Podcast Playlists
So this is a not-quite-complete rundown of what's in my podcast app on the playlists I use regularly. I don't listen to all of it all the time - I do what I'm in the mood for, and that changes often. I can't recommend all of these, but I've left off the ones where I hit skip more often than not... and really I need to just delete those. However, rather than taking the time I don't have to cover full reviews, this is it, in all it's weird glory.
Podcast Playlist Topic Notes History Unplugged Savage Mythology Podcast Comedy and Myths True Crime Historian Old timey crimes Narrator has a dry but dramatic delivery Esoteric Oddities Weird stuff Stuff to Blow Your Mind A show about all the things that might not be quite true Espionage History of spying Ben Franklin's World
Can be a bit progressive and biased. Sadly, still worth picking through the episodes.
Hardcore History The king of history podcasts Long, but so worth it. Hardcore History Addendum Odd cuts from the long form Shorter, odder, I love this one. Spycast History of spying and interviews Stuff You Should Know Random facts and incidents 99% Invisible The design you never think about
Fascinating connections and underpinning of the world around us
Stuff You Missed in History Class Unknown, or at least obscure, history Science, Heck Yeah! TWIV This Week in Virology
a deep dive into viruses, pathogens, and as you might imagine, a treasure trove for all things Covid.
TWiM This Week in Microbiology Same, but for microbes. Freakonomics Radio Economics, through the lens of the real world. Double Loop Podcast Fingerprint analysis
Ok, this one might just be me, but I enjoy the narrators and the topic is seriously niche
TWiP This week in Parasitism Don't listen if you get grossed out. Puscast An infectious disease podcast
This came to an end this last year, but the archives are great.
Chemistry in it's Element All about a specific molecule or compound Undiscovered History of science Thoughtful Cynical Theories Philosophy, the modern world, and what it's coming to
I enjoy this, and it goes deep, very deep.
Lexicon Valley Linguistics, etymology, and the human tongue
Simply the best for language, but also music, and a gleeful narrator makes it so fun
Quillette Current Events
I'm not big in politics, but you can't avoid them, and this is at least thoughtful and not screamy.
The Other Half Women in history The Glenn Show Glenn Loury on economics, race, and everything I enjoy his enthusiasm and rants. Real Coffee with Scott Adams Current Events A soft voiced commentator. Conversations with Coleman An emerging philosopher
A young man, but the interviews are fascinating and his insights worth listening to.
The American Story History and current events Short, but punchy The Way I Heard It Mike Rowe's homage to Paul Harvey
You don't have to listen to the long form rambles, the short story at the beginning is awesome.
The Saad Truth Gad Saad, evolutionary biologist and satirist
Funny, science, sarcasm you have to wade through
Cautionary Tales Lessons drawn from history Jordan B Peterson Philosophy, interviews, and more
Simply brilliant to listen to. I don't always agree but he gets me thinking
The Rubin Report Current Events and politics
I can skip this on days I'm not feeling like I want real life, but his cheerfulness is enjoyable.
True Crime Casefile Graveyard Tales spooky stories, not necessarily crimes Love the heavy Texas accents Small Town Dicks May be partly fictional Best Case Worst Case Hosts are mostly law enforcement Cults Weird and wild religion Not criminals, all the time. All Crime, No Cattle Whimsical take on crimes
I enjoy their ending bit with the good news section
FBI Retired Case File Review Interviews with former FBI on their cases Our True Crime Podcast Two ladies discussing murder Criminal Broads Women and Crime
Not always profiling a criminal, but often a law-adjacent female
True Crime Guys murder and silliness
Covers more well-known crimes, fast forward through the singing.
Female Criminals another one focused on the 'weaker sex' Crimelines More dry and timeline based Southern Fried True Crime focused on crime in the US South
narrator gets quite dramatic and invested
They Walk Among Us Uk based crimes The Murder Squad another with LEO professionals Sword and Scale In-depth case and aftermath
This one uses a lot of existing audio, and dramatic re-creations
Morbid crimes and humor
The narrators' banter strongly reminds me of my daughters' conversations
Evidence Locker Global crimes Australian True Crime Ok, I listen for the accents Criminology a more professional discussion Trace Evidence crimes and the evidence True Crime Island Crimes down under Narrator is funny and passionate True Crime Finland Crime in Finland Narrator's voice is disturbingly childlike
And I'm always looking for recommendations!