I am surprised some of the big ones haven’t been mentioned yet -

• Radiolab - Not really sure how to describe this podcast. It’s superb journalism at its core. They do both short and multi-episode long form about a variety of topics from science to history to current events. For example, how dinosaurs died when the asteroid hit earth, the story of a Guantanamo convict with the same name as the host, and how poorly computer databases are designed for names that are outside the norm.

• Planet Money - An excellent economics podcast where complex topics are distilled in fairly short episodes. They recently released a completely AI generated episode which was incredibly scary with how good it was.

• More Perfect - Everything the US Supreme Court

• Serial - One multi-episode series at a time about complicated criminal cases.

• What Roman Mars can Learn about Con Law - Started off during the Trump Presidency when tough questions about the US constitution are being asked given his penchant for pushing the legal boundaries and norms.

Mental Illness Happy Hour by Paul Gilmartin, if you like a podcast that talks honestly about the struggles of mental health.

Paul interviews a different person each week and discuss their journeys on dealing with their mental health. Paul is also been very open about his struggles. It helps that he is a comedian and has a subtle but dark humor that I enjoy.

I also really like the short surveys that he reads and people have filled out on his website because they make me feel connected that I’m not alone.

Throughline has been my favorite since it launched a few years ago. The hosts take a deep dive into the historical events leading up to topical events of the present weaving a thread through them, hence the name.

Some of the examples are the history of policing in the US and how capitalism became the dominant economic system.

I cannot recommend this podcast enough!

• History on Fire (Italian Prof talks about interesting events and people)
• The Deprogramm (An iraqi, a slav and a american rant about things)
• Duncan Trussell Family Hour (Classical “guy invites interesting people to talk to”)
• Blowback (Historic events regarding american imperialism)

My top podcasts lately:

• QAnon Anonymous: started out chronicling the QAnon freakshow but moved towards more general deep dives into modern and past conspiracy movements

• Minion Death Cult: laughing at right wing comment sections

• This Is Revolution: great leftist interview/discussion

• Joy Tactics: extremely funny stuff

• Uhh Yeah Dude: one of the longest running podcasts out (13 years) and still funny as hell

I dip into some other podcasts from time to time like Chapo Trap House, Comedy Bang Bang, and Vice’s CYBER.

I also listen to some paranormal/weird shows that I can recommend if anyone is interested.

Big fan of Darknet Diaries.

Behind the Bastards, a deep dive into the various shit people of history. Episode one is Saddam Hussein: Erotic Novelist.

There’s nearly 700 episodes, and I’ve yet to run tio a dud. Loads of great guests. My only gripe is that it’s a touch Amerocentric, but other than that I’d recommend it to basically anyone. Not kid friendly, in case that wasn’t obvious.

I dig My Brother, My Brother, and Me from time to time. It’s just three nerdy brothers dorking out together. They used to answer Yahoo questions but they moved to wiki how’s since Yahoo died. They good for a laugh but even I admit they can be a handful sometimes lol

The Nosleep Podcast (Horror).

Welcome To Nightvale (Comedy/Horror)

Alice Isn’t Dead (Horror/Mystery/Road trip?)

Conan O’Brian Needs A Friend (Comedy)

The Three Questions With Andy Richter (Interview/Comedy. Can occasionally get kinda heavy)

WTF With Marc Maron (Interviews)

Watch Out For Fireballs (Deep Dive Discussions On Video Games)

Abject Suffering (Comedy. The Same Two Guys From W. O. F. F., but they’re looking at bad/WEIRD Games)

GM Word Of The Week (history)

Obviously it depends on what you’re into but I love tech and gaming. I listen to the wan show, friends per second, trash taste and the waveform podcasts.

Hey Riddle Riddle, it’s an improv/comedy podcast disguised as a riddle podcast, very fun.