In the past, whenever someone wanted some recommendations for a few good podcasts, I would just point them to my podcast listening lineup. Well, as people recently were asking me for suggestions, I realized that that podcast list was severely dated, by two years.
So here’s my updated list of my favorite shows and why I like them so much. I consume all my podcasts through my iPod Touch.
Audio podcasts
- Adam Carolla Podcast – I’m amazed how consistently funny Adam Carolla is. When he conducts interviews, he does most of the talking, and astonishingly it’s not irritating. He’s hysterical. He also cranks out an amazing volume of content.
- CNET News.com daily tech news podcast: Great way to get caught up on the day’s tech news in just ten minutes.
- Harvard Business IdeaCast: Good short interviews on different business topics.
- KCRW’s The Business: This is probably my favorite podcast. Thirty minute weekly show about show business in Hollywood. Great interviews and insightful reporting.
- I Love Movies: Former comedy colleague Doug Benson hosts a show where he talks very little about movies, but plenty of funny with other comedians as his guests. At the end, they play a few movie games.
- The Moth: This is a story speaking series. Each story (15-20 minute) is incredibly entertaining, funny, and touching.
- NPR: Technology Podcast: Just some good tech reporting from NPR. They group together the best tech stories from the week in one podcast.
- NPR: Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!: I thought I was getting bored with the format, but it’s still a fun and silly game show.
- On the Media: Some of the best reporting on media and journalism outside of The Daily Show.
- PRI: The Sound of Young America: Jesse Thorn of Maximum Fun is a great and passionate interviewer. It’s a great source to stay in the know with new rising talent (and some old) across all artistic disciplines.
- PRI’s The World: Technology from BBC/PRI/WGBH: Very different style of technology podcast. Each show is focused on stories of people doing unusual things with technology. And it truly is “world” focused. You get amazing stories from all over the place, not just San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
- Real Time with Bill Maher: Yeah, it’s a great show and plays off great just in an audio podcast.
- Savage Love: Dan Savage is an incredibly entertaining host. Often makes the questions on Loveline seem tame.
- Slate’s Culture Gabfest: The smartest nerds you know now have a podcast. They talk about movies, books, music, and give recommendations.
- WNYC’s Radio Lab: Fascinating programs that delve into different areas of science. Can be enjoyed by anyone, not just scientists. Got turned onto this show from my friend Pete Alcorn at iTunes. Great audio production. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn about audio storytelling.
- WTF with Marc Maron: Friend and colleague from my stand-up days, I’ve reconnected with Marc Maron through his podcast. If you can get over the fact that he’s so unbelievably self-absorbed, he’s a great radio host, and given his legendary stature in stand-up, he gets great guests. I especially like it when comedians come on and play characters. Very funny. Great podcast also for comedy nerds that love comedians talking about their craft.
Video podcasts
- Flight of the Concords: Funny additional videos from the character Mel, plus replays of silly videos from the show.
- Fuel TV: BMX and Skate: OK, I wish I could do all the things they do, but I can’t. Although it’s good to know there are still men in their 30s and 40s still skateboarding.
- The Future at Work: This is a rather irregular podcast talking about new technology trends.
- Never Not Funny: Extremely funny show hosted by comedian Jimmy Pardo who I’ve known since my stand-up days in Chicago. Only podcast I pay for. Very interesting business model. Learn more by listening/reading my interview with the show’s producer and co-host Matt Belknap.
- Old Jews Telling Jokes: Probably the best idea I’ve ever heard for a podcast. They’re a little slow on getting new (old) jokes up this year, but they’ve got an amazing catalog of old jokes. You’ll recognize a good number of them, but plenty of them you won’t. My favorite is “Talking Dog.”
- Onion News Network: Consistently funny parody news segments.
- TEDTalks: If you don’t learn anything watching sessions at TED, you’re either not listening or you already know everything. In that case, please contact me, I’d love to meet you.
Here are the podcasts that I’ve removed
- BusinessWeek – Cover Stories
- The Official Lost Podcast
- WNYC’s Leonard Lopate Show
- Photoshop for Video
Here are the podcasts I’ll start listening to again as soon as they start making new episodes
- PJK Podcast
- Sparkletack
- Unintended Detours
- Play Value
- Comedy Insider
- Life as a Comic Videoblog
- Izzy Video (Free episodes)
If you’ve got some recommendations, I’d love to hear them, but I must admit that I’m so backlogged on the podcasts I currently have.
Creative Commons photo attribution fatcontroller and RaeA / CC BY-NC 2.0
