= Personal Favorite
= Content Warning (Violence, sex, etc.)
Radiolab – the podcast that got me into podcasts. Covers science, technology, and society with a unique and engaging style of audio.
Levar Burton Reads – Reading Rainbow for grown-ups :)
Invisibilia – stories revolving around the invisible forces that shape people and society.
More Perfect – a Radiolab spin-off that covers U.S. Supreme Court cases and American political history.
This American Life – a long-running hour-long radio show that covers a wide variety of topics, though it favors politics and social issues.
S-Town – the amazing yet complicated story of John B. McLemore.
Tanis – a bizarre, well-written fiction podcast about an undefinable force that has shaped history. As of season 4, it is starting to feel repetitive.
Rabbits – a fiction podcast about a girl searching for her missing friend. It makes many nods to 80’s arcade culture.
The Black Tapes – a horror fiction podcast in the vein of Tanis, currently unresolved.
Wolf 359 – a 61+ episode fiction series about a small crew aboard a distant space station. Plot twists and humorous situations abound.
Homecoming – a well-written thriller fiction podcast with a stellar voice cast, including Catherine Keener, Oscar Isaac, David Schwimmer, Amy Sedaris, and David Cross.
Limetown – a short fiction podcast about a mysterious abandoned town.
Life After – one of my personal favorites; and emotional fictional thriller centered around social media, artificial intelligence, and consciousness. (Skip "The Message." It's a different story and not as good.)
Stuff You Should Know – a fun podcast that offers a cursory overview of… pretty much everything.
Ridiculous History – an entertaining and educational spin-off of Stuff You Should Know.
Stuff to Blow Your Mind – Stuff You Should Know for H.P. Lovecraft fans.
The Purple Stuff Podcast – two guys who grew up in the ‘80s record nostalgia rants on scary movies, cartoons, action figures, wrestlemania, and breakfast cereal.
Serial – the episodic true crime podcast that everyone else has tried to mimic!
Up and Vanished – a true crime podcast about unsolved cases. I'm not too crazy about their theme (song?)
Truth and Justice – a true crime podcast looking into wrongful convictions.
Cover Up – the story of a major political scandal connected to Ted Kennedy that was overshadowed by the moon landing.
The Bright Sessions – my verdict is still out on this supernatural fiction podcast; it’s a bit slow and very repetitive. Others may enjoy it though, as it is anchored in character development.
Revolution Health Radio – a podcast on nutrition and health with a slight Paleo bias. Supports many claims with science.
Other – recommendations of single episodes from podcasts I’ve just started or wouldn’t recommend as a whole.