Available wherever you get your podcasts, these are the ones that have been keeping me company recently:
Bear Brook
Three bodies are found in a plastic barrel near a state park in rural New Hampshire. How and why did they get there? The full podcast is ready for download.
The Dream
Wow – listen for entertainment and to learn about the veiled world of multilevel marketing. Think Herbalife, Amway, Mary Kay and more.
This podcast just wrapped their first season, and the whole thing is available for download. I am very much looking forward to seeing what they cover in season 2.
Believed
This important piece of journalism covers how a doctor got away with molesting children for over 20 years. It’s very well crafted, disturbing, yet an important story of triumph and standing up to abuse. This is a must listen.
The Outside Podcast
Outside Magazine puts out one of the best outdoorsy podcasts out there. I recommend starting with their multipart series published this summer on forest fires, or finding any episode labeled: “The Science of Survival”
My brother introduced me to this podcast, and I can’t stop listening.
Dirtbag Diaries
This podcast is another outdoorsy one, featuring short nonfiction accounts of being in the wilderness. Their Tales of Terror is an annual creepy podcast, that I recommend giving a listen.
Reply All
From Gimlet Media, this is an accessible tech podcast that geeks out on the “why” behind the modern tech scenarios we find ourselves in. Think Radiolab, with an emphasis on social media, email, and computers.
Start with episode: “What Kind of Idiot Gets Phished”
Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan continues to land a diverse array of guests who he interviews in a long form conversational fashion. He has a tendency to go deep with people, with typical podcast lengths being 2-4 hours.
A couple months ago he had on Elon Musk as a guest. This last month he interviewed psychologist William Von Hippel on why humans are the way we are. Both conversations were fascinating and an epic chance to explore ideas beyond just sound bites.
Protip – Joe’s ads are only at the beginning and end of each podcast, but about 5-10 minutes long. Skip past if you don’t want to listen to them.
Honorable Mentions
Outside In – a podcast on nature, the environment and how humans interact with them.
Waking Up – neuroscientist Sam Harris’s podcast on science, values, politics, philosophy and more. He has a tendency to go deep so be ready.
The Survival Podcast – “How to live a better life for when times get tough or even if they don’t.”
Intelligence Squared US – an Oxford style debate show, recorded live, on some of the most important issues of our time. Their panels of debaters include renowned experts and thinkers on myriad topics.
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These podcasts are all binge worthy and most have a ton of episodes you can download.
What podcasts are you listening to right now? Please post your favorites in the comments.
Thanks for this list! I like Safe Space Radio by a psychiatrist in Portland, Maine (I think). She has the idea that a lot of difficult topics would be less difficult if people would open up about them. Good talks with interesting guests.
Thanks, Corlies. I’m downloading a couple episodes now.