Top Podcasts

I'm a huge podcast fan. We're so lucky to live in an age where the internet gives us access to such amazing work by talented people and podcasts are perhaps the best manifestation of this.

I've been listening to podcasts for years now and they're getting better and better. There are serious journalistic podcasts like Serial and brilliant interview podcasts like RHLSTP and WTF, sports podcasts like Football Weekly and historical podcasts like In Our Time.

Here is my list of favourite podcasts, the ones I always look forward to downloading and recommend that you do too.

1. Radiolab. A work of art. Radiolab takes amazing stories, often scientific, and then presents them in the most compelling way with clever sound effects and use of conversation to help you catch the most important details. It's truly wonderful.
2. This American Life. One of the podcast pioneers, it almost seems dated now but the same level of professionalism is still there and there's a huge back catalogue of every kind of story you can imagine.
3. The Smartest Man In The World Podcast. Greg Proops takes to the stage and records, in front of a live audience, an awesome monologue/ramble/sermon often about his life experiences, overlooked people who have just died and why we should appreciate them more, music and a lot about feminism. It's fascinating and funny and light-hearted and all told with Proops' crazy self-mocking but honest conviction.
   
   
   
4. Conversations. This Australian podcast gets some great guests, some famous, some not, all interesting, and has long interviews on a huge range of topics.
5. Rear Vision. Another Australian podcast but this time one that picks a topic, often one in the news at the time, and tells us about it with the help of expert contributors. Great for catching up on current affairs you know nothing about.
6. Adam Buxton. Once part of the amazing Adam and Joe team, now media-meddler Buxton seems to have found his place with a series of great interviews. To date there have only been around 30 episodes but they've all been excellent and are broken up with the host's madness and insane jingles.
   
   
7. Second captains. My favourite general football podcast. The three hosts ramble their way through the week's top football stories and always manage to offer an interesting alternative to the normal boring/summary/aren't we crazy football podcasts. Great musical interludes too.
8. Arsenal Vision. The best Arsenal podcast. If you're a football geek, this one is great. No bollocks analysis filled with empty explanations of motivation or desire here. These boys break it down and tell you why the team is working or why it's not. Stats and formations abound. 
9. Witness. Short but fascinating podcast from the BBC. 1st or second hand accounts of and variety of historical events. Often powerful stuff. 

Special mentions. The following can be a bit hit or miss but are definitely worth a listen.

1. Doug Stanhope. Often more like a live recording of a psychology case study; comedian Doug Stanhope records at his bar/home with his neighbours randomly popping in. The Bingo Is Missing episode, where his girlfriend disappears and Doug and his (ex) girlfriend's new love interest sit at the bar and talk about where she might be whilst waiting for the phone to ring, is incredible.
   
2. WTF. Maybe the most famous podcast of all. If the guest is interesting then it's worth a listen. Host Marc Maron's self-analysis/open style is also kind of fascinating. Skip the first 15mins though.
3. Stuff You Should Know. Two guys that sound like old hippies explain stuff. Some great episodes to dig out.
4. The Infinite Monkey Cage. Great science talk but too often ruined by people trying to be funny.

Some blasts from the pasts. Podcasts that are unfortunately no longer recorded. 

1. The Russell Brand Podcast. The mp3 version of the radio show. First on 6Music then later on Radio2. Love or hate his later incarnations, his radio show has some of the funniest moments I've ever heard in my life. This Cry For Help Playlist on YouTube is wonderful.
   
   
2. The Adam and Joe podcast. Again, a podcast version of their BBC radio show. Great regular items, listener contributions and a lot of two old friends talking nonsense.

Some BBC podcasts. 

1. Desert Island Discs. Good when the guest is good. 
2. David Baddiel. tries to understand. Quite new but some surprisingly interesting (and nicely short) episodes. 
3. In Our Time. Interesting historians try to explain interesting topics whilst getting badgered by an increasingly stressed/senile Melvyn Bragg. 
4. Shortcuts. Comedian Josie Long does a sort of dreamy British version of This American Life.