Over the years I have really come to enjoy a wide variety of podcasts. They provide such a wide variety of topics and personalities, and they are easily portable on your favorite device. Podcasts are now the primary thing I listen to in the car, on walks and runs, and even when I have mindless tasks to do at work.
The market for podcasts has increased so much that choosing one is largely a task of discovery and filtering out the junk. In that interest I am curious what podcasts others are listening to, while also listing out what I subscribe to in case anyone is interested.
The podcasts I listen to fall under several categories aligned with my interests.
Trivia:
Ask Me Another - Trivia game show that mainly revolves around wordplay. Hosted by the comedian Ophira Eisenberg and the musician Johnathan Coulton.
The Omnibus - Ken Jennings and John Roderick discuss random strange-but-true stories and esoterica.
Sports:
The Audible with Stew and Bruce - Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman talk about college football.'
The Lab - The FiveThirtyEight sports team talks about the NBA.
Kids:
Brains On! - I listen to this one with my kids. It is a surprisingly interesting show about science that aims to make it understandable and fun for kids, but they are usually entertaining and informative for me too.
Politics/news:
Can He Do That? - A podcast by the Washington Post discussing the powers and limitations of the presidency.
The Daily 202 - Another Washington Post podcast, this one is very short everyday, and talks about one news story and what it says about the larger political environment.
FiveThirtyEight Politics - The politics team from FiveThirtyEight talk about politics from a data science perspective. It is usually quite insightful, and an interesting statistical look at what is going on.
More Perfect - Discusses the Supreme Court from the lens of various big cases in the court's history that have an effect on modern jurisprudence
Up First - Short NPR podcast about the day's news, this takes the place of listening to the news on the radio in the morning.
Video Games/comics:
Downloadable Content - Podcast from Penny-Arcade, where the creators discuss and develop their idea for that days comic. It is usually a hilarious discussion of video games, and their lives.
Throwing the Gun - A podcast by a group of indie superhero fiction writers. Usually a long but interesting conversation about writing superhero fiction and the tropes involved.
Economics:
Freakonomics Radio - Podcast from the author of Freakonomics (Steven Dubner) talking about the "hidden side of everything", usually it discusses the unforeseen side effects of various policies.
The Indicator - A very short NPR podcast that takes an aspect of the news (usually about economics) and talks about some of the backstory, and the significance.
Funny
How To Do Everything - A now defunct podcast from the producers behind "Wait Wait...Don't tell me". Even though they aren't doing new episodes, I think this one is worth a listen, I found it to be the funniest podcast I have listened to.
Judge John Hodgman - John Hodgman and Jesse Thorne run a fake court that chooses sides on various topics. This is a lighthearted fun show.
Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me - An NPR news quiz show with a very funny panel of comedians.
IT Security
Paul's Security Weekly - A very long show that talks about IT security issues with an interview, security news, and general technology discussions
Application Security Weekly - This is a new show discussing how to secure applications.
Enterprise Security Weekly - Discussion of IT security with an emphasis on issues faced by large enterprises. I like the idea of this show, but I find that it is often just the panel making fun of advertising material.
General Interest:
Radiolab - NPR show that discusses various topics usually science from a sort of narrative form.
What's the Point - FiveThirtyEight show that talks about various topics from a data science point of view.
I'd love to hear more about what other people are listening to. Also feel free to ask me about any of the shows listed and I can tell you more about them.
