We’ve been passionate podcast listeners for more than a decade. Over the years we’ve shared our latest discoveries in newsletters, social posts, and even on our own podcast. Now we’ve gathered our favorite recommendations in a single post—so whether you’re planning a road-trip binge, need a reliable news show for your daily commute, or want an engrossing series to pass the time while doing chores, you’ll find options here.
This list mixes widely acclaimed classics with more personal picks. Some shows are universally recommended, while others reflect our particular tastes. We’ve organized nearly 50 favorites into categories so you can quickly find what suits your mood, memory budget, or listening habits.
Our Top Podcast Recommendations
To make browsing easier, we split recommendations into the following groups:
- Must-Listen Podcasts (the classics)
- True Crime Podcasts
- Longform Investigation Podcasts
- News & Current Events
- Science & Self-Help
- Business & Money
- History
- Interviews & Personal Stories
- Fun & Games
How To Listen To A Podcast
If podcasts are new to you: they’re on-demand audio shows accessible through apps like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many others. Many series also publish video versions or short clips on social platforms. Formats range from interview shows and daily news briefings to serialized narrative journalism and investigative series.
Podcasts are perfect when you can’t watch or read—during commutes, chores, walks, or while doing DIY projects. Episodes may be weekly, daily, or limited-series runs. Most podcasts are free and supported by ads or optional subscription bonuses.
The Must-Listen Podcasts
These shows helped define podcasting and remain essential listening. They’re great entry points if you’re building a podcast habit.
Serial
Season 1 of Serial revisits the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee and the conviction of Adnan Syed. Its tight pacing and suspenseful storytelling made it a cultural touchstone and introduced many listeners to podcast storytelling.
Dirty John
Dirty John unfolds like a real-life soap opera, tracing how a charismatic con man manipulated a family. It’s a gripping example of narrative true crime and set a template for many similar series.
S. Town
S. Town begins as a murder inquiry and evolves into an intimate portrait of an eccentric man and his small town. It proved that human complexity can be every bit as compelling as sensational crime.
Reply All
Reply All explored the strange, funny, and sometimes affecting corners of the internet with investigative episodes, memorable stories, and lighthearted experiments. It was a standout tech-and-culture show for many years.
True Crime Podcasts
True crime remains one of the most bingeable podcast genres. Below are several series that gripped us from the first episode.
Scamanda
Scamanda tells the unsettling story of a woman who faked a cancer diagnosis and defrauded those around her. The series explores influence, trust, and the emotional fallout for friends and family.
The Clearing
The Clearing follows a daughter investigating the possibility that her father was responsible for violent crimes decades earlier. It’s an emotional, patient unraveling of family secrets and accountability.
Camp Swamp Road
This short series examines a 2023 road-rage incident and the legal and moral questions it raised. The podcast uses original audio to reconstruct the event and its aftermath.
Southern Nightmare
Set in Richmond, Virginia, Southern Nightmare chronicles the investigation of the “South Side Strangler” murders and the early use of DNA profiling in criminal convictions.
Cold
Season 1 of Cold investigates the mysterious disappearance of a mother and the troubling circumstances that surround it. The unresolved nature of the case makes the series both compelling and frustrating.
Valley of Shadows
Valley of Shadows follows the disappearance of a deputy runner in a desert community and explores possible corruption, cover-ups, and criminal networks. It feels like a real-life noir set in the sun-baked West.
Criminal
Criminal is an ongoing anthology that tells a different crime-related story in each episode, often under an hour. It’s a great pick when you want a complete, polished story without committing to a long series.
Longform Investigation Podcasts
We love multi-episode investigative series that thoroughly examine a topic, person, or event. These shows balance storytelling with reporting and often introduce issues you hadn’t considered.
The Dropout
The Dropout traces the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and the company she built. It’s a concise, dramatic look at ambition, fraud, and the systems that enabled it.
The Good Whale
The Good Whale revisits the story of Keiko, the orca from a popular film, and examines the efforts and heartache involved in trying to return a captive animal to the wild.
Missing Richard Simmons
This investigation explores why a beloved fitness personality withdrew from public life, and how fans and journalists reacted to his sudden absence.
Embedded
Embedded produces mini-series on varied current issues—each run is a compact, well-reported deep dive that sits between daily news and lengthy investigations.
The Retrievals
The Retrievals examines painful, repeated dismissals of women’s health complaints at a fertility clinic and the broader systemic issues that allowed it to happen.
This Blew Up
This Blew Up offers an inside look at Gen Z influencer culture and content houses, revealing the personal costs of chasing virality and fame online.
News & Current Event Podcasts
Daily and weekly news shows keep us informed without taking too much time. These are the programs we often play during morning routines, school drop-off, or walks.
Up First
Up First distills three top stories into about 15 minutes, giving context without overwhelming detail—perfect for a quick morning update.
The Daily
The Daily expands on a single story in roughly 30 minutes, offering interviews and expert perspectives that deepen your understanding of major news items.
Consider This
Consider This offers evening briefings and concise takes on current headlines—handy for catching up when you don’t have much time.
Today, Explained
Today, Explained blends news analysis with lighter cultural topics, making it a versatile listen that swings from policy to pop culture with ease.
Science & Self Help Podcasts
These shows make learning enjoyable—whether you want evidence-based answers, practical life tips, or engaging science storytelling.
Science Vs
Science Vs fact-checks popular trends and claims by examining the underlying research, separating myth from evidence in an entertaining way.
Maintenance Phase
Maintenance Phase debunks wellness fads and weight-loss myths through humor and rigorous research, helping listeners think more critically about popular health advice.
Life Kit
Life Kit delivers practical life skills and tips on topics from money management to stress reduction—short, useful episodes you can apply right away.
TED Radio Hour / TED Talks Daily
TED Talks Daily offers single, focused talks while TED Radio Hour curates themed episodes that link multiple ideas together—both are excellent for quick inspiration and learning.
Ologies
Ologies interviews subject-matter experts about unusual and fascinating fields of study, from squirrels to hurricanes, with curiosity and humor.
Wow In The World
Wow in The World is a kid-friendly science show that mixes goofy characters and real questions to make science approachable for families.
Business & Money Podcasts
Business and personal finance shows make complex systems feel accessible and often tell surprising stories about everyday commerce.
The Economics of Everyday Things
Short episodes that reveal the economic logic behind common products and services—eye-opening context for things you take for granted.
How I Built This
Founders tell the origin stories of well-known brands, with lessons about resilience, luck, and hard-won strategy.
The Journal
The Journal combines daily reporting with business-focused analysis, covering how economic trends affect everyday life.
Planet Money
Planet Money explains economics through storytelling, experiments, and reporting—often in delightfully unexpected ways.
What We Spend
This show explores household budgets and the choices behind them, offering frank portraits of how different people make ends meet.
Money For Couples
Couples open up about financial conflicts and get practical, straightforward advice—useful for any partnership navigating money matters.
History Podcasts
These history shows bring the past to life with storytelling, fresh perspectives, and contextual analysis that often change how you think about familiar events.
Slow Burn
Slow Burn revisits pivotal moments—like Watergate and the Clinton impeachment—offering narrative depth and underappreciated details.
Revisionist History
Malcolm Gladwell reexamines events, people, and ideas with a distinctive curiosity, drawing surprising connections and insights.
Dolly Parton’s America
A thoughtful series that blends biography and cultural analysis to explore Dolly Parton’s life, influence, and place in American culture.
1619
The 1619 project’s audio companion offers an immersive look at how slavery’s legacy shaped the United States and continues to influence institutions today.
The Preamble
Hosted by a civics educator, The Preamble mixes interviews and concise lessons that clarify political history and current events.
Decoder Ring
Decoder Ring digs into pop-culture mysteries and moments, revealing why certain phenomena mattered then and continue to matter now.
Sleepy History
Designed to be gently narrated and oddly soporific, Sleepy History tells true stories at a pace that helps listeners unwind and fall asleep.
Interviews & Personal Story Podcasts
Interview shows and personal-story formats vary widely, but these picks consistently deliver thoughtful conversations and memorable moments.
Good Hang With Amy Poehler
Warm, funny interviews with notable guests—an upbeat, welcoming show that’s a joy to hear in your feed.
Heavyweight
Heavyweight helps people reconcile with moments from their past, often producing funny, awkward, and deeply moving results.
Wild Card With Rachel Martin
Guests pick questions from a deck, which often leads to surprising honesty and unexpected stories.
A Beautiful Mess Podcast
Hosted by two creative sisters, this show blends lifestyle tips, design talk, listener contributions, and light-hearted banter—like catching up with friends.
Fun & Games Podcasts
When you want something light, funny, or playful, these shows are reliable mood-lifters.
Ask Me Another
A recorded live game show featuring trivia, wordplay, and comedy—perfect for playing along and enjoying clever, spontaneous moments.
Grown Ups Read Things They Wrote As Kids
Adults reading their childhood writings produces unfiltered nostalgia and lots of laughs. The archive is a treasure trove even if new episodes are rare.
Laugh Lines
A warm, candid podcast from a couple known for viral songs and family humor; they tackle parenting, marriage, and everyday absurdities with charm.
Story Pirates
A children’s show that turns kids’ submitted stories into sketches and songs—delightful and heartwarming for families and young imaginations.
Last But Not Least…
Although we retired our own podcast a few years ago, our archive of nearly 200 episodes is still available on major platforms. We covered renovation projects, downsizing, practical life tips, and interviewed experts on design and organization—useful listening if those topics interest you.
Ah, the days before my beard went gray—good memories, great conversations, and plenty of listening to recommend.