about creativity and how creative people got to where they are today.

Help me find: intriguing narratives and documentaries. I want to learn something, but in a creative rather than academically droll way.

Not By Accident: a first-person narrative about choosing to be a single mother.

Surprise me with: interesting info about the world, our society, or behavior in less than 30 minutes.

Distillations: a science and culture podcast that traces history in order to better understand the present.

Surprise me with: stories that make me curious about the world and explore perspectives that aren’t often highlighted.

Not What You Think: an Aussie take on the stories that generally fly under our radar.

Surprise me with: I’m open to suggestions!

For someone who likes deeply immersive worlds, try Hello from the Magic Tavern — a comedy storytelling podcast about a man who falls into a magical land.

For off-kilter realities, try King Falls AM — a late-night talk show in a town with paranormal occurrences.

For something surprisingly excellent, try Sleepover — a little goofy, a little social experiment-y, a little bit of reality all wrapped up in a charming show about people meeting for the first time and solving each other’s problems.

For something a little bit irreverent and Seinfeld-y, try Tell Me I’m Funny — follow an aspiring stand-up comic through his journey to comedic success.

For political commentary, try The Pollsters — two whip-smart bipartisan ladies taking on the numbers.

For someone who likes a little bit of everything, but is loyal to their favorite shows, try two new shows with promising first episodes: How I Built This (interviews with people about the things they built and the movements that surround them) and Historically Black (a digital archive of objects that hold history — it’s aligned with the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in DC).

Happy listening, everyone!