History

The Age of Napoleon Podcast — Monumental work on Napoleon’s life, his ascent to the throne, the Napoleonic wars, and his incredible influence on world history.

History That Doesn’t Suck — A somewhat jingoistic retelling of American history. It does the “awesome to awesome” thing with a generous helping of American exceptionalism, which grates. I’m an ancient-history guy, so I find American history narrow and a little boring — but it’s well told and diverting enough.

Film & Movies

Alienating the Audience — Andrew Heaton’s sci-fi podcast. Sporadic, but worth a listen.

The Film Bros — Two women who really get into the behind-the-scenes of film.

Film Sack — Scott Johnson and crew from Frogpants talk about movies.

The Rewatchables — Snide sports bros talk about movies. The more I listen, the less I like this one. It’s just that condescending, shitty “bro” culture.

How Did This Get Made? — Three people from inside the industry.

WHAT WENT WRONG — Truly behind-the-scenes look at film failures.

Politics & Government

Congressional Dish — Jen Briney scolds Congress for being shitty.

Politics Politics Politics — Justin Robert Young scolds every politician for not being shitty enough.

The Reason Roundtable — Reason’s eggheads almost agree on what a libertarian is for sixty minutes at a stretch. Oddly good pop-culture recommendations at the end, though.

The Political Orphanage — Andrew Heaton’s evergreen deep dives on politics and culture. I always come away having learned something.

We’re Not Wrong — Jen, Justin, and Andrew hold a civil, “Crossfire”-style debate every Wednesday. It’s terrific.

Tech

Daily Tech Headlines — Topical and terse tech headlines.

Last Week in AWS — A hilarious roundup of AWS shenanigans.

Audio Drama & Fiction

Decoder Ring Theatre — Sadly dead now, but I raised my kids on Red Panda and Black Jack Justice.

Welcome to Night Vale — Still trying this one out. Highly experimental. Good song in the middle, usually.

Those Were The Days — A roundtable discussing an old TV episode.

Comedy & Culture

It’s A Thing — “Buzz Out Loud” reimagined, with Tom and Molly.

The MONDAY Show — A genuinely great show with Scott Johnson and his daughter Carter.

More Better with Stephanie & Melissa — The only “celebrity” podcast I can stand. Two of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine ladies, and Stephanie is just incredible.

That One Show With Bryan Combs — My cousin’s podcast.

Pretend Problems — Two engaged comedians talk about their lives and take email questions.

Pop Culture & Interview

Pop Culture Happy Hour — NPR’s granddaddy of the pop-culture roundtable.

Fresh Air — WHYY’s terrific interview program with Terry Gross.

Arts & Comics

Diary of a Cartoonist — Scott Johnson talking into a microphone.

Automotive

TFL Car Chat — The Fast Lane crew talking cars and the industry overall.

TFL Talkin’ Trucks — Andre leading the way on trucks, usually with Case from TFL.