Ezra Klein show - it’s actually a podcast about US politics which I don’t really care about, but they have often very interesting guests and Ezra is a very good interviewer / generally intelligent person.
Lex Fridman - originally about AI, nowadays various intellectual topics with high profile guests. I actually don’t really like Lex himself, but fortunately he doesn’t speak often.
A bunch of podcasts on Ukraine/Russia - War on the Rocks, The Russia contingency (paid), In Moscow’s shadows (Kremlinology). Geopolitics Decanted.
I actually find Ezra and Lex unbearable for different reasons.
Lex is just really not good at interviewing and given his stances, I can’t really trust that the “experts” he interviews are respected/knowledgeable in their fields. Also, I got the feeling that he is kind of an idiot.
Ezra is way too much up his own ass in high minded philosophical debates, that don’t really mean anything. It sounds smart, but if you actually listen, you realize that he just spent 5min saying almost nothing.
If you’re interested in Russia, I’ve been listening to Sad Oligarchs, which is about the fact that a lot of Oligarchs are “killing themselves” when there’s no explanation for it. It’s been really interesting so far.
I recently Discovered the Blowback podcast and it kind of reminds me of Behind the Bastards podcast in subject matter. Revealing more of the happenings behind some of the US (and “western”) actions in various situations that most Americans probably consider cut and dry examples of “we’re the good guys” when it’s more complicated.
Like I didn’t know we, and many western countries, sold chemical weapons to the Iraqis throughout the 80s for them to use on Iran, and then used them as an example of how evil Saddam Hussein is when he invaded Kuwait (something something the us ambassador said we didn’t care about beforehand) and we needed to justify a war. West Germany sold chemical weapons to Iraq and protective gear to the Iranians.
It’s not so much US bad, but illuminating that the government does shitty things and supports shitty people and we should probably make that stop, or at least own it honestly.
On The Media - a podcast analyzing the media, giving historical and scientific context to news coverage. In the process, it turns out to be the best in depth news shows. Academics and journalists love this show but it doesn’t seem to be as big of a hit with the greater public. I recommend this show very highly.
Also listen to a bunch of nerdy academic podcasts like The Dissenter and New Books in Science, Psychology, Philosophy, etc in the New Books networks.
She basically interviews scientists about their job and asks all the dumb questions you wish you could ask. She has a huge number of episodes on everything from black holes and dark matter to squirrels to Emojis. And it’s all from the perspective of “the study of”.
One of my favorite episodes is “Ferro-equinology”. The study of iron horses. Trains. I knew trains were cool, but had no idea how cool they really were until that episode.
Her energy is addictive too. Great personality. If you are a part of her patron (which I am) you’ll get a heads up before her interviews and she give an opportunity for you to post questions that she’ll ask the Ologist.
Armchair Expert - interviews with not just actors, musicians, and directors, but also professors, philosophers, authors, etc. The host is very open about his childhood trauma and recovery from addiction. Very interesting intellectual conversations.
Behind the Bastards - really good deep dives into the assholes of our time and prior.
Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet - each episode, the hosts (brother and sister) read real reviews on a certain topic or genre and discuss. The reviews are generally hilarious, ridiculous, and/or crazy.
Christine Schiefer from Beach Too Sandy also has another podcast called And That’s Why We Drink. She does it with her friend Em Schulz once a week where they tell a paranormal and a true crime story, then once a month they also do viewer stories. I highly recommend it also!
Film sack Dr Karl Star wars minute Mr Ballen All around science The morning stream
These I listen to regularly. I have subs to many limited series around true crime (the teachers pet, shandees story, liar liar, the night driver) and other subs to podcasts listed here eg behind the bastards but I rarely have time to listen to these
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