The Formosa Files. Two history geeks living in Taiwan, giving an incredible look into its past. I am not a history guy, but a friend recommended it. I started listening to give it a quick listen. I can’t put it down. Absolute hidden treasure.

Citations Needed, excellent reporting on the way corporate news distorts various issues to shape public opinion, occasionally with historical examples going back to the antebellum period.

Search Engine with PJ Vogt. They do deep dives into all kinds of things and it’s full of interesting information.

I like behind the bastards, you get to learn the history of both living and dead ass holes in some good detail.

If I want a laugh at pop culture, the weekly planet is my go to, it’s funny chat about comic books, movies and comic book movies. Plus the back catalogue is huge so chances are they’ve had an episode about something you’ve liked. I just really like laughing at things I’ve enjoyed.

• Trillbilly Worker’s Party - Kentucky-centric Marxist jokers hanging out. They always know how to put a smile on my face, even if they’re talking about break stuff.
• Fun City - Well produced live role playing of Shadowrun. The game is a few years in and I am just invested.
• ALAB - Lawyers talking shit. They’re funny and I like learning about interesting cases. One of the characters they covered actually sued them and settled for an interview on the show.
• Desert Oracle Radio - Joshua Tree-centric paranormal stuff. Good for an old X-Files head like me.

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Pretty much every single episode is the funniest goddamn thing I’ve ever heard

Their story of being at the last tenacious d show is gold standard shit

A few from my list:

• Darknet Diaries - Interviews with interesting people around hacking and cybersecurity. This includes a lot of the actual criminals themselves and you get to hear their motivations and how they did what they did. Really neat for understanding the minds of folks who do bad things.
• FiveThirtyEight Politics - This one is good for staying abreast of US politics, polling. While the political bias of the hosts is pretty obvious, this is less punditry and more about the numbers.
• Risky Business with Nate Silver Maria Konnikova - A neat podcast covering risk, poker and politics. Just a good listen for thinking about risk and probabilities in life.
• The Lawfare Podcast - Lawyers talking about the law, and how it shapes and is shaped by whats in the news. Great for getting a legalistic view of the world.

Ken and Robin talk about stuff. Two TTRPG game designer/writers discuss gaming, history, conspiracy theories, occultism, and horror.

Darknet Diaries - interesting (and mostly first hand) stories about hacking, the dark web, etc. it’s so crazy how some of these hackers (good and bad) get access to data/companies.

I’m a huge fan of Small Town Murder. 2 comedians discussing a different murder (even the odd serial killer) each week.

This Machine Kills. About tech but from a left shitposting view but from Academics

These are the ones I listen to the most, I think all of them are weekly

• secretly incredibly fascinating. They talk about a simple topic and expand it with a lot of trivia and the hosts are very funny.
• 99% invisible. Mostly about architecture that you don’t notice but they give a lot of cool info (lately some episodes get off topic or I simply don’t like them but they have a huge archive that I listen to)
• my brother my brother and me: just stupid comedy from 3 brothers giving "advice"
• dear Hank and John: the brothers Green giving science-ish advice

A few I’ve been big on lately:

The Meat and Dairy Network Podcast - A British humor surrealist comedy podcast about the inner workings of the meat and dairy industry.

The Horror Virgin - A guy who hates scary movies has two friends who make him watch them.

The League of Ultimate Questing - High production actual play DnD podcast. Very funny with some fun hooks.

The Dollop is a good palate cleanser to go with Behind the Bastards. Both history podcasts with a comedic bent, but Dollop is usually much more light-hearted/bizarre happenings.

Hey Riddle Riddle - best humor and host interaction of any podcast I’ve listened to.

5-4

Lefty lawyers discuss Supreme Court cases and why the Supreme Court sucks. They’ve got a backlog going back years, covering 100+ cases with analysis for every decision, concurrence, and dissent. Also special episodes discussing specific Justices and their jurisprudence, a miniseries about the Federalist Society, and lots of eps about law school in general.

So many good ones. I’ll just paste the (slightly edited) podcast descriptions of three I enjoy here:

Twenty Thousand Hertz A lovingly crafted podcast that reveals the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds.

Under the Influence Under the Influence gives listeners a rare backstage pass into the hallways, boardrooms and recording studios of the ad industry. Fascinating (and humorous) stories that connect the dots between pop culture, marketing and human nature.

Freakonomics Radio Uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior.

Cautionary Tales

We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups - and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They’ll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser.

Pendejo Time.

Jake and Thomas are two guys with fucked up pasts, just shooting the shit and improvising.

The only podcast that scratches the cumtown itch.

My favourite bit:

youtu.be/LZVAzirE60Y

Old Gods of Appalachia: It’s a beautifully made slice of southern folk horror with a slow burn story, the ambience of being lost in the woods, and a narration like a gospel preacher worshipping cthulhu.

The Wrong Station: Well written stand alone weird fiction with a narrator that sounds life the uncanny valley took human form to stare at your tits while trying to pick you up at a bar. The content ranges from period pieces to high sci-fi, app with a horror lean and the into is fantastic.

Knifepoint Horror: Soren Narnia, of all the names, seems to do these alone. There’s no into, no talk, just right into a story and right out, leaving you to think about what you just listened to. The production value is great, the content is amazing, and there’s a mystique to it that others lack.

Triforce (by Yogscast guys) is excellent.

It’s just three funny, kinda nerdy, guys chatting shit. No scripting. Minimal ads. Funny stuff.

MoneroTalk and MoneroTopia. The hosts and guests passionately care about human freedom through economic freedom and it’s a really wonderful podcast.

I’ve really been enjoying ranged touch network of podcasts lately. They have: Baldur’s Gate replay podcasts (mages and murder dad’s), Stephen King book podcasts (just King things), fallout games podcast (too much future), video game academia discussion (game studies study buddies), sci fi/fantasy book club (shelved by genre), A homestar runner retrospective podcast (homestuck made this world)

I think they’re leftists, they’re certainly anti-liberals at least, and they are funny and knowledgeable about things and I always learn more about anything when I listen to their content.

Decoder Ring.

Cumtown. Three comedians from New York just riffing about anything and everything. I think it’s hilarious (usually) and they have some imo legendary bits, like Ben Shapiro getting raped by Mr. Feeney when he was a kid, Judge Dredd vs. The Mask, them talking mad shit about Jordan Peterson and making fun of his voice; even just talking about a hypothetical of one of the guys buying $40,000 worth of chocolate to commit fraud with.

Valley Heat. It’s a fictional podcast about a freelance insurance adjuster who is trying to figure out who’s using his garbage can as a drug drop for ambian and kind of just messed up everyone’s lives trying to figure it out.

I’d like to recommend The Trojan Horse Affair. Its a limited series and a few years old now, but a a really interesting listen

Its about the scandal in the UK in 2013, where an anonymous letter ‘exposed’ an Islamist conspiracy in Birmingham schools to radicalise children.

The investigation in the podcast is helmed by two people; a rookie journalism grad who is muslim, and an experienced white journalist. The contrast in perspectives and emotion between them adds to it

And yeah it’ll probably make you angry, and for those not in the UK it might key you in a bit on the tensions that do and don’t exist with British Muslims, how they’re viewed and treated by lots of parties here (including the Government)

Depends on what you’re looking for. Most generally, I’d suggest Conan O’Bien Needs A Friend. Aside from the excessive ad breaks, the guests and discussions are almost always interesting.

No Such Thing as a Fish. Made by the fact researchers for the British show QI. Hosts are intelligent and have good rapport with eachother. Light hearted, interesting, something I can zone in and out of a bit.