Podcasts I Listen To (Updated Dec 2016)
In the past few months, I’ve talked to lots of people about the podcasts I listen to. I decided to write them all down so I can send them all in one go. So here they are. I always love new podcast suggestions; so let me know your favourites.
I’ve been using Pocket Casts (available on Android, iPhone and iPad) to listen to my podcasts for years now. It’s a lovely app and makes downloading and listening to podcasts super easy. (I tried a lot of different apps before I found Pocket Cast and its just hands down better and worth paying for.)
Podcast that I currently listen to:
The Bugle
The first podcast that I truly loved. It includes some of the best political satire and — more importantly — puns. At the end of 2016, it has returned from a long break and is as good as it has ever been (take that as you will). John Oliver (of Last Week Tonight fame) has left and Andy Zaltzman is joined by a different co-host each week. It’s really worth checking out ‘season 4'.
The independent weekly satirical comedy podcast, by Andy Zaltzman, with a new team of co-hosts. Power-hosing hogwash over Planet Earth since 2007.
99% Invisible
After the Bugle this is probably the podcast I most enjoy listening to. About design — every episode is enjoyable, entertaining and educating. Pick one at random, they’re all illuminating and enjoyable.
99% Invisible with @romanmars is a tiny radio show about design, architecture & the ninety-nine percent invisible activity that shapes our world.
The Memory Palace
This podcast is short (1–7 minutes) snippets from (mostly American) history. Like 99pi there are all very good.
No Such Thing As A Fish
A podcast from the QI elves, each bringing their favourite facts from the week. It is always fun and informative, often with quite useless facts that you’ll be happy to know.
The researchers behind the TV show QIgather around a microphone and bring you the most interesting facts they’ve unearthed that week.
This American Life
These are hour long shows with stories that centre around a single topic and are always a fascinating look at — you guessed it — American Life. It should be noted that this show has led to a few of the shows below. The 500th show is a good example of what they do best.
There’s a theme to each episode of This American Life, and a variety of stories on that theme. It’s mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always. There’s lots more to the show, but it’s sort of hard to describe.
Serial
A real-life crime drama phenomenon of 2014. A spin-off of This American Life and well worth a listen. Season 1 was gripping, Season 2 less so…I still have a couple of episodes left to listen to.
“It’s Baltimore, 1999. Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior, disappears after school one day. Six weeks later detectives arrest her classmate and ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for her murder. He says he’s innocent — though he can’t exactly remember what he was doing on that January afternoon. But someone can. A classmate at Woodlawn High School says she knows where Adnan was. The trouble is, she’s nowhere to be found.”
Planet Money
It’s the economy stupid. A great show that deals with global economic events. Also, their t-shirt project alone is great journalism in the 21st Century. Also from This American Life.
Imagine you could call up a friend and say, “Meet me at the bar and tell me what’s going on with the economy.” Now imagine that’s actually a fun evening. That’s what we’re going for at Planet Money.
Start Up
A podcast hosted by Alex Blumberg about starting his company, Gimlet Media, a podcast network. Alex has previously worked on This American Life and Planet Money. In later seasons this podcast also follows other entrepreneurs. Season 4 focuses on Dov Charney, the founder and former CEO of American Apparel. Dov was fired and Season four documents him starting his next venture.
A show about the human side of starting and running a business, co-hosted by Alex Blumberg and Lisa Chow.
Reply All
Following on from Start Up, Reply All is the second podcast from Gimlet Media. Covering curiosities from the Internet Age. This podcast gets better with age, but most of the episodes are standalone. For new listeners, they have even complied a Quick Start guide.
Reply All is a show about the internet.
More or Less
More economics, and numbers, and stats. I’m a big Tim Harford fan and his books are excellent. A lovely podcast from the BBC.
Tim Harford explains — and sometimes debunks — the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life
Freakonomics
Yet more economics. Same style as the books of the same name.
Stuff You Should Know
Step 1: Pick an episode with a title you want to know more about.
Step 2. Listen.
Join Josh and Chuck as they explore the Stuff You Should Know about everything from genes to the Galapagos in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.
The Political Party
Long interviews with British politicians past and present. Like Stuff You Should Know, pick a politician you like/know and listen. Always fascinating.
Page 94
A political and satirical podcasts from the Private Eye.
The Vergecast
I’m pretty into my tech, culture, politics and the future. This podcast covers them all.
Political Podcasts
I listened to npr Politics and FiveThirtyEight Politics during the 2016 Presidential Election. Since the election, my listening habits have dropped off a bit. I prefer to live in the West Wing Universe and The West Wing Weekly has helped with that.
Podcasts I’ve been recommended and (slowly) trying to get into:
TED Radio Hour
TED Talks in podcast form. Like Stuff You Should Know I’ve been picking episode I like the sound of and have a listen.
A journey through fascinating ideas: astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, new ways to think and create.
Frontiers
Just been recommended this show about the cutting edge of science. Another good BBC radio show. Can’t wait to listen to more.
Frontiers explores new ideas in science and meets the people behind them.
Design Details
Just starting listening to the show about design. Really enjoying it.
A weekly show about the people who design our favorite products
The Flop House
A podcast about movies. Only listened to a few episodes. Still need to give it more of a chance.
Elliott Kalan, Dan McCoy, and Stuart Wellington are friends who’ve decided to express that friendship not by doing productive or enjoyable things, but instead by watching critical or commercial flops, and then discussing those terrible movies for you to enjoy in your ear-holes. Although, honestly, most of the time they just talk about random bullshit.
The Football Ramble
A weekly football podcast. I haven’t really got into it yet. Still trying.
The Daily Show Podcast (Without Jon Stewart)
I’ve subscribed to it, but haven’t listened to it yet.
The Daily Show Podcast without Jon Stewart takes you behind the scenes with the writers, producers and correspondents who make the show. Everyone but Jon, really.
Podcast that I used to listen but faded recently
Hamish and Andy
After Gervais and The Bugle this was one of the podcasts that got me into the medium. Taken from a daily drive-time radio show in Australia, the story arcs that developed were brilliant. I ended up listening less after it became weekly, they just didn’t have enough time to develop the ideas that made the show so good. It’s now a daily podcast again, but I haven’t listened to it for a while.
DirtBag Diaries
Just started to listen to this. I’m really enjoying the collections of stories. Every episode has made me want to get outside and have more adventures.
A grassroots podcast dedicated to the sometimes serious, often humorous stories from wild places. What began as a solitary experiment has evolved into collaboration between writers, photographers, artists and listeners to produce the type of stories that rarely find homes in the glossy pages of magazines.
The Moth
This is again a recent recommendation. The episodes are live recordings of individuals telling true stories from their lives. I’ve enjoyed the episodes I’ve listened to so far and I’m looking forward to exploring their extensive back catalogue.
True Stories Told Live
What’s Tech?
A new technology explainer podcast from The Verge. It seems basic but still interesting.
We live in the future, where drones skim the sky, corporations enter the space race, and smart watches track our every movement. But how? And why? What’s Tech invites experts to explain the technology bit by bit, in clear, brief, enjoyable audio nuggets. These days, technology is everywhere. Let’s make sense of what’s around us.
Postscript:
I would love to subscribe to my favourite TV shows and watch them within one app with the same mechanism as Podcasts. Apart from Live Sports all of my TV watching (like my podcasting) is on demand.
