Just finished a 26-hour (return) road trip that was saved only by the many, many podcasts I had on hand. Then I realized I hadn’t talked about my podcasts yet this year. So here we go! Instead of breaking up my podcast list over multiple posts as I’ve done in previous years, I’m going to just list them all 78 of them in a single table that you can sort and look through.
How do I listen?
If you’re only interested in one or two, you can just stream them directly from their website to your desktop or laptop.
If you want to listen on the go, then find a podcatching app for your platform that’s highly reviewed (check your app store). My podcatcher of choice is BeyondPod . What I love is its SmartPlay feature, which lets me customize how I want my playlist assembled. Most podcatching apps will let you search for podcasts by name or let you copy/paste the feed URL.
What are the various columns in the list?
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Nameis of course the name of the show. If it is a live link, then it means I have a little bit more to say about it. Click the link to go to my notes. -
Websiteis the show’s main website where you can get more information. -
Feedis the URL that you actually put into your podcatcher so you can be alerted of new episodes. -
Ratingis how I rate the show. Obviously I like the podcasts or I wouldn’t even bother listing them. I’m using a 4-point scale: -
4: My über favourites that I think just about everyone would enjoy. I never miss an episode.
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3: I love these shows and never miss an episode.
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2: I occasionally skip portions of episodes. I rarely skip an entire episode (usually because I’m just getting too far behind).
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1: I regularly skip portions of episodes and even entire episodes if the specific topic doesn’t appeal to me or if I need to catch up. But again, this doesn’t mean it’s a bad show! It’s all relative.
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Warningslets you know if the podcast contains offensive language or disturbing themes. Most are occasional. A couple are more pervasive, which I mention in the notes for the specific show.
The List
Click on a header to sort. Shift+Click if you want to sort on multiple columns.
| Name | Website | Feed | Rating | Category | Frequency | Length | Warnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99 Invisible | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Stories | weekly | 30 | |
| A State of Trance Official Podcast | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Music | weekly | 30 | Language |
| Alice Isn’t Dead | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Fiction | weekly | 30 | Language/Themes |
| Astronomy Cast | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Science | weekly | 30 | |
| AVICII - LEVELS PODCAST | (feed) | 1 | Music | monthly | 60 | Language | |
| Blue Peg, Pink Peg | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Gaming | semimonthly | 60 | |
| Brain Science Podcast | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Science | monthly | 60 | |
| CBC News: Hourly Edition | (website) | (feed) | 1 | News | hourly | 10 | |
| Common Sense with Dan Carlin | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Opinion | sporadic | 60 | |
| Coverville | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Music | weekly | 90 | |
| Criminal | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Stories | semimonthly | 30 | Themes |
| Current Geek | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Tech/Geek | weekly | 60 | |
| Daily Tech News Show | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Tech/Geek | daily | 45 | |
| Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History | (website) | (feed) | 4 | History | sporadic | 60–300 | Themes |
| Digitalia | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Tech/Geek | weekly | 90 | |
| DLC | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Gaming | weekly | 90–120 | |
| Film Sack | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Movies | weekly | 60–90 | |
| Flip the Table | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Gaming | monthly | 60 | |
| Freakonomics Radio | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Economics | weekly | 45–60 | |
| Gamers With Jobs Conference Call | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Gaming | weekly | 60 | |
| Global News - BBC | (website) | (feed) | 1 | News | twice daily | 30 | |
| Hidden Brain | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Science | weekly | 30 | |
| Hotline Monday | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Talk/Pop Culture | weekly | 60 | |
| Hypothetical Help | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Comedy | weekly | 45 | Themes |
| InDesign Secrets | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Miscellaneous | monthly | 45 | |
| JuRY | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Talk/Personal | weekly | 60 | Language |
| Le rendez-vous Tech | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Tech/Geek | semimonthly | 90 | |
| Lezioni di musica | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Music | weekly | 30 | |
| Ludology | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Gaming | weekly | 5–60 | |
| More or Less Behind the Stats | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Science | weekly | 30 | |
| Mormon FAIR-Cast | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Religion | weekly | 10–60 | |
| My Brother, My Brother And Me | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Comedy | weekly | 60 | Language/Themes |
| Night Attack Audio Feed | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Comedy | weekly | 90 | Language/Themes |
| No Agenda | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Talk/News | Sun/Thu | 180 | Language |
| NPR: Planet Money Podcast | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Economics | weekly | 15–30 | |
| NPR: Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me Podcast | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Comedy | weekly | 60 | |
| NPR: Hourly News Summary | (website) | (feed) | 1 | News | hourly | 10 | |
| NPR: Invisibilia Podcast | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Stories | weekly | 60 | Themes |
| NPR: Pop Culture Happy Hour Podcast | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Culture | weekly | 45 | |
| Our Debut Album | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Music | monthly | 60 | |
| Pixels | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Gaming | semimonthly | 90 | |
| Plaid Hat Podcast | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Gaming | semimonthly | 60–90 | Language |
| Politics Politics Politics | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Politics | Mon/Wed/Thu | 60 | Language |
| Quirks and Quarks Complete Show from CBC Radio | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Science | weekly | 60 | |
| Radio3Scienza | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Science | weekdays | 30 | |
| Radiolab Presents: More Perfect | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Law | weekly (hiatus) | 30–60 | |
| Revisionist History | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Stories | weekly | 30–45 | |
| Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Science | weekly | 30–45 | Themes |
| Slate Money | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Economics | weekly | 45–60 | Language |
| Slate Presents Lexicon Valley | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Language | semimonthly | 30 | Language |
| Slate’s Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Law | semimonthly | 30–45 | |
| Slate’s Culture Gabfest | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Culture | weekly | 45–60 | Language |
| Slate’s Double X Podcasts | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Women | semimonthly | 45–60 | Language/Themes |
| Slate’s Mom and Dad Are Fighting | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Parenting | semimonthly | 45–60 | Language |
| Slate’s Political Gabfest | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Politics | weekly | 60 | |
| Slate’s The Gist | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Interviews | weekdays | 30 | Language |
| Song Exploder | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Music | semimonthly | 15–30 | Language |
| Start the Week with Andrew Marr | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Interviews | weekly | 45 | |
| Stop Podcasting Yourself | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Comedy | weekly | 60 | Language/Themes |
| Stuff You Should Know | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Talk/Education | weekly | 45–60 | |
| Supreme Podcast | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Law | weekly | 15 | |
| The Allusionist | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Language | semimonthly | 15 | |
| The Bitterest Pill | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Talk/Personal | sporadic | 45–90 | |
| The Dice Tower | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Gaming | weekly | 60–90 | |
| The Ezra Klein Show | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Interviews | weekly | 60–90 | |
| The Flop House | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Movies | semimonthly | 60–90 | Language |
| The Morning Stream | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Comedy | weekdays | 90 | |
| The National: Rex Murphy Audio Podcast | (website) | (feed) | 1 | Opinion | sporadic | 5 | |
| The Phileas Club | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Talk/News | semimonthly | 60–90 | |
| The Psychology of Video Games Podcast | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Gaming | monthly | 60 | |
| The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast | (website) | (feed) | 2 | Gaming | semimonthly | 60–180 | Language |
| The Therapy Show | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Advice | weekly (hiatus) | 60 | |
| Vox’s The Weeds | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Politics | weekly | 45–60 | |
| Waking Up with Sam Harris | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Opinion | monthly+ | 60–150 | |
| We Have Concerns | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Comedy | weekly+ | 20 | Language |
| Welcome to Night Vale | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Fiction | semimonthly | 30 | |
| Within the Wires | (website) | (feed) | 3 | Fiction | semimonthly | 30 | |
| WNYC’s Radiolab | (website) | (feed) | 4 | Stories | semimonthly | 30 | Themes |
Notes
99% Invisible
This is a great show about design. Here are a few recent favourite episodes:
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#231 “Half a House” about a sustainable housing project in Chile
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#230 “Project Cybersyn” about a futuristic project of President Salvador Allende, again in Chile
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#220 “The Mind of an Architect” about the sources of creativity
Alice Isn’t Dead
From the makers of Welcome to Night Vale , this is a creepy, sometimes violent audio drama of a woman searching for her wife amidst paranormal weirdness.
Common Sense
I happen to agree with Dan on a lot of points. He discusses his thoughts on current events, often through a lens of history. (See his other podcast Hardcore History .)
Coverville
A weekly music show that features almost exclusively covers. Lots of great artists to explore.
Criminal
A great podcast of interesting crime-related stories. Here are a few excellent episodes:
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#51 “Money Tree” about a woman whose identity was stolen and the aftermath of tracking down the culprit
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#49 “The Editor” about an illiterate prison inmate who became an encyclopedia fact checker
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#32 “It Looked Like Fire” about how a picture does not always tell the whole truth
Hardcore History
Dan Carlin does a tremendous job producing lengthy, detailed audio “lectures” on various periods of history. His 18+ hour epic on WWI (“Blueprint for Armageddon”) was exceptional.
Film Sack
They take mediocre movies and make them hilarious. I love these guys. If you like movies, listen to this podcast.
Flip the Table
Like Film Sack , these guys play terrible board games and make one of my favourite podcasts. These guys are truly and deeply funny. The “Battle of Wits” at the end is always terrific!
Hotline Monday
Scott Johnson (of Frogpants ) and Justin Robert Young do an afternoon drive-time show talking about pop culture and current events. Always enjoyable.
Hypothetical Help
Scott Johnson and “Turpster” give totally hypothetical and off the wall advice to their listeners. Always funny.
Lezioni di Musica
This Italian-language podcast is a national radio show (RAI3) that gives bite-sized musicological lectures on various pieces. So good! If only the 2016 shows were on the feed already!
Mormon FAIR-Cast
I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . This podcast addresses difficult topics and helps you understand them within the framework of faith. There are many different podcasts on this feed, and not all of them are applicable to everyone, but a few recent episodes were particularly powerful:
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08 Oct 2016 “Interview with Dr. Lous C. Midgley”: I particularly liked his views on testimony at the very end.
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12 Oct 2016 “Homosexuality and the Gospel with Ty Mansfield”: The matrix he defines that separates attraction from identity, and some of his personal experiences, were very helpful in understanding this subject.
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And all the Michael R. Ash “Faith and Reason” episodes are good, too.
No Agenda
A deconstruction of current events and media coverage that you won’t hear anywhere else. It gets a little conspiratorial, but there’s some interesting stuff in there.
NPR: Invisibilia
Has some fascinating stories:
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15 Jul 2016 “Flip the Script” about how doing the opposite of what your natural instinct is can transform a situation
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08 Jul 2016 “Frame of Reference” about Aspergers and a treatment called TMS
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24 Jun 2016 “The Personality Myth” about how personalities change over time
Our Debut Album
Dave Shumka and Graham Clark (from Stop Podcasting Yourself ) write a pop song in 60 minutes. Always fun.
Revisionist History
Malcolm Gladwell looks at issues like education and philanthropy, stories he thinks need more exposure.
Song Exploder
Takes various popular songs and has the composer/performer break the song down layer by layer.
Start the Week
This BBC show is a roundtable discussion between the host and three others that discuss topics from politics to Shakespeare. I discover so many new books through this show!
Stop Podcasting Yourself
My favourite weekly podcast, hands down. Stand-up comedians Dave Shumka and Graham Clark sit down with another comedian to shoot the breeze for about an hour. If only it were longer! It is uproariously funny. This show makes me so happy (occasional strong language and adult themes).
Dice Tower
This is the grand-daddy of boardgaming podcasts. If you like boardgames, then this is the podcast to listen to. Check out the Dice Tower Network for more boardgaming podcasts than you can listen to.
Ezra Klein Show
Vox’s Ezra Klein interviews various public figures about what they do and how they got there. Even more great book recommendations here! Here are some of my favourite recent episodes:
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20 Sep 2016 “Dr. Leana Wen on why the opposite of poverty is health”
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08 Aug 2016 “Trevor Noah: a very serious conversation with a very funny man”
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02 Aug 2016 “Atul Gawande on surgery, writing, Obamacare, and indie music”
The Flop House
Three funny guys talk about a bad movie. Not as good as Film Sack , but still hilarious. Frequent coarse language.
The Morning Stream
My favourite daily podcast. It’s just the best morning show ever. Scott and Brian are great together, and I love the regular schedule of different guests. I just think everybody would enjoy this show. It’s so good. (Very occasional mild language.)
The Phileas Club
Patrick Beja brings together guests from around the world to bring a global perspective to current events. Very enlightening!
The Therapy Show
One of my favourite segments of The Morning Stream is “Therapy Thursdays” where Scott’s sister Wendi (an actual therapist) comes on and discusses a listener question. They finally did a whole season of shows dedicated just to this. It’s on hiatus now, but a new season is coming eventually, and the old ones are still excellent. Check out Wendi’s blog as well for more from her.
Waking Up with Sam Harris
There’s lots I don’t agree with Sam about (e.g., religion, free will), but his thoughts challenge me to consider different angles.
Welcome to Night Vale
This audio play is at once funny and creepy—think funny Lovecraft. I have thoroughly enjoyed this.
Within the Wires
Another audio play from the makers of Welcome to Night Vale . I’m not quite sure where it’s going yet, but I like it so far.
WNYC Radiolab
So many awesome stories! Every episode is a winner. Here are a few recent favourites:
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23 Sep 2016 “The Primitive Streak” about embryo development in the first fourteen days
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24 Feb 2016 “K-poparazzi” about the South Korean poparazzi
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23 Aug 2015 “Elements” about the Periodic Table of the Elements