When I’m not listening to an audio book, I’m listening to a podcast. My favorites vary from true crime to diseases to presidents. With so many good ones to choose from, here are my top picks. What are your favorites?
1. My Favorite Murder-Lifelong fans of true crime stories Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark tell each other their favorite tales of murder and hear hometown crime stories from friends and fans.
2. This Podcast Will Kill You-This podcast might not actually kill you, but it covers so many things that can. Each episode tackles a different disease, from its history, to its biology, and finally, how scared you need to be. Ecologists and epidemiologists Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke make infectious diseases acceptable fodder for dinner party conversation and provide the perfect cocktail recipe to match.
3. Criminal-Criminal is a podcast about crime. Not so much the “if it bleeds, it leads,” kind of crime. Something a little more complex. Stories of people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, and/or gotten caught somewhere in the middle.
4. This American Life-From WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, This American Life podcast gives listeners touching, humorous and often unexpected vignettes of life in America. Hosted by Ira Glass, these weekly short stories are an on demand version of the popular radio show and available in Stitcher’s Society & Culture station.
5. Ted Radio Hour-Exploring the biggest questions of our time with the help of the world’s greatest thinkers. Host Manoush Zomorodi inspires us to learn more about the world, our communities, and most importantly, ourselves.
6. Revisionist History-Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell’s journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past—an event, a person, an idea, even a song—and asks whether we got it right the first time. From Pushkin Industries. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance.
7. Sincerely Fortune-Comedians are known for their jokes, but in this podcast comedian/actress, Fortune Feimster, goes behind the curtain to discuss a new topic every week in a more real, sincere way.
8. Cold-Susan Powell vanished on Dec. 7, 2009. Her body has never been found. From the beginning, West Valley City, Utah police suspected Susan’s husband, Josh Powell, had murdered her. They never arrested him. COLD dives deep into the case files, uncovering never-before-heard details. You’ll learn why Susan stayed with an abusive husband, why Josh did what he did and how the justice system failed Susan and her two boys.
9. This is Your Book Club-A podcast devoted to talking about books. Along with a monthly book club, Jayme and Sarah will be talking about what’s on their shelves and which ones need to be on your TBR.
10. Better Than Happy-This podcast provides practical tools and real life application for taking your life from where ever it is to the next level. We cover relationships, health, emotions, mindset, confidence, entrepreneurship, money and all other parts of being a human. Did you know there is something better than happiness? It’s the life you were meant to live.
11. Atlanta Monster-From the producers of Up and Vanished, Tenderfoot TV and HowStuffWorks present, ‘Atlanta Monster.’ This true crime podcast tells the story of one of the city’s darkest secrets, The Atlanta Child Murders. Nearly 40 years after these horrific crimes, many questions still remain. Host Payne Lindsey aims to find truth and provide closure, reexamining the disappearance and murder of over 25 African American children and young adults.
12. Dirty John-Debra Newell is a successful interior designer. She meets John Meehan, a handsome man who seems to check all the boxes: attentive, available, just back from a year in Iraq with Doctors Without Borders. But her family doesn’t like John, and they get entangled in an increasingly complex web of love, deception, forgiveness, denial, and ultimately, survival. Reported and hosted by Christopher Goffard from the L.A. Times.
13. Do You Need A Ride?-Comedians Chris Fairbanks and Karen Kilgariff shuttle their guests to or from the airport, somewhat dangerously, in a mobile sound studio (a car).
14. Monster: DC Sniper-From iHeartRadio and TenderfootTV, ‘Monster: DC Sniper’ reinvestigates the beltway sniper attacks. This true crime podcast places the listener in Montgomery County, Maryland on October 2nd, 2002 when an unidentified sniper began randomly killing people going about their daily lives. Host Tony Harris traces what investigators, journalists and the public learned from the first shot until the last and ultimately asks the question: Does the person convicted of these crimes ever deserve a
15. Presidential-The Washington Post’s Presidential podcast explores how each former American president reached office, made decisions, handled crises and redefined the role of commander-in-chief. It was released leading up to up to Election Day 2016, starting with George Washington in week one and ending on week 44 with the president-elect. Hosted by Lillian Cunningham, the series features Pulitzer Prize-winning biographers like David McCullough and Washington Post journalists like Bob Woodward.
16. The Moth-The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Moth shows are renowned for the great range of human & social experiences they showcase. Each week, The Moth podcast features the best of the stories told live from Moth stages across the country and delivers them in this beautiful radio program, available on demand in Stitcher’s Society & Culture station.
