25 of the Best Art Podcasts

Last updated on January 26th, 2021

The art podcast genre is one of those intentionally-vague categories that encompasses a wide variety of micro-genres. However, you ultimately define art, podcasters have you covered, and the latest offerings of art podcasts are wonderfully diverse. From deep dives into individual paintings to art crime and thoughtful musings on our role in the world, these hosts know how important and emotional art can be. Their conversations are candid and honest. Together, they all try to make sense of the same questions about the images and objects that make up the world: how they come to have meaning and what happens if they disappear? Here are our favorite art podcasts to help satiate a curious mind.

1. Decomposed

Hosted by classical pianist Jade Simmons, Decomposed dives not just into analyses of classical music, but the stories behind how and why they were composed. It’s one part art appreciate, one part storytelling. Artists have always lived dramatic lives, and while classical music now seems prim and proper, there were plenty of scandalous stories when they were composed that make this art podcast as riveting as it is sophisticated. – Wil Williams

2. Aria Code

Aria Code breaks down one operatic aria–a piece of music written to be difficult and semi-customizable to show off a singer’s chops–each episode and dissects what makes it so great. The first season features some of the most famous arias in opera, making it a great primer for those who might not be too familiar with opera before jumping in; almost everyone has heard the “Queen of the Night” aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Host Rhiannon Giddens talks with experts on each aria, and the episodes include excerpts from some of the best recorded performances of those arias. – Wil Williams

3. Accession

If you’ve ever walked into an art museum and felt intimidated, Accession is for you. A podcast about art and art history, Accession aims to break down the walls that usually keep people away from art appreciation by making it, well, accessible–hence the name. Each episode discusses a specific piece of art, sometimes using actors to play the artists and the important figures in that artist’s life. – Wil Williams

4. Mostly Lit

Mostly Lit is a podcast about literature, mostly. It’s a classic chatcast setup–friends talking about something they care about–but focused on classic literature. The hosts are passionate in their debates, whether those be focused on white saviors, Hogwarts houses, or The Great Gatsby. Mostly Lit feels like an ideal book club: the discussion is casual but passionate, funny and engaging, and talks about books while also talking about life and society overall. – Wil Williams

5. VS

A mashup of poetry and boxing–“verses” and “versus”–VS is hosted by acclaimed poets Franny Choi and Danez Smith. Each episode, the two poets speak to a contemporary about their work and what their work stands up against. The boxing concept comes through the podcast’s segments, each having some sort of thematic name and setup. It’s a bold choice that results in a poetry podcast that’s surprisingly goofy and fun, while still being solemn and respectful when the work and discussion calls for it. – Wil Williams

6. Museum of Lost Objects

From the BBC comes the Museum of Lost Objects, a art podcast dedicated to tracing the antiquities, artefacts and landmarks that have been looted or destroyed in countries including India, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria; the most recent episode turns to the ruinous fire at Brazil’s National Museum. This is a reflective and philosophical podcast in many respects, as host Kanishk Tharoor pays his respects to this lost cultural patrimony. By talking about such destruction, Tharoor commits what happened to the collective consciousness and ultimately preserves the past for future generations. – Discover Pods Staff

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

7. ArtCurious

If your interest in art history is more Page Six than college lecture, then ArtCurious is for you. Actually, it is for all of us, as host Jennifer Desal wants to make art history funny and accessible, for both fanatics and novices alike. Each episode focuses on a single artist or work of art, that Desal then packs full of salacious tidbits and jaw-dropping tales. She tracks down the juiciest gossip in her hopes to discover if Walter Sickert really was Jack the Ripper or that the Mona Lisa is actually a fake. Don’t be fooled by the cha thought; Desal’s bona fides are well-established: she has spent over two decades working as a curator of Modern and contemporary art. Like a great museum exhibition, she skillfully weaves a narrative, and before you know it, you’ll be peppering your conversation with terms like chiaroscuro or sfumato. – Discover Pods Staff

ArtCurious is somewhere between an art history podcast and a celebrity tabloid. Like Decomposed, ArtCurious tells the story behind works of arts–here, largely paintings–in a way that emphasizes the wild lives the artists lived. Each season takes on a different concept, like rivalries, and unwraps the dramatic stories behind the paintings you’re probably familiar with. – Wil Williams

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

8. A Piece of Work

A Piece of Work could not have a more stellar pedigree. It was produced by the Museum of Modern Art and hosted by Abbi Jacobson of Broad City fame. For the podcast, Jacobson tackles all the questions you have about Modern and contemporary art but were too shy to ask. Don’t expect too much textbook history though. Instead, A Piece of Work is about creativity and the creative industry more broadly. With guests like RuPaul, Tavi Gevinson and Questlove, Jacobson hosts lively and provocative conversations; sadly, for us listeners, the podcast was just one season, ringing in at a spry 10-episodes. – Discover Pods Staff

Hosted by Abi Jacobson of Broad City, A Piece of Work aims to answer the questions about art you might be too embarrassed to ask. Is pop art just tacky? Is minimalist art just . . . nothing? Why are emojis in museums along with classical paintings? Often featuring interviews with celebrities, A Piece of Work is great for listeners who want to know more about appreciating and but don’t know where to start. – Wil Williams

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

9. The Art History Babes

The premise of Art History Babes is pretty much like the name sounds: four gals sitting around chatting and laughing about all things art history. Only, as all art historians know, the subject is always about more than just the art itself, and these conversations are free flowing, embracing the political, economic, astrological…you name it. As these women are also finding their footing in the art world, the podcast is essential listening for younger audiences trying to figure out their own ways; the conversations around unpaid internships are especially useful. Plus, the website is a repository of useful information including resources for the AP curriculum and links to articles. Most crucially, the art history they cover is expansive, and our four hosts devote just as much time to non-western, queer and minority art practices as they do to the canonical works of Western art. Their understanding of culture is generous, and this is the perfect conversation for our current moment. – Discover Pods Staff

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

10. Bad at Sports

Bad at Sports (or, for insiders, B@S) knows it can be “tricky to describe.” The show is part intrepid researcher, part oral historian, and part “provocateur.” In its own words, Bad at Sports exists “somewhere on the Venn diagram of art, journalism, media, intellectualism, and all the naughty bits.” That might seem like a lot, but have no fear, Bad @ Sports is nothing if not excellent. Episodes focus on the lives and practices of artists, critics, curators, and dealers, and the hosts delve into the nitty gritty of it all. Truly guestlist is sensational, and past contributors have included the celebrated artists like Kerry James-Marshall, Amanda Ross-Ho, Jeff Wall, and New York Times chief art critic Holland Kotter. The show has been on the air since 2005 and the back catalogue is free to peruse and download. – Discover Pods Staff

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

11. Raw Material

Produced by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Raw Material does things a little differently: every season brings about a new podcaster-in-residence, each with his or her own take on things. Themes are always distinctive, from the otherworldly to art and sex, but they simply serve as jumping off points for a roster of international artists and thinkers. This season artist/journalist Sayre Quevedo begins with twenty-two love letters he wrote to his ex. If you like This American Life, then you’ll love Raw Material. – Discover Pods Staff

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

12. Last Seen

If your fancy yourself an amateur Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, then definitely tune into Last Seen, a true-crime podcast about history’s most valuable art heist. On March 18, 1990, thirteen masterpieces from Boston’s Isabella Steward Gardner Museum were stolen in 81 minutes. Treasures like Vermeer’s The Concert or Rembrandt’s The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, the artist’s only seascape, have never been recovered or even glimpsed since. Relying on over a year of new investigative reporting, teams at WBUR and the Boston Globe joined forces to ask how it is possible that the thieves were never caught. I was hooked from the first episode. – Discover Pods Staff

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

13. 99% Invisible

Okay, while it isn’t technically about art, 99% Invisible is about design, and all the thought that goes into things we don’t normally think about. It is one of the most acclaimed podcasts out there, with millions of downloads, so when host Roman Mars does talk about art, you know it will be good. Episodes like “Photo Credit,” in which Mars investigates the life of Lucia Moholy, the photographer and Bauhaus documenter, or “The Many Deaths of a Painting” ask listeners to think carefully about what they believe to be true. Inevitably, Mars flips that on its head. – Discover Pods Staff

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

14. Beyond the Studio

Beyond the Studio takes you out of the paint and plaster and into the lives of artists. From conversations about cost of living and best business practices, the podcasters candidly discuss what it means to be an artist working today. Hosts Nicole Mueller and Amanda Adams are both practicing artists themselves, so they understand the importance of such candour. And in providing information about these challenges and obstacles, they hope to empower artists, a desire reflected in the show’s subheading: A Podcast for Artists. – Discover Pods Staff

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

15. Art Detective

For bite-sized art chats, there is no one better than Dr. Janina Ramirez, who hosts Art Detective. Dr. Ramirez is a cultural historian based at the University of Oxford, and the cultural, political and sociological connections she makes are incisive. Crisscrossing time, she brings images to life in pithy episodes that will perfectly suit your commute. – Discover Pods Staff

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Honorable Art Podcast Mentions

• Art Sistery
• Bon Appetit Foodcast
• Culture Gabfest
• Oh No! Lit Class
• How to Love Lit Podcast
• Potterless
• Smidgen
• Spicy Eyes
• The Lonely Palette
• Waypoint Radio

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