Best culture Podcasts

"'A podcast about the internet' that is actually an unfailingly original exploration of modern life and how to survive it." - The Guardian. Hosted by Alex Goldman and Emmanuel Dzotsi from Gimlet.

In "Hardcore History" journalist and broadcaster Dan Carlin takes his "Martian", unorthodox way of thinking and applies it to the past. Was Alexander the Great as bad a person as Adolf Hitler? What would Apaches with modern weapons be like? Will our modern civilization ever fall like civilizations from past eras? This isn't academic history (and Carlin isn't a historian) but the podcast's unique blend of high drama, masterful narration and Twilight Zone-style twists has entertained millions of listeners.

Criminal is the first of its kind. A show about people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. Hosted by Phoebe Judge. Named a Best Podcast of 2023 by the New York Times. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Radiolab is on a curiosity bender. We ask deep questions and use investigative journalism to get the answers. A given episode might whirl you through science, legal history, and into the home of someone halfway across the world. The show is known for innovative sound design, smashing information into music. It is hosted by Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser.

Ear Hustle is prison slang for eavesdropping, and that’s what listening to the show feels like: a raw, often funny, and always surprising peek into the reality of life inside prison. Hosts Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods co-created the show that launched in 2017 while Earlonne was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, where Nigel was a volunteer teaching photography. Since Earlonne’s release in 2018, the show has expanded to include stories from prisons across the state, including the California Institution for Women, as well as stories about getting out of prison and starting over, post-incarceration.From finding romance, to grappling with a life sentence, to trying to parent via 15-minute phone calls, Ear Hustle stories deliver what This American Life host Ira Glass calls a “"very real” and “untragic” take on prison life. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent listener-supported podcasts. Discover audio with vision at radiotopia.fm and learn more about Ear Hustle at earhustlesq.com.

Unseeable forces control human behavior and shape our ideas, beliefs, and assumptions. Invisibilia—Latin for invisible things—fuses narrative storytelling with science that will make you see your own life differently.

American history, one story at a time. Every episode tells the story of the people and the events that matter in America's past. As history is learned, it becomes apparent that hindsight isn't always 20/20; context matters. Listen to the American History podcast that never removes the story from History!

Welcome to The Dov Baron Show: “Come for the stories, stay for the learning.” This isn’t just another podcast—it’s your gateway to extraordinary insights. Each episode immerses you in the brilliant minds of global leaders, deep thinkers, and entertainers, offering wisdom that spans from astronauts exploring the cosmos to philosophers delving into the soul.Ever wondered what podcast top Fortune 500 executives tune into? It’s this one! Join us every Sunday and Wednesday as Dov Baron and his exceptional guests, including Neuroscientists, Political Leaders, and Industry Icons, you won't hear anywhere else. Also, superstars that include Keith Ferrazzi, Guy Kawasaki, John Perkins (The Economic Hitman), The Mother of Mindfulness: Dr. Ellen Langer, Jordan Harbinger, Tom Bilyeu, Major General Ambassador Scott Gration, Presidential Candidate Carly Fiorina, Commander Mark Divine, Jesse Itzler, Marisa Peer, John Oates, and Kevin Harrington share their raw and inspiring journeys from adversity to purpose. who share the raw truth of their heroic journeys from devastation to purpose.

British comedian Adam Buxton talks with interesting people. The rambly conversations are sometimes funny, sometimes more serious with funny bits. Adam makes the jingles and records the intros and outros for most episodes while walking with his dog friend Rosie in the East Anglian countryside where he lives with his wife and three children.Adam has appeared in films such as Hot Fuzz, Stardust and Son Of Rambow as well as a variety of TV shows in the UK. Since 2007 he has hosted BUG, a live show that combines music videos and comedy that became a TV series on Sky Atlantic in 2012. From time to time he also does live shows featuring just his own material. Along with lifelong friend Joe Cornish he also is one half of award winning TV, radio and podcast duo Adam and Joe.You can find many of the jingles Adam makes for the podcast as well as bonus material, merchandise and a selection of funny and brilliant YouTube videos on Adam's website: adam-buxton.co.ukYes, Adam is writing this himself using the third person. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Honest and real conversations about relationships, news, mental health, high school drama, conspiracy theories and so much more! New episodes every week!

"From the Middle" is a podcast hosted by Dillon Hubbell, Kendall Eilola, and Kory Hubbell. They're middle-class guys, living in the middle of America, in the middle chapters of their lives, with a point of view that's somewhere in the middle. FtM is a comedy, entertainment, and culture podcast with new episodes released every Wednesday! Want to reach out to the guys? E-mail [email protected], they’d love to hear from you!

From public radio producer, Nate DiMeo, comes The Memory Palace, a finalist for the 2016 Peabody Award and one of iTunes Best Podcast of 2015. Short, surprising stories of the past, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hysterical, often a little bit of both."The most potent pieces of audio being produced today." - The AvClubthememorypalace.usThe Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm

Learn something new every day!Everything Everywhere Daily is a daily podcast for Intellectually Curious People. Host Gary Arndt tells the stories of interesting people, places, and things from around the world and throughout history. Gary is an accomplished world traveler, travel photographer, and polymath. Topics covered include history, science, mathematics, anthropology, archeology, geography, and culture. Past history episodes have dealt with ancient Rome, Phoenicia, Persia, Greece, China, Egypt, and India. as well as historical leaders such as Julius Caesar, Emperor Augustus, Sparticus, and the Carthaginian general Hannibal.Geography episodes have covered Malta, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Monaco, Luxembourg, Vatican City, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, the Isle of Man, san marino, Namibia, the Golden Gate Bridge, Montenegro, and Greenland.Technology episodes have covered nanotechnology, aluminum, fingerprints, longitude, qwerty keyboards, morse code, the telegraph, radio, television, computer gaming, Episodes explaining the origin of holidays include Memorial Day, April Fool’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, May Day, Christmas, Ramadan, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Canada Day, the Fourth of July, Famous people in history covered in the podcast include Salvador Dali, Jim Thorpe, Ada Lovelace, Jessie Owens, Robert Oppenheimer, Picasso, Isaac Newton, Attila the Hun, Lady Jane Grey, Cleopatra, Sun Yat Sen, Houdini, Tokyo Rose, William Shakespeare, Queen Boudica, Empress Livia, Marie Antoinette, the Queen of Sheba, Ramanujan, and Zheng He. 

Dan Taberski and the team behind Missing Richard Simmons investigate COPS — the longest running reality show in TV history — and its cultural impact on policing in America. Our story begins with the footage of a routine arrest behind a church in Georgia...

Hosted by Blindboyboatclub, who is an artist and author. An eclectic podcast containing short fiction, interviews and comedy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I Saw It On Linden Street is dedicated to the joy of finding appreciation in cult films, exploitation oddities, beloved classics and all points in-between. Host Chris Roberts invites listeners to join in as they screen movie magic in the Linden Street Cinema Experience Theatre.Check us out: www.LSCEP.com

Reveal’s investigations will inspire, infuriate and inform you. Host Al Letson and an award-winning team of reporters deliver gripping stories about caregivers, advocates for the unhoused, immigrant families, warehouse workers and formerly incarcerated people, fighting to hold the powerful accountable. The New Yorker described Reveal as “a knockout … a pleasure to listen to, even as we seethe.” A winner of multiple Peabody, duPont, Emmy and Murrow awards, Reveal is produced by the nation’s first investigative journalism nonprofit, The Center for Investigative Reporting, and PRX. From unearthing exploitative working conditions to exposing the nation’s racial disparities, there’s always more to the story. Learn more at revealnews.org/learn.

Editors’ Notes: “I want to give everybody the tools to solve their own etiquette problems,” says Nick Leighton, cohost and producer of Were You Raised by Wolves?, a weekly podcast in which he and cohost Leah Bonnema look into the many sticky social situations we all face. “With each of the questions that we get, from the bonkers to the ordinary, I always try to take a step back and ask, ‘What are the bigger principles here?’ I'm always looking for topics that help us make a larger point.” In each episode, Leighton, a two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, and Bonnema, a comic/writer, share practical advice on how to navigate a wide range of situations, from the serious to the whimsical—whether they tackle interrupting excessive talkers, establishing healthy boundaries with coworkers, or the proper way to eat Cheetos.When they developed the show in 2019, Leighton and Bonnema had one goal in mind: to have empathy for other people. Their informal conversations tackle a mix of personal topics, viewer questions, and the occasional historical fact with warmth and positivity and humor. Leighton views this approach as an antidote to a lot of the negativity he sees in the online world, while Bonnema thinks the show’s premise is a natural fit for her situational style of comedy. “A lot of my comedy is about events where I’m like, ‘What just happened here?’ or where I embarrass myself,” she says. “And, ironically, all of these fall under the guise of etiquette, where you either feel aggrieved or you feel like you committed some sort of social crime. I just loved the topic.”Leighton and Bonnema credit the show’s ongoing success to their work ethic. They haven’t missed a single week since they launched the show, which recently hit a new milestone: 100 episodes. But what they value the most, above all else, is how they've built a community of listeners from all backgrounds. “We have conservative grandmothers in Tallahassee to nonbinary chefs in Seattle and everybody in between,” he says. “Because who among us has not experienced an etiquette crime? This is universal.”---Etiquette, manners, and beyond! Join Emmy® Award-winning journalist Nick Leighton and acclaimed comedian Leah Bonnema ("Late Show with Stephen Colbert"), the perfect odd couple, as they try to make the world a nicer, more polite place and offer up practical advice to help you smoothly glide through any situation. Please listen and follow! (We'd send you a hand-written thank you note if we could.)

Each Tuesday and Friday, Ezra Klein invites you into a conversation on something that matters. How do we address climate change if the political system fails to act? Has the logic of markets infiltrated too many aspects of our lives? What is the future of the Republican Party? What do psychedelics teach us about consciousness? What does sci-fi understand about our present that we miss? Can our food system be just to humans and animals alike?Listen to this podcast in New York Times Audio, our iOS app for news subscribers. Download now at nytimes.com/audioapp

At Meta Minds we help you master your mindset. We will guide you through managing your ego, finding your authentic voice, and discovering your values and passions. All of this while staying grounded and true to yourself.

Doomsday is a history lesson that easily disguises itself as a horror story. We explore the most traumatic, bizarre and most awe-inspiring but largely unheard-of disasters from throughout human history and around the world including the science behind every disturbing detail. If you like shipwrecks, decapitations, things that melt, living blankets of insects and people screaming for their lives, Doomsday is the podcast for you.

December 31, 1999: The world braced for disaster as midnight approached. Then, nothing happened. The hysteria over the Y2K computer bug quickly became an afterthought; a punch-line. In Surviving Y2K, Dan Taberski takes you back to the turn of the millennium to meet the people for whom it was anything but a joke — computer coders, conspiracy theorists, survivalists, and true believers — as they each face their own version of the apocalypse. And Dan tells a new millennium story of his own, about a decision that could destroy his life.Headlong is Dan Taberski’s documentary podcast that explores the lives of overlooked people, moments and events in our culture. Season 1 is Missing Richard Simmons. Season 3 is Running From COPS.

If you've ever yelled at someone on social media about, say, cancel culture or mask-wearing, then you are a soldier in the culture wars - those everyday battles for dominance between conflicting values. The acclaimed writer and podcaster Jon Ronson has seen friends swallowed up in them to the extent that it's ruined their lives. Jon was curious to learn how things fell apart, and so he went back into the history of the culture wars to find some of the origin stories: the pebbles thrown in the pond, creating the ripples that led us to where we are today. He had no idea what he'd find, but he's uncovered some extraordinary people and the strangest, yet most consequential tales.

Citations Needed is a podcast about the intersection of media, PR, and power, hosted by Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson.