Are you ready for a road trip?
Pack these podcasts to make the going fun.
By now, your “songs of summer“playlists should be fine-tuned in time for that weekend barbecue. But what about your podcast queue — is it road trip-ready? ❚ Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Here are 13 shows worth downloading (from Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your audio shows) for your summer vacations.
If you need your ‘footie’ fix
❚ “American Fiasco” Season 1, WNYC It doesn’t matter if you follow the World Cup, any human will be captivated by “Men in Blazers” host Roger Bennett. His show about America’s soccer team is surprising and engaging, probably made more so by British cheekiness.
If you’re wondering about what happened to Bikram Yoga
❚ “30 for 30 Podcast” Season 3, ESPN Even before #MeToo took hold, producer Julia Lowrie Henderson was tracking down sexual assault and rape allegations against the man who started the hot yoga craze, Bikram Choudhury. In a five-part series, she navigates the eyeopening rise and fall of the guru.
If you want to ignite a debate
❚ “Revisionist History,” Panoply What does the Second Amendment actually say, and is the meaning altered by a single semicolon? How dangerous is playing college football? Should you support a sport that causes CTE? Best-selling author and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell explores those controversial questions in the new season.
If you want to feel like you’re on ‘The Magic School Bus’
❚ “Radiolab” Gonads series, WNYC Don’t be thrown off by the title: Reporter Molly Webster’s new “Radiolab” series takes listeners inside the earliest weeks of an embryo’s development, following how it becomes male or female.
If you think being in a car is bad
❚ “The Habitat” Season 1, Gimlet It’s like “Real World,” but on a fake planet Mars with plenty of dry food. Six volunteers document their time spent in a space smaller than a tennis court, to give astronauts an idea of what it might be like to inhabit the Red Planet in the future. And to make you feel better about being trapped in an automobile.
If you’re in a romantic mood
❚ “Modern Love,” WBUR
Before it becomes an Amazon anthology series, hear the popular New York Times column read by actors including Krysten Ritter, Mandy Moore and Saoirse Ronan. The stories aren’t all about romance, but they all have the potential to make you cry a single, pretty tear.
If you’re looking for a throwback
❚ “The Baby-Sitters Club Club,” HeadGum
Two men reading and discussing “The Baby-Sitters Club” — yes, that ’90s book series about a group of girls running a babysitting service — is a bizarre premise that’s wonderfully executed in this podcast. It’s roughly as productive as an actual book club, in that it includes a good amount of alcohol, very little discussion of the novel and a ton of fun.
If you and your friends need some honest dating advice
❚ “U Up?,” Betches
Named for that tricky 2 a.m. text usually sent from one intoxicated party to another, hosts Jordana Abraham and Jared Freid tackle relationship questions with snark and brutal honesty. Through debates on whether actions are red flags or deal breakers, social media do’s and don’ts, and wacky dating stories, they help listeners navigate the complicated world of 21st century relationships.
If work is on the brain, even now
❚ “Happier in Hollywood,” Panoply Liz Craft and Sarah Fain (“Angel,” “The Shield,” “Vampire Diaries”) take you behind the scenes of the TV industry as they work to get their latest pilot, “The Fix,” on the air. They welcome myriad Hollywood guests, share life hacks and their latest celebrity sightings, and divulge tips to make work life better, no matter what industry you’re in.
If you can’t decide between listening to a podcast or the radio
❚ “36 Questions – The Podcast Musical,” Two-Up
In a three-part musical, we meet a couple (Jonathan Groff and Jessie Shelton) trying to save their marriage in the same way they got together: answering 36 increasingly personal questions aimed to fast-track a romantic relationship.
If you’re counting down the days until fall TV returns
❚ “The Good Place: The Podcast,” NBC
Fans of NBC’s “The Good Place” get a behind-the-scenes look into the making of one of the best plot twists in recent television history. It’s only a few episodes in, but the first is with creator Mike Schur and is a must-listen for anyone interested in the TV business.
If you miss the old Kanye
❚ “Dissect - A Serialized Music Podcast,” Spotify Studios
Calling all rap fans: If you love geeking out over song lyrics, this is the podcast for you. Each season of “Dissect” tackles a different album: Season 1 covers Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly,” Season 2 is all about Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” and Season 3 is analyzing Frank Ocean’s discography. Each episode picks apart a single song, dissecting it word by word.
If you crave food policy
❚ “Plate of the Union,” Food Policy Action
Those with a taste for food politics will be satisfied with this fresh new podcast. Hosts Spike Mendelsohn (a celebrity chef and restaurateur who you may remember from “Top Chef ” Season 4) and Monica Mills (executive director of Food Policy Action) serve up episodes on important topics like food as medicine and urban agriculture. Guests include chefs such as Jose Andres, members of Congress and food activists.