By now you should all know I am about that Podcast life. Lots of driving, lots of running, lots of cooking, lots of working. All great times to listen to podcasts. In just over a year and a half I have 10 more of my favorite podcasts. That is a total of 40 in that time. 8 Month ago I came out with 10 PODCASTS (X3) TO LISTEN TO IN 2018. 4 months before that, I released 10 More Podcasts You Should Listen to Today. And 6 months prior to that, in April of 2017, I wrote my first post called, "Top 10 Podcasts To Listen To Today".
Update: Check out the newest 20 at Let’s Talk Podcasts #6 and Singular Story #5
If you are up for it, let’s jump into the another 10 podcasts you should check out in 2018.
10. Limetown
"Ten years ago, over three hundred men, women and children disappeared from a small town in Tennessee, never to be heard from again. American Public Radio reporter Lia Haddock asks the question once more, "What happened to the people of Limetown?""
Limetown is a fun fictional podcast series that is only 6 episodes. It’s a pretty simple story line narrated by a woman reporter and the series ends with a bang. The narration reminds me of the 1996 Play Station video game Resident Evil. Rumor has it season two will be released on Halloween 2018.
9. Cults
"Mystery. Manipulation. Murder. Cults are associated with all of these. But what really goes on inside a cult? More specifically, what goes on inside the minds of people who join cults and leaders who start them? Every Tuesday, Greg and Vanessa explore the history and psychology behind the most notorious cults. Cults is part of the Parcast Network and is a Cutler Media production."
Cults is the sister podcast to my #1 podcast from my last pod blog, Serial Killers. Greg and Vanessa (the hosts) do a great job explaining what goes into cults, how they begin, and how they eventually fall apart and end. Definitely check it out if you enjoyed Serial Killers or are interested in cults. With over 50 episodes you may need to browse to find an episode of your cult of choice. I suggest starting with episodes 1-2 on The Manson Family and then 3-4 on Heaven’s Gate. One of my other favs is about The People’s Temple and Jim Jones, episodes 19 & 20.
"Imagine if your dad wrote a dirty book. Most people would try to ignore it - but not Jamie Morton. Instead, he decided to read it to the world in this groundbreaking comedy podcast. With the help of his best mates, James Cooper and Alice Levine, Jamie reads a chapter a week and discovers more about his father than he ever bargained for."
Cringey names and descriptions, awkward situations, sexual encounters, hilarious stuff. I’m not super into comedy podcasts currently, so this is my first comedy podcast I’ve posted about, but it seems like something my Dad could pull off. Definitely listen if you are in for a good laugh about the sexy story behind Belinda Blumenthal, who works sales in the pot and pans industry. The series gets a little repetitive, but I suggest listening to season one, or at least episode one. Funny stuff.
7. Kexp Presents Music That Matters
"Check out some of the KEXP DJ's favorite artists from the Pacific Northwest and around the world on-the-go. KEXP's Music That Matters weekly podcast brings you an exclusive mix of new music from the world's best independent artists."
Another music podcast for you since I love music, & love listening to new artists. This podcast from Seattle radio station KEXP includes hour long sessions, hosted by a DJ, of new and inspiring music of all genres. Some of my favorite episodes in this podcast are the running ones which give you upbeat music to listen to on your run and even some inspirational quotes. Many of the DJ sets include KEXP songs of the day. KEXP song of the day was featured in the 3rd installment of 10 podcasts I enjoy listening to. You won’t find many chart toppers in the sessions, but if you like independent music, check this out.
"The front page of the Internet--also known as Reddit--is making noise. Hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson dig into the site's vast and curious ecosystem of online communities, collaborating with Reddit's 330 million users and over 140 thousand communities to find all kinds of jaw-dropping narratives. A collaboration between WBUR and Reddit."
A plethora of stories from redditors! I am a frequent lurker of Reddit, and if you are not, check it out and you just might become one as well. This podcast cover a variety of topics, posts, and stories that all come from reddit. Good story telling with some insightful comments from the people of reddit. Stories can be interesting, funny, informing, scary or just straight up out there.
5. Lore
"Lore is an award-winning, critically-acclaimed podcast about true life scary stories. Lore exposes the darker side of history, exploring the creatures, people, and places of our wildest nightmares. Because sometimes the truth is more frightening than fiction."
Shoutout to Mary for letting me know about this podcast. Great non-fictional scary stories told every week, which is closing in on its 100th episode. I really enjoy the host of Lore and his story telling style. Episodes are around 35 minutes and will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you are in for some frightening truthful stories from around the world, give it a listen.
4. Criminal
"Criminal Is A Podcast About Crime. Stories of people who've done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle."
Criminal is produced through Radiotopia, the podcast group of many of my favorites including 99% Invisible, Ear Hustle, Song Exploder and more! Criminal is hosted by Phoebe Judge, and features weekly stories of crime. I really enjoy the soothing yet spooky voice of Phoebe as she tells new 25 minute stories each week. They just eclipsed episode 100, so you have a large sampling to choose from.
"Eat This, Not That! takes a fun and informative look at how Americans eat. Whether it’s what we eat for breakfast on the go, what we pack for lunch, or how we fill our shopping cart and stock our pantry, we make more than 300 food decisions every day. Together, we’ll learn how to make better choices and eat all of our favorite foods, guilt-free!"
The “healthy” side of me got me interested in this one. Short little stories about food and what healthy choices we can make. Give these 15-25 minute episodes a listen for quick tips on how to store food in your fridge, how to cook meat properly, the best snacks to eat, ways to save at the supermarket and more!
"Every part of your life -the words you speak, the ideas you share- can be traced to our history, but how well do you really know the stories that made America? We’ll take you to the events, the times and the people that shaped our nation. And we’ll show you how our history affected them, their families and affects you today."
This Wondery podcast (also created Sword and Scale & Dirty John from previous top 10 posts) hosted by Lindsay Graham features stories about specific historic events. It’s not your typical boring history lesson though. The host will set the scene, having you imagine you are there at that specific moment in history with great descriptors and detail. The show is up to 7 season so far, including the Cold War, Prohibition, the Age of Jackson, the Space Race, Natural Parks and the American Revolution. If you are interested in any of these topics, take a story telling deep dive into them through 6-8 part series where the narrator will put you in the shoes of a person living during that time.
1. Crimetown
"Welcome to Crimetown. Every season, we’ll investigate the culture of crime in a different American city. First up: Providence, Rhode Island, where organized crime and corruption infected every aspect of public life. This is a story of alliances and betrayals, of heists and stings, of crooked cops and honest mobsters—a story where it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Hosted by Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier."
Easily the best podcast I’ve listened to over the past months has been Crimetown. It is simply so good. The first season is all about the true story of the mob in Providence, Rhode Island, home of Deer Tick, in the 20th century. With real audio recordings and interviews, the show blends multiple story lines of crime and characters throughout the season, drawing similarities to the tv show, The Wire. With characters like politician Buddy Cianci, master thief Tony Fiore, and crime boss Raymond Patriarca, you’ll be locked in from episode one. Oh, be sure to binge listen through all 18 episodes of season one, so you can prepare for season two, which is set to begin October 2018. I know I can’t wait for it.
And there you have it. These newest 10 podcast brings our total up to 40 great podcasts that I listen on the daily. Remember, if you haven't already seen, check out my previous installments: Top 10 Podcasts To Listen To Today, 10 More Podcasts You Should Start Listening To (Fall 2017), and 10 Podcasts (x3) to Listen to in 2018.
As a reminder, you can get all podcasts for free by downloading on itunes, listening on the websites (links provided above), or be like me, and use the podcast app on your phone.
If you have any podcast suggestions that you think I would enjoy, or that you believe I am missing out on, let me know! Oh, and since I started this blog off by sharing when I listen to my podcasts, I want to hear when you all listen to your podcasts. Leave me a comment below.
Now, get on your best playing device, and start listening.
Josh