Ask HN: What are some good podcasts? - aml183
======
iamnothere
Many of the others mentioned here, as well as...

\- Risk! ([http://risk-show.com](http://risk-show.com)) Kevin Allison's own
version of The Moth, with more risque, embarrassing, or otherwise scandalous
topics than you usually see on other storytelling podcasts. Generally
humorous, with some intense moments.

\- Death, Sex, & Money
([http://www.wnyc.org/shows/deathsexmoney](http://www.wnyc.org/shows/deathsexmoney))
Intense real-life stories that somehow relate to death, sex, and/or money.
Often interview-based, with occasional investigative elements.

\- Planet Money
([http://www.npr.org/sections/money/](http://www.npr.org/sections/money/))
Entertaining, creative stories on financial topics, in a broad sense.

\- Heavyweight
([https://gimletmedia.com/heavyweight/](https://gimletmedia.com/heavyweight/))
Jonathan Goldstein's new podcast, featuring stories from a "moment where
everything changed" in someone's life.

------
benjaminmikiten
Can't say enough good things about My Brother My Brother and Me. Three super
clever dudes who just riff on advice questions and posts from Yahoo Answers.

[http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/my-brother-my-brother-and-
me](http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/my-brother-my-brother-and-me)

They also do a D&D game with their dad that they call The Adventure Zone which
is some of the best entertainment I've found this year.

[http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/adventure-
zone](http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/adventure-zone)

~~~
joshschreuder
Kiss your dad square on the lips.

------
mcgrath_sh
What topics are you looking for? Tech related? General interest? Sports?
Science? Crime and mystery?

A couple I really enjoy:

\- Dan Carlin's Harcore History [1] An infrequent but well done pod on various
history stories. Well worth the listen.

\- The West Wing Weekly [2] One of the actors from The West Wing and another
guy watch and discuss and episode of the West Wing each week.

\- RadioLab [3] A good podcast with various topics of interest.

\- The Lowe Post [4] My favorite NBA podcast.

\- EconTalk [5] A longer podcast that touches on various subjects. The name is
quite deceptive.

[1] [http://www.dancarlin.com](http://www.dancarlin.com)

[2] [http://thewestwingweekly.com](http://thewestwingweekly.com)

[3] [http://www.radiolab.org](http://www.radiolab.org)

[4]
[http://m.espn.com/general/cast?id=10528553&src=desktop](http://m.espn.com/general/cast?id=10528553&src=desktop)

[5] [http://www.econtalk.org](http://www.econtalk.org)

~~~
walrus1066
+1 for Dan Carlin, his WW1 series is incredible, astounding, it should be
played at school.

~~~
pmoriarty
Yeah, _Hardcore History_ is amazing. _Wrath of the Khans_ is the HH series I
enjoyed the most. _Blueprint for Armageddon_ is also good, and _Death Throes
of the Republic_ had a fantastic beginning.

------
binarynate
Top Pick:

\- 99% Invisible
([http://99percentinvisible.org/](http://99percentinvisible.org/)) : Well-
produced radio stories about the designed world.

Software development:

\- Hanselminutes ([http://hanselminutes.com/](http://hanselminutes.com/)) :
"Fresh Air for Developers". A weekly discussion with web developer and
technologist Scott Hanselman (well-known blogger, podcaster, and Microsoft
employee).

Comedy:

\- Jordan, Jesse Go ([http://maximumfun.org/shows/jordan-jesse-
go](http://maximumfun.org/shows/jordan-jesse-go)) : A free-form discussion-
based podcast hosted by two funny dudes, Jordan Morris (@midnight) and Jesse
Thorn (Bullseye, Judge John Hodgeman), that is quickly becoming my favorite
podcast.

\- Spontaneanation ([http://www.earwolf.com/show/spontaneanation-with-paul-f-
tomp...](http://www.earwolf.com/show/spontaneanation-with-paul-f-tompkins/)) :
A free-form improv comedy podcast hosted by the great Paul F. Tompkins.

\- The Dead Author's Podcast
([http://thedeadauthorspodcast.libsyn.com/](http://thedeadauthorspodcast.libsyn.com/))
: A live show in which H.G. Wells (Paul F. Tompkins) brings another deceased
author (played by another comedian) to the present day for a discussion
loosely based on the author's work. (This show is now defunct, but there are
50 good episodes)

Notable mention:

\- Reply All ([https://gimletmedia.com/reply-
all/](https://gimletmedia.com/reply-all/)) : A well-produced, interesting, and
often funny show in which the hosts investigate stories about or originating
from the internet.

------
Dowwie
EconTalk is the one podcast I don't miss each week.

London School of Economics generously podcasts its events. It leads its peers
by doing so. This talk remains a favorite: [http://www.lse.ac.uk/website-
archive/newsAndMedia/videoAndAu...](http://www.lse.ac.uk/website-
archive/newsAndMedia/videoAndAudio/channels/publicLecturesAndEvents/player.aspx?id=3149)

The storytelling podcasts are a pleasure: Snap judgment, the moth, radiolab,
StoryCorps.

------
huac
For the leftists and/or generally disillusioned -
[https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house](https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-
house)

See: [http://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/what-
wi...](http://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/what-will-become-
of-the-dirtbag-left)

~~~
firloop
Chapo was one of my favorite things to have this year. Can recommend the
premium content as well.

A good primer is their first episode after November's election: Episode 58 -
We Live in The Zone Now [https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-
house/episode-58-we-live-i...](https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-
house/episode-58-we-live-in-the-zone-now-111216)

Another great starting point is their episode where they first take on the
writings of pundit Ross Douthat: Episode 3 - Freeway Ross Douthat Sailboat
Dope (3/27/16) by Chapo Trap House [https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-
house/episode-3-freeway-ro...](https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-
house/episode-3-freeway-ross-douthat-sailboat-dope)

~~~
huac
I think the Adam Curtis interview, though the obvious choice, is a really good
listen even if you don't think you fit the typical listener's mold:
[https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house/episode-65-no-
future...](https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house/episode-65-no-future-feat-
adam-curtis-121216)

The Ross Douthat episodes are great, and the "Chapo Traphouse Book Club" at
its finest. But nothing can top the Ralph Douthat Twitter account:
[https://twitter.com/ralphdouthat?lang=en](https://twitter.com/ralphdouthat?lang=en)

~~~
wycx
Thanks for pointing out the Curtis interview.

If you cannot handle the ~3 hour running time of Hypernormalisation, Curtis
was able to concisely summarise the message in the interview. I don't quite
know how to feel about that.

------
kashyapc
FWIW, I'd highly recommend 'Waking Up' podcast by Sam Harris. He has this rare
combination of eloquence and substance. The specific episodes I liked are with
the following guests:

David Deutsch[1][2]; Paul Bloom[3] -- he has two other episodes, too; Stuart
Russell[4]; David Chalmers[5]; William MacAskill[6]; and Douglas Murray[7].

[1] [https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/surviving-the-
cosmos](https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/surviving-the-cosmos)

[2] [https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/52-finding-our-way-in-
th...](https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/52-finding-our-way-in-the-cosmos)

[3] [https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/56-abusing-dolores-a-
con...](https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/56-abusing-dolores-a-conversation-
with-paul-bloom)

[4] [https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/the-dawn-of-
artificial-](https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/the-dawn-of-artificial-)
intelligence

[5] [https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/david-
chalmers](https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/david-chalmers)

[6] [https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/being-good-and-doing-
goo...](https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/being-good-and-doing-good-a-
conversation-with-william-macaskill)

[7] [https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/on-the-maintenance-of-
ci...](https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/on-the-maintenance-of-civilization)

------
htwillie
+1 for the No Agenda podcast, by John C. Dvorak and Adam C. Curry.

They watch the news (so you don't have to!) and each week they de-construct
the biggest stories from around the world, revealing the truths behind - and
the motivations for - the news that's given to consumers.

~~~
ldlework
This is by far the best podcast Ive personally enjoyed besides maybe Waking Up
with Sam Harris. The "old friends" chemistry the hosts have cannot be
understated. In the morning!

------
praveenperera
I like the Tim Ferris show:
[http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast/](http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast/)

He's a great interviewer and has very interesting guests.

~~~
zeroer
Though you're right that he's a decent interviewer and does have interesting
guests, I'm going to reluctantly give a vote against Tim Ferris. It's hard for
me to put my finger on exactly why I don't like him. It's like he's a modern-
day snake-oil salesman, but that doesn't fully capture what's off about him.
It's the name-dropping, the self-aggrandizement, the uncritical support for
every new thing that's sciency, seemingly just so he can lay claim to being on
the forefront. He just rubs me the wrong way.

~~~
_ttg
Yeah, I am put off by his zen shtick too.It bothered me a little since so many
people I respect swear by the altar of Tim Ferris™ and I decided to listen to
some of his stuff but I couldn't shake off the snake-oil salesman vibe.He just
comes off as a relentless self-promoting machine whose main 'product' is
himself and his public image.I assume it's a taste thing and his stuff might
be useful for other people.

------
DanBC
BBC Radio Four has a bunch.

 _In Our Time_ :
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl)

The A-Z of topics shows how broad it is:
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/topics](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/topics)

 _Inside the Ethics Committee_ :
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007xbtd](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007xbtd)

> Joan Bakewell is joined by a panel of experts to wrestle with the ethics
> arising from a real-life medical case.

 _In Business_ :
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006s609](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006s609)

> Series of programmes about the whole world of work, public and private, from
> vast corporations to modest volunteers

 _The Bottom Line_ :
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006sz6t](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006sz6t)

They take a bunch of people in business and have a group chat about stuff.

 _The Reunion_ :
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007x9vc](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007x9vc)

> Series which reunites a group of people intimately involved in a moment of
> modern history

------
backpap
Anything Merlin Mann works for me :

\- back to work [http://5by5.tv/b2w](http://5by5.tv/b2w)

\- roderick on the line
[http://www.merlinmann.com/roderick/](http://www.merlinmann.com/roderick/)

\- you look nice today
[http://youlooknicetoday.com/](http://youlooknicetoday.com/)

------
technimad
[http://noagendashow.com](http://noagendashow.com) award winning media
assassination. Best news podcast. No advertising, fully listener supported
(value for value).

~~~
ldlework
ITM

------
sgentle
I think Cortex ([https://www.relay.fm/cortex](https://www.relay.fm/cortex)) is
particularly interesting. The hosts are Myke Hurley (makes podcasts) and CGP
Grey (makes YouTube videos) and they mostly talk about the unique challenges
of and strategies for creating stuff as a living, and also Apple products.

------
rozim
I enjoy Sam Harris,
[https://www.samharris.org/podcast](https://www.samharris.org/podcast) .

------
skadamou
If you're into this sort of thing "The History of Rome" by Mike Duncan is an
excellent podcast. It's a complete chronological history of Rome that Mike
Duncan does a great job of keeping interesting.

------
trafficlight
We Had A Good Life

Two brothers who tell us stories about current events, interesting history and
their lives.

[http://www.wehadagoodlife.com/](http://www.wehadagoodlife.com/)

A good intro to their style is The Thickening video:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdvpMYwlKn8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdvpMYwlKn8)

------
yitchelle
Recently, I caught Beautiful Anonymous. Comedian Chris Gethard talks to
anonymous phone callers for 1 hour. Some interesting stuff pops up on the
lives for Americans.

[http://www.earwolf.com/show/beautiful-
anonymous/](http://www.earwolf.com/show/beautiful-anonymous/)

------
Rotten194
I always recommend The History of Rome and the Revolutions podcasts by Mike
Duncan. Really incredibly interesting history podcasts.

I also have been really enjoying the History of English podcast as a neat
hybrid linguistics / history podcast hybrid.

------
noselasd
[http://planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-
radio/](http://planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/)

[http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/](http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/)

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p002w557/episodes/downloads](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p002w557/episodes/downloads)

[http://embedded.fm/](http://embedded.fm/)

------
wycx
The Amp Hour - Chris Gammel and David Jones from the eevblog talk to
interesting guests about electronics

Reconcilable Differences - As it says on the tin: John Siracusa and Merlin
Mann try to figure out exactly how they got this way.

Omega Tau - Interviews with people who know things about science and
engineering, lots of interesting aviation related content, but also the only
podcast I know of where there are interviews with people who make or work with
instruments like mass spectrometers, electron microscopes, lasers,
synchrotrons, XFELs.

------
Raed667
I enjoy "Programming Throw-down"
[http://www.programmingthrowdown.com/](http://www.programmingthrowdown.com/)

------
powvans
Exponent: fantastic analysis and discussion of tech, society, trends,
strategy. One of my favorites.

[http://exponent.fm](http://exponent.fm)

------
somecallitblues
BBC Documentaries, Intelegence Squared, Big Ideas by ABC's RN, Freakonomics,
Selected Shorts, Guardian Live, The history hour, From Our Own Correspondant

------
pbae
Conversations with Tyler (Cowen)

------
drewrv
On The Media: [http://www.wnyc.org/shows/otm](http://www.wnyc.org/shows/otm)

------
chillaxtian
uhh yeah dude. the only comedy podcast worth listening to.

[http://uhhyeahdude.com](http://uhhyeahdude.com)

------
billpaetzke
Accidental Tech Podcast

[http://atp.fm](http://atp.fm)

Casual discussion about tech (especially Apple)

------
jeffmcmahan
Radiotopia would be the place to begin. Just give each show a try, and you've
sampled the best available.

------
Ftuuky
* The Data Skeptic: a data scientist and his wife (that has no knowledge of statistics) discuss data science and skepticism;

* Dan Carlin´s "Common Sense" is pretty good if you're jonesing from "Hardcore History";

* Freakonomics is pretty decent too.

------
santoshmaharshi
Health & In General on YouTube Jay Rogen Time Ferris Bulletproof Radio Self
Hack Radio

------
nkzednan
\- Invisibilia

\- 99% Invisible

\- RadioLab

\- StartUp

Others: This American Life, Hidden Brain, The Weeds

------
minusf
the infinite monkey cage by Brian Cox and the other guy

no such thing as a fish by the qi elves

in our time

------
pacomerh
James Altucher Show (interviews, founders)
[http://www.jamesaltucher.com/category/the-james-altucher-
sho...](http://www.jamesaltucher.com/category/the-james-altucher-show/)

Software Engineering Daily (technical software topics)
[https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/category/podcast/](https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/category/podcast/)

Soft Skills Engineering [https://softskills.audio/](https://softskills.audio/)

NPR: How I Built This (innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists)
[http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-
this](http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this)

Developer Tea [https://developertea.com/](https://developertea.com/)

Cognicast (Clojure Ecosystem)
[http://blog.cognitect.com/cognicast/](http://blog.cognitect.com/cognicast/)

Descriptive (Programmer Origin Stories)
[http://descriptive.audio/](http://descriptive.audio/)

Reactive Podcast (thoughts on modern software engineering)
[http://reactive.audio/](http://reactive.audio/)

Turing Incomplete (Podcast about
programming)[http://turing.cool/](http://turing.cool/)

Accidental Tech Podcast (tech talk, heavy on apple stuff)
[http://atp.fm/](http://atp.fm/)

The Web Platform (all things web)
[http://thewebplatform.libsyn.com/](http://thewebplatform.libsyn.com/)

Freelancers Show
[https://devchat.tv/freelancers](https://devchat.tv/freelancers)

5 minutes of Javascript
[http://fivejs.codeschool.com/](http://fivejs.codeschool.com/)

Entreprogrammers (Programmers entrepreneurs)
[http://entreprogrammers.com/](http://entreprogrammers.com/)

The Gently Mad [http://avclark.com/tgm/](http://avclark.com/tgm/)

Hansel Minutes (Life, Business and entrepreneurs)
[http://www.hanselminutes.com/](http://www.hanselminutes.com/)

Lets make mistakes (Web and Designers)
[http://www.muleradio.net/mistakes/](http://www.muleradio.net/mistakes/)

Node Up (Node.js) [http://nodeup.com/](http://nodeup.com/)

Javascript Jabber [http://javascriptjabber.com/](http://javascriptjabber.com/)

ShopTalkShow (web development, mostly front-end)
[http://shoptalkshow.com/](http://shoptalkshow.com/)

Techzing (General Tech, Founders, Dev)
[http://techzinglive.com](http://techzinglive.com)

------
internaut
I love audio drama, these are the good ones.

Sayer | If AGI ran your space station/life.
[http://geeklyinc.com/category/sayer/](http://geeklyinc.com/category/sayer/)

EOS-10 | Space Sci-fi comedy, great acting.
[http://www.eos10.com/](http://www.eos10.com/)

Wolf 359 | Space Sci-fi comedy with well executed high drama.
[http://www.wolf359.fm/](http://www.wolf359.fm/)

Limetown | unusual conspiracy thriller.
[http://www.limetownstories.com](http://www.limetownstories.com)

Alba Salix | Fantasy comedy.
[http://www.albasalix.com/](http://www.albasalix.com/)

Wooden Overcoats | Competitive undertaking.
[http://www.woodenovercoats.com/](http://www.woodenovercoats.com/)

Tanis | Conspiracy mystery thriller.
[http://www.tanispodcast.com/](http://www.tanispodcast.com/)

The Black Tapes | Creepy ghost stories.
[http://theblacktapespodcast.com](http://theblacktapespodcast.com)

Especially Noteworthy:

Our Fair City | my favorite, a work of genius, the highest production values,
actually better than the BBC.

We're Alive | entertaining zombie drama horror, terrific use of sound.
[http://www.werealive.com/](http://www.werealive.com/)

Genre Specific (usually short stories):

Escape Pod | science fiction. [http://escapepod.org/](http://escapepod.org/)
Pod Castle | fantasy. [http://podcastle.org/](http://podcastle.org/) Pseudo
Pod | horror. [http://pseudopod.org/](http://pseudopod.org/)

I find the best new material from Radio Drama Revival

[http://www.radiodramarevival.com/](http://www.radiodramarevival.com/)

These are also good leads:

The Audio Drama Directory |
[http://theaudiodramadirectory.com/sciencefiction/](http://theaudiodramadirectory.com/sciencefiction/)

The Parsec Awards |
[http://www.parsecawards.com/](http://www.parsecawards.com/)

Non-fiction, most of the usual suspects.

ABC's Future Tense 99% Invisible Hardcore History Joe Rogan (guest specific)
Radiolab Robots Podcast NPR's Planet Money Green Building Advisor The Building
Performance podcast The Tiny Life podcast (on Tiny Homes)

I also listen to Lovecraft when I want to get to sleep (/s).

Lovecratian horror is not what most people think of when they think of horror.
It is more existential.

Sebastian Orr does a great narration:

[http://www.ourfaircity.com/2011/12/the-rats-in-the-walls-
pt-...](http://www.ourfaircity.com/2011/12/the-rats-in-the-walls-pt-..).
[http://www.ourfaircity.com/2012/01/part-
two/](http://www.ourfaircity.com/2012/01/part-two/)

Inspired by Lovecraft, A Colder War by Charlie Stross is also a favorite.

~~~
framebit
Tanis completely changed my opinion about audio drama! Got the recommendation
through Reply All and I'm now on my third listen-through. It's insanely
compelling and I can't get it out of my head. Gonna look into some of your
recommendations here, thanks!

