It’s become a tired joke that everyone has a podcast, but that just means more audio content for us to try.
Sure, the sheer amount of podcasts available can make it hard to find something good. I listen to a lot of podcasts, so I know the struggle. Podcasts are one of the tricks I use to stay awake while trying to get my toddler to sleep at night, and I like to listen to podcasts while cleaning, driving – doing just about anything where background noise is useful. I’ve started to run out of podcasts to listen to because of how often I have my AirPods in my ears. This just causes me to constantly search for the best podcasts to stream onSpotifyand elsewhere.
Since I’m already doing the work on a weekly (if not daily) basis, here is a roundup of what I’ve found to be the best podcasts of 2024 so far. I will keep this list updated monthly with my top picks. I’ve also sourced input from Pocket-lint’s editorial team to determine the best and hottest podcasts right now.
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1Hooked on Freddie
The unbelievable tale of a man and his dolphin
Hooked on Freddie
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Music, Pocket Cast, Overcast.
The true story of an activist who works to free captive dolphins. He befriends a dolphin who appears in the harbor of his English fishing town, and that decision ends up ruining his life.
Hooked On Freddie tells the story of Alan Cooper, an activist dedicated to freeing captive dolphins. One day in 1987, a wild bottlenose dolphin appeared in the harbor of the English town of Amble. The town becomes obsessed with the creature, making it a local celebrity and naming it Freddie. Eventually, Freddie latches on to Alan Cooper, and their relationship has the people of Amble asking unusual questions.
2Plain English
Complex topics broken down in plain English
Plain English
Plain English takes on subjects making major headlines throughout the world – from deep dives on Ozempic, to the growing number of wars around the world.
Derek Thompson brings on experts to discuss the biggest questions facing our world today. Plain English normally does self-contained episodes that revolve around a single subject. Recently, though, the show featured a three-part series on the rise of Ozempic-like weight-loss drugs, and another on the troubling trend of wars breaking out throughout the world. Both three-part series are some of my favorite podcasts I’ve listened to in 2024 so far, because they pack a ton of expert-level information into short consumable bites.
3My Perfect Console
Guests pick five games to create their perfect console
My Perfect Console
Simon Parkin hosts this podcast that sees an eclectic group of guests pick five video games to immortalize in their own perfect console.
This relatively new podcast features a wide range of guests, including actors, journalists, comedians, and heavyweights in the video game industry. They build their “perfect console” by selecting five of their favorite video games. The best episodes feature in-depth discussion about how video games affect us all, while remembering some classic games. It’s also fun to find out people you might not expect, like Ronan Farrow, are huge gamers.
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A light-hearted take on true crime stories
A true crime podcast that tries to keep things light and breezy while dealing with the macabre.
Morbid focuses on all things spooky, with episodes detailing horrifying true crime stories or historical events that get a little dark. It’s hosted by Alaina Urquhart, an autopsy technician, and Ash Kelley, an astrology-obsessed hairstylist. The pair keep things fun despite the subject.
5The Retrievals
A horrifying true story
The Retrievals
A podcast that begins as a true crime story, but delves deeper into how women are treated by our healthcare system at large.
Susan Burton narrates the story of dozens of women who went to the fertility clinic at Yale hoping to become mothers, but instead, we’re abused by a nurse who stole pain-relieving drugs. The real question the podcast asks, though, is: why did the doctor not believe the women who were telling him they were in excruciating pain?
6New Heights
The Kelce brothers talk life, football, and Taylor Swift
New Heights
NFL football players and brothers Travis and Jason Kelce document their lives during the NFL season, along with Travis' worldwind romance with Taylor Swift.
New Heights is hosted by the Kelce brothers, two future NFL Hall of Famers. The pair dive deep into their lives as NFL players while including guests from their lives. The podcast has exploded in popularity as it merges the Kelce brothers' background knowledge of the NFL with their own down-to-Earth comedy. Also, it doesn’t hurt that Travis started dating Taylor Swift. Maybe she’ll join the pod some day.
7Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
The best history podcast
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
Hardcore History shines a spotlight on the major events and figures throughout history with expansive 4+ hour-long shows.
Hardcore History dives deep into all eras of human history, finding interesting ways to connect our modern perspectives to some of the most interesting events of the past. The episodes are long, though, with most of them spanning more than four hours, but that’s why there’s a pause button. Hardcore History will often dive deep into topics over the course of multiple episodes.
Our favorite episodes of Hardcore History include Ghosts of the Ostfront, which covers the eastern front of World War II, and The Celtic Holocaust, which discusses Julius Caesar’s final expedition in Gaul before returning to Rome to become Emperor. The series really comes into shape with the Punic Nightmares series, which are episodes 21 to 23. We’d recommend you start your listening there.
8The Big Picture
Shining a light on the silver screen
The Big Picture
Sean Fennessy and Amanda Dobbins cover everything Hollywood, from the latest films in theaters, interviews with stars, and plotting out which movies could contend for Oscar consideration.
Hosts Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins tackle everything Hollywood in The Big Picture. The series features loads of interviews with the top stars, critics, and creators in Hollywood. They also tackle all the biggest new releases in theaters with episodes that you may revisit whenever you catch the film they discuss. The best episodes might be the Movie Drafts. Sean, Amanda and a guest will pick a year and then draft their favorite films from that year to see who can assemble the best crop of movies.
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9Shutdown Fullcast
A college football turned comedy/pop culture podcast
Shutdown Fullcast
What started as a college football podcast over a decade ago is now just as likely to feature meditations on religion, life as a journalist, and whatever happens to be trending on Twitter or TikTok.
For a show that begins each episode announcing that you’re listening to the internet’s only college football podcast, the Shutdown Fullcast spends as much, if not more, time talking about pop culture, history, and religion as they do discuss sports. That’s in large part because the show has lived on for over 10 years despite the hosts all being let go from SB Nation, which originally hosted the podcast. We recommend you start with the disaster episodes, which detail listener-submitted stories of times things went horribly wrong for them. you may check out a playlist of just the disaster episodeshere.
10Not Another D&D Podcast
Another D&D podcast (it’s just really good)
Not Another D&D Podcast
Listen to a crew of four friends go on adventures, and face impossible odds, while playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons.
Not Another D&D Pod features four friends playing Dungeons and Dragons. The series has been around since 2018 and has finished multiple Dungeons and Dragons campaigns in the years since its debut. That means a huge catalog of evergreen episodes you can listen to at your own pace.
