Podroll

God, I consume a lot of podcasts. I mostly tend to love narrative journalism, or deep dives into a particular topic. Occasionally a chatty show will strike my mood. I like podcasts that make me feel something, and teach me something. I use PocketCasts to listen.

Here’s a big ol’ list of podcasts I enjoy, with some honorable mentions of defunct shows I used to love. It’s not an exhaustive list, because I’ve listened to so many shows over the years!

Key

Broad scope

• 💖 The Modern Mann - possibly my favourite podcast of all time. Hosted by podcast stalwart Olly Mann, and described as a magazine format, each episode contains three main sections: an exploration of a particular current trend with Ollie Peart, a middle feature which is typically a heavy-hitting interview on a difficult or deeply fascinating topic, and a sex advice column with pun-enthusiast Alix Fox. The tone is perfect - empathetic, open-minded and self-aware. I’ve laughed and I’ve cried. Every episode is a treat.
• 💖 99% Invisible - hosted by Roman Mars (who has the best radio voice in the entire world), this show is ostensibly about design, but like so many other great shows, actually uses its angle to discuss humanity, culture and history.
• 💖 Search Engine - PJ Vogt (of former Reply All fame) answers questions posed by listeners. I enjoy PJ’s style, unusual perspectives and unique turns of phrase.
• 💖 Hyperfixed - Alex Goldman (of former Reply All fame) answers questions posed by listeners. (Funny that.) I love Alex’s earnestness.
• 💛 This American Life - I mean, it’s the classic narrative storytelling isn’t it? Hosted by absolute icon of radio Ira Glass, this show comprises gorgeously-told stories about humanity.
• 🤍 The Art of Manliness - Brett McKay from the Art of Manliness interviews people on self-improvement and philosophy.
• 💔 Reply All - I was genuinely so sad when Reply All died. In its glory days it was one of my favourite podcasts. Ostensibly about the internet, but really about people.

News & current affairs

• 💖 The Week Unwrapped - a round-up of “all the stories that passed under the radar this week, but with repercussions for all our lives”. Hosted by Olly Mann. A well-rounded look at various topics from different angles.
• 💖 Hard Fork - tech podcast from Kevin Roose of the New York Times and Casey Newton of Platformer. Not a techy podcast - it focuses on tech businesses and the impact of their products on culture, rather than the engineering detail.
• 💖 404 Media - the journalists behind the independent 404 Media talk about their coverage of particular topics.
• 💛 The Rest is Politics - Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell discuss politics.
• 💛 Langsam Gesprochene Nachrichten - the news in slowly-spoken German.

Specialised topics

• 💖 A Way With Words - Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett discuss words and language. This was one of the first podcasts I ever listened to, back in around 2012 - and I still listen to every episode!
• 💖 Articles of Interest - an absolutely gorgeous and fascinating podcast about clothing and fashion from 99% Invisible alumna Avery Trufelman.
• 💖 Ear Hustle - an exploration of life inside San Quentin State Prison. It’s not a topic I would necessarily have been drawn to, but Nigel and Earlonne’s exceptional storytelling ability is supremely interesting and heart-rending.
• 💖 Science Vs - Wendy Zuckerman deep dives into various topics, looking at scientific studies to get a better gauge on what’s what. A bit pizzazzy, but a great reminder to be sceptical.
• 💛 Meet My Autistic Brain - explorations and interviews about autism, from a late-diagnosed autistic woman.
• 💛 Seamwork Radio - Sarai and Haley discuss sewing through a very mindful and intentional lens.
• 🤍 Strong Songs - host Kirk Hamilton breaks down great songs and figures out how they work. He gets right down into the nerdiness of the music, discussing the time signatures, modes, and other things I don’t entirely understand, but love to hear about.
• 🤍 Love to Sew - Helen of Helen’s Closet Patterns and Caroline of Blackbird Fabrics discuss all things sewing in this long-running podcast. This is an honorable mention - I listened to this show for absolutely years at the start of my sewing journey, and learned a lot of my sewing skills from them.
• 💔 The Anthropocene Reviewed - precursor to his book of the same name, John Green reads his essays in which he rates various topics on a five-star scale. Might sound silly, but it’s John Green, so it’s beautiful, and it’s poignant, and dark and sad and beautiful, and it’s perfect. The book’s great too.

Just absolute chaos

(which I mean lovingly)

• 💖 Dear Hank and John - you probably already know Hank and John Green because they’re both internet famous for a million different reasons (vlogbrothers, Crash Course, Complexly, various philanthropic enterprises - and they’re both successful authors of course). I mainly came to know them through this podcast. The format and the topic of conversation sort of doesn’t matter, because really it’s two brothers who are deeply good people hanging out, and it’s just so nice to listen to that.
• 🤍 The Bugle - honourable mention because I haven’t listened in years, but I’m fairly sure this was the first podcast I listened to, and I used to listen religiously. Andy Zaltzman’s particular brand of chaotic nonsense is something to behold.