36 podcast stars offer up their own favorite podcasts
We might not commute anymore. We might not go to the gym. Errands are fewer. Listening opportunities have shrunk. Still, the podcast episodes keep coming. In a year when many of us had to encounter the world audibly rather than actually, we asked some of our favorite podcast personalities to recommend their own favorites, new and enduring. Here are their answers, lightly edited.
“The Paris Review Podcast”: There are a lot of audio shows out there that are trying to bring a legacy publication into a new dimension. “The Paris Review Podcast” does it absolutely gorgeously, with clever use of new stories, archival interviews, reenactments and meditative bits of transition. — Avery Trufelman, “The Cut”
“Goodbye to All This”: An audio memoir by Sophie Townsend, the entire series is a beautifully told journal about family, loss, love and discovering what’s next. — Leila Day, “The Stoop”
“Hidden Brain”: The host, Shankar Vedantam, seamlessly transforms dry and academic research into compelling stories that offer a total and complete escape. I can’t stop listening. — Esther Perel, “Where Should We Begin?”
“Lolita Podcast”: Jamie Loftus’ show examines the history of the publication of the Nabokov literary classic, its film adaptations, its failed attempts at a stage play, online “nymphette” culture and more. It can be a difficult listen, but it’s so smart, so thoughtful and so good. — Alex Goldman, “Reply All”
“The Daily”: It’s a good way to keep abreast of the news without having to turn on the TV. It’s also a great way to find out what day it is. — Chelsea Handler, “Life Will Be the Death of Me”
“Whistleblower”: A deep dive into the betting scandal involving the disgraced, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy. What I love most about it is that it exposes a much larger problem with the culture of NBA officiating. — Jemele Hill, “Jemele Hill Is Unbothered”
“Las Culturistas”: Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang did a beautiful thing in the midst of the hellfire that was 2020: They reminded their listeners of all the things we are missing while in lockdown, and also reminded us that a lot of it will still be here, thankfully, when things get back to normal. — Sam Sanders, “It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders”
“It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders”: The perfect balance of pop culture commentary with deep dives into news stories, Sam and his team apply the same thoughtful treatment to whatever topic they approach.
— Bowen Yang, “Las Culturistas”
“Midnight Snack with Michelle Collins”: The funniest woman in the world, she has a joke and an entertaining take on any pop culture topic under the sun. The best, sharpest and most hilarious in the biz. —
Matt Rogers, “Las Culturistas”
“Lost Notes”: Hanif Abdurraqib explores the untold but mesmerizing stories behind the music of one year: 1980. I grew up with a lot of this music but had never heard these stories before so I found the episodes enlightening and deeply moving. — Paul Bae, “The Big Loop”
“Song Exploder”: As I learn how a song was built track by track, I think about craftsmanship, chance, relationships, music history and practice. Then, at the end of every episode, when the fully constructed song plays, what a thrill! —
Anna Sale, “Death, Sex & Money”
“Black in Appalachia”: Enkeshi El-Amin and Angela Dennis offer me a perfect podcast rabbit hole: I get to follow smart, compelling people into a place I didn’t know much about. — Kai Wright, “United States of Anxiety”
“Good Words with Kirk Franklin”: I have thoroughly enjoyed the positivity that exudes from the conversations between Kirk and his guests. As someone who is openly under construction, I find it feeds my soul. — Tamar Braxton, “Under Construction”
“The Michelle Obama Podcast”: I listened to the whole first season! It was fun, entertaining and hopeful, but also showed a different side of Michelle. — Kirk Franklin, “Good Words with Kirk Franklin”
“The Lowe Post”: Hosted by my old “Grantland” colleague Zach Lowe, it’s consistently smart basketball analysis, a lively crop of guests and two or three moments per podcast that remind me what an obsessive lunatic he is. — Bill Simmons, “The Bill Simmons Podcast”
“Slate’s Culture Gabfest”: This show exposes me to so much happening in arts and culture that I didn’t know about and deepens my understanding of the things I already love. The hosts’ differences in tastes makes for compelling conversation. They’re like your friends, but smarter. — Dan Pashman, “The Sporkful”
“Resistance”: The people and stories in “Resistance” blow me away, week after week. And even though there are really heartbreaking episodes, each episode still has joy and laughter. — Wendy Zukerman, “Science Vs”
“This American Life”: I never cease to learn something about either myself or humankind.
I’m always moved. Never more so than “The Rest of His Life” by Mitchell S. Jackson from show No. 726. It told the story of his friendship with Ahmaud Arbery. I pulled my car over on the side of the road and sobbed. It also galvanized me to get more involved with social-justice issues. — Jamie Lee Curtis, “Letters From Camp”
“Wait Five Minutes”: Back when I spent a lot of time on long drives, “Wait Five Minutes” was a balm to my Slim Jim-addled brain. Floridian
Nick D’Allesandro delves into the history and oddities of his state with contagious love. — Sarah Marshall, “You’re Wrong About”
“Fall of Civilizations”: From Easter Island to the Khmer Empire, host Paul Cooper describes how ancient societies went from centuries-long glory to often sudden decline. The answer — gulp — usually turns out to be climate change. — Michael Hobbes, “You’re Wrong About”
“How I Built This With Guy Raz”: I love hearing about the entrepreneurial journey of how to build a business empire. It inspires me to work harder, be disciplined, and serves as a reminder that it is really about the journey. — Esther Choi, “Get Down With K-Town”
“Planet Money”: The ensemble cast of journalists on that team creates magic out of a seemingly dull topic — economics. I always learn something no matter what the episode is about and I am always entertained. — Guy Raz, “How I Built This with Guy Raz”
“Overslept with Chris Laker”: He wakes up and records from bed, running through a few news stories and grumbling his way into consciousness. It’s the only podcast I listen to regularly because it is recorded next to me. He is my lover, and he refuses to promote it. — Jacqueline Novak, “POOG”
“This Jungian Life”: Listening to Jungian analysts talking for hours is my heaven. — Kate Berlant, “POOG”
“The Osterholm Update: COVID-19”: Dr. Michael Osterholm has been one of the most reliable, transparent and compassionate voices throughout the pandemic. He’s the voice I trust most about all things COVID. — Baratunde Thurston, “How to Citizen”
“Twenty Thousand Hertz”:
A beautifully crafted series about sound, from its basic physics of moving particles to its majestic transformation into music and language. — Lindsay Graham, “Business Movers”
“Everything Is Alive”: Host Ian Chillag has a conversation with a comedian who is in character as an inanimate object.
It’s a bit of a miracle in that they’re able to coax out the full spectrum of emotions from simple conversations with everything, from soda cans to lampposts. — Chuck Bryant, “Stuff You Should Know”
“99% Invisible”: I’ve always admired Roman Mars’ ability to root out the most interesting bits of the world. His presentation is bar none. — Josh Clark, “Stuff You Should Know”
“LeVar Burton Reads”: Both comforting and often thought provoking, his selections have brought authors to my attention I might not have found on my own. The show often surprises me with the level of emotional reaction I find myself having to some of the work. It’s like therapy. — Holly Frey, “Stuff You Missed in History Class”
“Armchair Expert”: I was lucky enough to be a guest last year and was completely blown away at Dax Shepard’s ability to lead all of his guests to a place of candid honesty on such a wide range of topics. — Blake Griffin, “The Pursuit of Healthiness with Blake Griffin”
“Why Won’t You Date Me?”: Nicole Byer’s comedy has me laughing so much it hurts. Her honest accounts of what it’s like navigating the dumpster fire we call dating have me nodding along. — Aricia Skidmore-Williams, “Even The Rich”
“Hey Babe!”: I’m a sucker for a podcast hosted by two best friends, and this one does not disappoint. Their chemistry is undeniable and the relatable stories about their lives make me laugh out loud. Even their ads are hilarious, which is no easy feat. — Brooke Siffrinn, “Even The Rich”
“Code Switch”: A great place for me to process what’s happening in the world. Shereen Marisol Meraji and Gene Demby provide a safe space to think through messy issues and come out feeling healed. — Krys Marshall, “For All Mankind, The Official Podcast”
“American Innovations”: From inside accounts of the race for a polio vaccine and the mission to put humans on Mars to the origin stories of AutoTune, air conditioning and television, I learn something surprising that connects with the everyday. — David Brown, “Business Wars”
“Aria Code”: Each episode of the podcast focuses on one famous aria and features a wellknown opera singer. Not only do you get to hear a great performance, but you have the opportunity to understand the context and story behind the music. — Marissa Bridge, “The Apology Line”
“Throughline”: It’s always timely, but it takes a step back to help us understand important context about the news. Plenty of podcasts tell me what happened, but this one really helps me understand why. —