Sam's Podcast Recommendations

Sam Craven

Last updated 2026-08-10
[Changelog]

† Indcates that while a podcast is mostly around current events, there’s a lot of good stuff in the backlog worth listening to.
‡ Indicates that most of a show’s backlog is worth listening to.
(Lacking these does not necesarily indicate that you shouldn’t go delving. These are just the shows I think it’s especially true for.)

General Interest

  • 99% Invisible‡ - Design is all around us and we don’t notice most of it. It is, as the title implies, mostly invisible. Each episode delves into the design of something encountered in everyday life.
  • Articles of Interest‡ - Begining as a miniseries on 99% Invisible and then going off on its own, Avery Trufelman explores the history of fashion and how it has affected us.
  • Radiolab‡ - Primarily focusing on philosophical and scientific topics, this show tries to take complex topics and express them in simple terms without taking itself too seriously. Radiolab has won two Peabody Awards and earned one of its creators a MacArthur grant.
  • This American Life‡ - Multiple “acts” telling different stories all with the same theme. Warning: This one can get pretty heavy and may result in ugly tears.

Current Events

  • Freakonomics Radio† - From the writers of Freakonomics, discussion of socioeconomics in easy to understand terms. Many (but not all) topics are news related. Similar to Planet Money but generally dives a bit deeper.
  • The Indicator from Planet Money - From the makers of Planet Money A short daily podcast that takes a single number of term from the news and places it in the context of the economy.
  • Planet Money† - Each week, a different facet of the economy explained in easy to understand terms. Most (but not all) topics are news related.

Sports

  • 30 For 30 Podcasts‡ - Audo documentaries from the makers of the award-winning film series 30 for 30.
  • Pablo Torre Finds Out† - Pablo Torre does deep dives, often involving going through lots of legal documents, into various topics, mostly sports-related. His coverage of the LA Clippers’ alleged schemes to bypass the NBA salary cap earned him a Pulitzer and as of this writing, that story is still unfolding.
  • The Shutdown Fullcast - A very funny cast of hosts disuss college football and really whatever else they feel like.

Technology

  • Darknet Diaries‡ - Stories about and from the people and events that lurk in the darkest corners of the internet.
  • Screaming in the Cloud - Corey Quinn talks with expert of various aspects of cloud computing. Usually not overly technical and more about how people think about things.

Comedy

  • No Such Thing As A Fish‡ - The researchers from BBC Two’s QI present their favorite facts that they’ve discovered this week.
  • Off Menu‡ - British comerians Ed Gamble and James Acaster invite guests on to describe, course by couse, their dream meal. A fun twist on the usual celebrity press junket style interview.

History

  • Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History‡ - Historical deep dives - prepare to spend hours on a single event, excellently prepared to keep you listening to whole time. Listen while you can - old episodes are taken off the feed and placed for sale on his website.

Podcasts that completed their run

These are podcasts that are over but are still worth listening to as-is. Some of these tell a complete story then end.

  • The Antropocene Reviewed - Author John Green reviews facets of the human-centered world, from Diet Dr Pepper to Tuburculosis, on a five-star scale. Some of these essays also appear in his book of the same name.
  • Dolly Parton’s America - Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad explores Dolly Parton’s career and legacy. The story kicks off with Abumrad discovering that he has an in - his dad is befriended Dolly after treating her after a car accident!
  • The Dropout - The story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. The world’s youngest self-made female billionaire, once heralded as the next Steve Jobs, lost it all and is now facing criminal charges.
  • Missing Richard Simmons - After decades in public life, Richard Simmons abrupty retires and cuts contacts with friends. A former friend investigates what’s happening.
  • WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork - Self explanitory title
  • SYFY25: Origin Stories - For the 25th anniversarry of SyFy (formerly SciFi Network), interviews with the involved in the creation of some of the greatest works of Science Fiction.

Changelog

2026-08-10

  • Blogged about this update here
  • Formatting changes
  • Ordering changes: Changed each section to be ordered alphabetically. I’m pretty sure they were already organized that way despite what the top of the page claimed.
  • Moved The Antropocene Reviewed to Completed section
  • Added Articles of Interest
  • Added Dolly Parton’s America
  • Added Off Menu
  • Added Pablo Torre Finds Out
  • Added † and ‡ designations for podcasts with good backlogs

2025-10-15

2020-03-07

2019-08-10

2018-07-27

  • Additional descriptions added
  • Categorized some uncategorized things
  • Sorting added.

2018-05-10

  • Initial post

Feature image by Casey Fiesler, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons