I’m a big podcast listener. It’s a priority of mine. I thought I would share what I regularly listen to. Also – if you haven’t upgraded from Apple’s awful podcast app, this is the time to do so. I like Breaker and will be linking through them.

Always

Desert Island Discs, from BBC: A genius audio format that has been running since 1942 (yes, really). Wonderful interviews and the music tells a parallel story along with it.

Global News Podcast, from BBC: The best global news summary available.

Hidden Brain, from NPR: Fascinating and makes me want to write down notes throughout each episode.

How I Built This with Guy Raz, from NPR: Entrepreneurship stories in a very tight and well-produced show.

Invisibilia, from NPR: The highest calibre of storytelling and an elegant production. Unmissable.

Planet Money, from NPR: Magical producers that can make any topic interesting. A podcast about finance, economics, and money for people that think they’re not interested in any of that.

Revisionist History, from Panoply: Malcolm Gladwell does his thing, and he does it so well.

Serial, from WBEZ: Serialized long form journalism. Always fantastic.

S-Town, from WBEZ: A one-off podcast series, but the best one I have ever heard so I couldn’t leave it off the list.

This American Life, from WBEZ: A radio institution that still earns and deserves that position with almost every episode.

Where should we begin? With Esther Perel, from Audible: Relationship and Sex Therapist Esther Perel does anonymous couples counselling.

Often

Dear Sugars, from New York Times & WBUR: A classic advice line. Thoughtful and empathetic.

Death, Sex & Money, from WNYC: As they often say themselves, “a show about the things we think about a lot, and need to talk about more”.

Here’s The Thing, from WNYC: Alex Baldwin is a pretty bad interviewer, but the conversations are entertaining. And he was a great voice.

Marketplace, from APM: A succinct run-through of the daily news from an economics perspective.

Pod Save America, from Crooked Media: A liberal rant about the madness that is our current news cycle.

Radiolab, from WNYC: Great storytellers, but have gotten a little stuck in their signature soundscape.

Recode Decode, from Recode: Amazing guests on this show.

The Daily, from New York Times: One great news story a day.

Sometimes

Fresh Air, from NPR: Terry Gross is a good interviewer, and often gets great guests.

FT Big Read, from Financial Times: I’m a fan of the FT in general, and this is a convenient way of reading/listening on the go.

In Our Time, from BBC: Worth it for Melvyn Bragg alone, but pick a topic that sounds especially interesting and/or weird. Cephalopods, for instance.

Makrorådet, from Dagens Industri: A Swedish podcast about macro economics. Good for a quick refresher of what’s going on in Sweden.

Modern Love, from New York Times and WBUR: The famous column in podcast form. Lovely essays about love and relationships.

More or Less: Behind the Stats, from BBC: Making sense of statistics, and anchoring it in the news.

RSA Events, from RSA: This used to be very thought-provoking, but has gotten stuck in the same topics for very long now unfortunately. I hope they find their way back.

Sommar & Vinter i P1, by Sveriges Radio: A classic Swedish radio show where people get to tell their life story. Very hit and miss, and the majority of people all tell the same story: “sometimes things don’t work out the way you planned them”.

The Axe Files with David Axelrod, from CNN: Great guests, but a slow format.

The Inquiry, from BBC: Takes on a specific question and tries to explain it. Smart format but doesn’t always get to the explanation that you’re looking for.

The Longest Shortest Time, from Stitcher: A parenting podcast that picks up interesting topics from time to time.