As with any “best of” list — especially those written by a single person (like this one) — there’s a decent amount of subjectivity as indivudual’s tastes vary drastically. I feel like this is magnified in the world of podcasts. So given the obligatory disclaimer, my best podcasts of 2019 list is through my lens. I tend to skew towards newer podcasts — or those who made a substantial leap this year — and run the spectrum of indie to mainstream. 

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive list that takes into account multiple interests and opinions, read our list from midyear, The Best Podcasts of 2019 (So Far). Also, while I’ve got your attention, here’s my list from 2018 and the requisite 2018 midyear collective list. 

2019 continued to push the boundaries of what’s possible in podcasting, from a creative and quality perspective. As always, podcast stalwarts like This American Life, Radiolab, Criminal, Reply All, and others are deserving of every accolade thrown their way. That said, I didn’t include them on my list, opting to go with newer and less known podcasts. 

End of the preamble, here are my best podcasts of 2019 — in no particular order — along with some honorable mentions.  

Running From COPS

Dan Taberski continues his elite storytelling run and is in my short-list for podcasters I’ll auto-subscribe to their new work, whatever the subject (see: Trufelman, Avery in the recommendation below). After the successes of Missing Richard Simmons and Surviving Y2K, Taberski focused his next Headlong installment on the long-running TV program, COPS, and the troubles with how police action and crime is portrayed. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Nice Try! Utopian

As I alluded to in the Running From COPS paragraph, we can go ahead and pencil in whatever new project Avery Trufelman is working on for the 2020 list. In the midyear roundup, Nice Try! Utopian was recommended by true podcast tastemakers, Wil Williams, Paul Bae, and Zack Kahn — something that shouldn’t go unnoticed. 

As Trufelman tested (and found success) with her 99PI spin-off mini series, Articles of Interest in 2018, she took a similar concept to found a standalone project. Nice Try! Utopian is a seven-episode series covering design failures in utopia attempts. As Kahn succinctly reviews, “Trufelman leverages the expansive canvas of longform narrative audio to paint a rich, color portrait of attempts to try and design a better world, and what happened when those designs didn’t go according to plan.”

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Dolly Parton’s America

Host Jad Abumrad explores country music icon, Dolly Parton’s impact on American and global culture, her life and her worldview. He finds that Dolly Parton’s fan base is a cross-section of American demographics, and he embarks on a quest to answer why. 

Jad’s interviewing showcases Dolly Parton’s charm and no-nonsense approach to song writing. She laments about the darkness in her early music while still being able to laugh about it. “I used to write a lot of sad-ass songs,” she tells Jad. Sound clips of her music and wisdom drape nine episodes that explore the “Dollyverse.”

Dolly Parton’s song “9 to 5” was an anthem to women’s empowerment. In the episode Dollitics, Jad delves into Dolly Parton’s relationship with politics, how she manages risk, and seems to “circumvent disaster.” Her “verbal judo” has kept her afloat in an age of deep political polarization. What connects with people is her genuineness, down-to-earth-nature and big heart.

The show is not without critique. Writer and editor, Aisha Harris, states in an interview that even good-hearted people have blind spots. What is so refreshing is Dolly Parton’s response to the controversy surrounding Dixie Stampede.   

Dolly Parton’s America will reward and satisfy her biggest fans, and convert new ones. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

StartUp

The first season of StartUp documented Alex Blumberg’s post-This American Life entrepreneurial project which would later become podcast studio success story, Gimlet. It was an expertly-narrated meta look into the difficulties of podcasting and starting a business. 

I didn’t find any subsequent season of StartUp to be all that fascinating. 

Then in February, the news broke Spotify would be acquiring both Gimlet and podcast hosting company, Anchor. Many hoped Blumberg and co-founder Matt Lieber would give a similar behind the scenes documentary into the acquisition, and they delivered. The final season of StartUp provides a truly honest view into the difficulties of podcasting at scale, dealing with start-up growing pains including financial and inter-personal issues, and ultimately what led to them selling to Spotify. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

All Fantasy Everything

I wrote in a CBC round-up that All Fantasy Everything is my guilty pleasure podcast and two paragraphs later Jody Avirgan mic dropped the term out of existence, ”you should never feel guilty about the things you like.”

The truth is, however, AFE leveled up in 2019. 150+ episodes later, and the comedy improv show about fake drafting obscure items like Tom Hanks movies, things you say after you dunk on someone, or the perfect sandwich has nearly perfected what I’d look for in a comedy podcast. 

This year, they produced what I’d consider their best episode, Disney Songs with guest Katie Nolan. The core crew has an unrivaled rapport and their ability to integrate guests make for a super fun listening experience and more than a couple laughs.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Spectacular Failures

Following the success of How I Built This, it seemed like there was a mad dash for entrepreneur interview podcasts. You know what’s even more interesting than rich people talking about their success? Stories of failures. 

Executive Producer of Radiotopia, Julie Shapiro, wrote a review of Spectacular Failures in our midyear round-up, “While other pods have taken on the culture of failed business and ruined legacies, none have done so with the particular spirit and chummy schadenfreude that Lauren Ober brings to Spectacular Failures. The show features stories you’ll realize you’ve been wondering about for years, as soon as you read the episode titles: “Schlitz Beer goes bad, then worse,” “Kodak misses its moment”, etc.”

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Uncover

Award-winning Uncover spans five seasons of compelling and chilling story-telling. Each season is hosted by a different journalist as they investigate Canadian and international crime mysteries. People closely connected with the topics at hand will often get emotional when they recount the horrors experienced or mourn the loss of loved ones. 

Dark themes are explored by CBC Podcasts through the exposé of the cult NXVIM (pronounced “Nexium”) in Season 1: Escaping NXVIUM, the unsolved case of 1965 Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 21 in Season 2: Bomb on Board, a serial killer that targeted Toronto’s gay community dating to 1975 in Season 3: The Village, the 1998 disappearance of 77-year-old woman Joan Lawrence in Season 4: The Cat Lady Case, and the homicide of Toronto teen Sharmini Anandavel in Season 5: Sharmini. 

Journalists Josh Bloch, Ian Hanomansing, Johanna Wagstaffe, Justin Ling, Zander Sherman and Michelle Shephard tackle unresolved questions in their individual styles. 

To cherry-pick a few moments from such a wide-scope, a tape-recording of Sharmini’s voice in S5: E6 is particularly haunting, Season 1’s Sarah Edmondson’s realization of abuse in her community deeply disturbs, and Chuck Shaw-MacLaren’s eyewitness account of Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 21 crash as an ambulance driver grips the listener. Stories that he had kept to himself for 50 years tug at the heart strings. “I’m talking more to you, than I have to anybody,” he admits after he takes host Johanna Wagstaffe’s hand.

Uncover peers into the tragedies and trauma caused by unsettled mysteries.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

ESPN 30 for 30 The Sterling Affairs

Sometimes I think the ESPN brand actually holds back the 30 for 30 podcast from a larger audience. Sure, the podcast focuses on stories with a sports angle, but simplifying the podcast into a narrow category does a disservice to its excellent documentary storytelling ability. Though their individual contained episodes are often wonderful, I think the podcast is at its best when it’s given a couple episode mini-series. Last year, their Bikram series made my best of list, and this year they went back to the well with a season focused on disgraced former NBA owner, Donald Sterling. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

BROKEN: Jeffrey Epstein

Before we hit “peak Epstein podcasts” (related: peak impeachment podcasts), BROKEN hit the scenes combined with seasoned journalists (The New Yorker’s Ariel Levy, The Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown), with podcast studio Three Uncanny Four Productions and Oscar-winning director Adam McKay. 

There may be some fatigue around the subject matter, however, BROKEN is a riveting six-episode series detailing Epstein’s history, rise of his monstrous empire, and eventual arrest and death.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

1619

The New York Time’s foray into podcasting has been an unbridled success on every level. Last year’s limited series, Caliphate, was my personal pick for best podcast of the year. This year, they produced a five- (really, six-) episode miniseries about the history of the US and the slave trade. 

Hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the podcast gives an excellent history and insight into America’s civil liberties problems and institutional racism. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Mobituaries

Mo Rocca applies his love for obituaries in pieces that explore the lives of people that have inspired him. Funny and inquisitive, Mo Rocca’s experience as a correspondent on The Daily Show and CBS Sunday Morning helps structure well-paced narratives. His journalistic integrity and approach stand out. Mobituaries weaves interviews with experts and enthusiasts, poll questions, and elements of film, music, and television to great effect. What results are compelling stories that shine a light on forgotten historical figures and aspects of household names that are not common knowledge.    

In the episode Thomas Paine: Death of a Forgotten Founding Founder, Mo Rocca asks Anthony Salvanto, CBS News’ Director of Elections and Surveys, “If there would have been no Thomas Paine, there would be no ‘what’?” His questions open up in-depth conversation that relates to the world we live in today. 

In The Black Congressmen of Reconstruction: Death of Representation, the sounds of the Charleston Harbor backdrop a riveting tale of enslaved seaman, Robert Smalls’ great escape into the Union Blockade. Mo Rocca’s exchange with Michael Bouleware Moore, Robert Small’s great-great-grandson, provides a personal touch and reminds us that we are not too far removed from the age of slavery.

History buffs and curious minds will appreciate Mobituaries and Mo Rocca’s enthusiasm for forgotten knowledge.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

The Rewatchables / The Rewatchables 1999

Another podcast entry that’s nowhere near new but one that seems to get stronger the more episodes they do. The Ringer expanded their partnership with Luminary and created a spin-off podcast solely focused on movies that came out in 1999. Besides the narrowed scope, the two podcasts are essentially identical. 

If you’re unfamiliar, The Rewatchables is a movie podcast which analyzes and mostly celebrates past movies. Their vibe is very much “friends watching on the couch” but mixed with insights, jokes, and genuine fun. The Rewatchables at least partially makes this list for their episode on Old School, which single-handedly forced me to end a workout early because I was crying laughing and in no shape to even stand up. 

The Rewatchables Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

The Rewatchables 1999 Listen: Luminary

Gay Future

We’ve covered audio drama and fiction podcasts extensively on this site, but it truthfully needs to be repeated ad nauseam: the most creative and ground-breaking work in podcasts is being done in the audio drama genre. The Allusionist’s Helen Zaltzman perfectly sums up the appeal of Gay Future, “In a long-lost YA novel by Mike Pence, it’s 2062 and, under the totalitarian regime ruling North America, everyone is gay. Except one schoolkid… This show is so funny; the acting is on point and the production is great. I had such a blast listening to this caper.”

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Slow Burn

Slow Burn’s future seemed uncertain after the creator, Leon Neyfakh, left Slate to start a new podcast exclusive to Luminary (see: FIASCO below). The first two seasons covered the political climate and delved into the respective impeachment processes for Presidents Nixon and Clinton. The third season, however, takes a departure from the traditional political genre and instead covers the infamous feud and eventual deaths of rappers Tupac and Notorious BIG.

Though the chosen topic is a departure, fortunately that’s the extent of the differences of the podcast in the post-Neyfakh era. The interviews, analysis, and overall documentary narrative are among the best examples in podcasting today.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Switched on Pop

With both AFE and The Rewatchables I mention they sort of leveled up this year. In Switched On Pop’s case, which started in 2014, this is especially true. Media giant, Vox, picked up the podcast earlier this year and the show was exposed to a much larger audience. 

Hosted by songwriter and music journalist, Nate Harding, and musicologist, Nate Sloan. Together they have both an expanse of knowledge and the chemistry to make a truly entertaining and informative podcast. 

Related reading: Switched On Pop: A podcast that’s music to your ears

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

The Dropout

The Dropout opens with Elizabeth Holmes, once Silicon Valley’s youngest female self-made billionaire, taking an oath for her testimony on July 11, 2017 on nine criminal charges of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In six episodes that range from 39 to 47 minutes, host Rebecca Jarvis unfolds a story of unbridled ambition, gratuitous ethics violations and the culture of celebrity.

Elizabeth Holmes and her blood-testing company, Theranos, were poised to become the “Apple of healthcare.” Rebecca Jarvis’s thorough journalism and interviews are weaved in the style of a true-crime drama. She delivers the story as a reporter, and manages to remain an objective narrator. 

Theranos’s promise to conduct a myriad of tests from a single pin-prick of blood was lofty, but with Elizabeth’s business savvy, charm and cunning she was able to convince investors of her product. The allure of working with the then world’s youngest self-made female billionaire is honed in on the episode A Star Is Born. Jared Leto introduces Elizabeth at the 2015 Glamour Women Of The Year Awards, and Bill Clinton sings praises as he assures a captive audience that “We’re in good hands.”

Join Rebecca Jarvis as she unravels the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes in a stark commentary on fame and corporate greed.         

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Honorable Mentions

Have You Heard George’s Podcast

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Moonface

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

FIASCO

Listen: Luminary

The Big One

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Sonic Boom

Listen: Luminary

The post The 22 Best Podcasts of 2019 appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

In order to be eligible for my list of 10 best LSDPs, the first episode needed to premiere in 2018. They can all be dropped the same day or roll out weekly, but the full series or the season of a series (which also qualifies) must be thematically connected, complete upon the series/season’s completion, and something north of three episodes. It must be documentary in nature, meaning those admittedly sometimes awesome blurs the line of fiction podcasts do not apply. Serial is an LSDP. Reply All is not. Dirty John is an LSDP. Hardcore History is not.

With no further ado, my Top 10 Limited Series Documentary Podcasts of 2018.

10. ESPN 30 For 30: Bikram

ESPN’s 30 For 30 documentary format is the perfect fodder for podcasts and their experiment into the limited series world was a huge success. This 5-part series (plus a few obligatory bonus eps) dived deep into the seedy story of Bikram Choudhury and his tangled world of hot yoga. Not exactly true-crime and not exactly a sports story, this managed to appeal to fans of both subjects.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

9. Believed

I went into NPR and Michigan Radio’s series about Larry Nassar expecting to learn a lot about the dark underbelly of USA Gymnastics. Surprisingly the gymnastics angle was very much downplayed. Instead we got a deeply personal and often very graphic exploration of how one man hurt so many young women and the system did nothing to stop it. While this system includes large organizations like the University of Michigan and, yes, USA Gymnastics, the series is at its most hard hitting when it looks at human nature and how social norms, manipulation, and family structures let these women down.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

8. Headlong Season 2: Surviving Y2K

Former Daily Show producer Dan Taberski made a splash in 2017 with his Missing Richard Simmons podcast (now known as Headlong Season 1). He made a very smart move by converting that feed (and all its subscribers) into this years fascinating exploration of a whole bunch of totally different tales centered on Y2K and the millennium bug. It’s at times hilarious and other times deeply personal. This man is clearly a talented storyteller.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

7. The Dream

This American Life alum Jane Marie dives into the world of MLMs (aka Multi-Level Marketing, aka Pyramid Schemes) with this damning assault on the entire business format. It’s tough to listen to this and come up with any conclusion other than these companies prey on their members and even members that are successful still struggle to make that much money. Even worse, our system is set up to allow them to thrive and getting easier with more deregulation. Marie won’t be accused of unbiased reporting but her work on this is absolutely top notch.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

6. Bag Man

In a year of fantastic political podcasts, it’s crazy that Rachel Maddow’s brilliantly-produced Spiro Agnew investigation comes in all the way down at number 6.Let that not be an impediment for you to listen as this one differentiates itself from some of those other fantastic podcasts because so little of this story is well known. No surprise here, it’s all still pretty relevant.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

5. The Wilderness

2018 was a big year for Crooked Media with live tours, all kinds of new weekly shows, and even a series on HBO. But the highlight might have been Jon Favreau’s fascinating and extremely well-reported 15-part series on where the Democratic Party stands in the Trump era. The series is at its most interesting when exploring what drove those mythical creatures known as Obama>Trump voters.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

4. Caliphate

Rukmini Callimachi’s New York Times-produced series about Syria is clearly the most informative audio content on the subject. But more than that, her journey and the contact with a young man in Canada who claims to have traveled to Syria to fight for ISIS turns into an invigorating real-time international caper. No word on if this one has been optioned for a TV series or movie yet — but you gotta think that’s coming.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

3. The RFK Tapes

Zac Stuart-Pontier of Crimetown fame created this 10-parter with family friend Bill Klaber who just happens to be one of the world’s foremost experts on the Robert Kennedy assassination and outspoken proponent of a conspiracy. This podcast is immaculately produced with wonderful use of archival tape and a hell of a lot of research. Stuart-Pontier expertly takes you on roller coaster as he goes from certainty to doubt to certainty to doubt again. That’s the ride I went on and I’m still not sure what I believe.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

2. Slow Burn Season 2

Leon Neyfahk’s series on the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal really is as excellent as you have heard. Slate’s reporting, storytelling, and production are all top notch. It’s a bit of a cliche to say “If you thought you knew the story before…” but that’s exactly the experience I had as each episode takes you deeper behind the scenes on just how it all went down. I’d also highly recommend joining Slate+ to hear the plus episodes which dive into the production of the series. These episodes are total candy for docu podcast nerds.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

1. Making Obama

Doesn’t thinking about Barack Obama just make you happy? Imagine how much you’ll be smiling listening to seven nearly hour-long episodes exploring exactly how this man became the candidate that stole our hearts. With fantastic hosting by WBEZ Chicago’s Jennifer White, this series really unpacks how Chicago politics affected the future president and how his ascent was far from scripted. This podcast makes no mistakes and is therefore my number one Limited Series Documentary Podcast of 2018. I might have to just go listen to it again.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

The post Top 10 Limited Series Documentary Podcasts of 2018 appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

If you’re interested in an even more diverse set of podcasts from 2018, see picks at the halfway mark of the year from Eric Silver, Wil Williams, Ma’ayan Plaut, Arielle Nissenblatt, and myself — the best podcasts of 2018 (so far).

Alright, enough blabber. Here were my best podcasts of 2018 in no discernable order.

1. Caliphate

Holy crap. I started my Caliphate binge during a 3-hour drive from Austin to Dallas. I honestly can’t remember a quicker trip. Caliphate, produced by The New York Times, follows journalist Rukmini Callimachi as she reports on ISIS and the fall of Mosul. Expertly researched, Callimachi gives adequate context and interviews a former ISIS member to give further insight into their initial appeal, recruiting, and organization.

Caliphate is a 10-episode story with each episode hovering around the 30-minute mark.

2. Binge Mode: Harry Potter

A little less heavy than Caliphate, but arguably denser, the Binge Mode team of Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion strike a happy nerd cord with their deep dives into the Harry Potter series. I’ve written about my love for Binge Mode before (here and here), but it’s honestly one of my favorite podcasts — whether they tackle Game of Thrones or Harry Potter. As co-hosts, Rubin and Concepcion have an unrivaled rapport combined with sharp, sometimes dirty humor and extensive knowledge of the series and wider canon.

Binge Mode isn’t the podcast for a quick binge. As of this writing, the Harry Potter version of the feed has 63 episodes with most having over a 1.5-hour runtime. If you call yourself a Potterhead, you can’t miss it.

3. Articles of Interest

99% Invisible‘s Avery Trufelman produced a 6-part series that exemplifies what I enjoy about podcasts. Each episode goes into a different piece of clothing to analyze its history and the events that shaped it to be what we now think about it. For instance, how did Hawaiian shirts lead to “casual Friday”, or how did blue jeans become and remain such a ubiquitous article of clothing? Each episode is around 30 minutes and while thematically linked, can be listened to separately.

4. The Bright Sessions

I’ll be the first to admit, I had zero interest in audio drama podcasts. I don’t know why, I just never bothered to listen to any. However, we’re fortunate enough to have audio drama conoussier, Wil Williams, write for Discover Pods and she gave me a curated audio drama starter kit. For a comic book fan, The Bright Sessions comparisons to The X-Men are easy to make, but still don’t quite do it justice. The Bright Sessions follows therapist to the extraordinary, Dr. Bright, as she navigates complex relationships, coming of age challenges, and a sinister government corporation.

The Bright Sessions wrapped up their core story in June, but they’re still producing special individual episodes following new patients and creator, Lauren Shippen, has deals in place to adapt the story into other formats. Read our feature on Shippen here.  

5. 30 for 30 Bikram

As you’ll likely pick up from this list, I listen to podcasts for a few reasons: to be informed, to learn about something new, and to be entertained. These interests tend to lead to vastly different podcast choices — which I consider a good thing. ESPN’s 30 for 30 is a podcast I’ve subscribed to since day one. I’ve always been a fan of the documentary series and highly anticipated the podcast version of episodic audio documentaries.

However, the podcast took a mini departure from their winning format with the serialized Bikram season. They expanded their story to a 5-part series detailing the rise of popular fitness regime, Bikram Yoga and its horrific founder, Bikram Choudhury.

Read my full review of 30 for 30 Bikram here.

6. Endless Thread

I was initially apprehensive about a podcast using Reddit as their foundation. It seemed like a short-lived pseudo-branded podcast destined to live in mediocrity. But once again, I was wrong. The Reddit x WBUR collab has been a delightful new podcast for 2018. Reddit, as it turns out, is a nearly endless supply of stories and ideation for a quality podcast to build off of. From diving into Ken Bone’s fifteen minutes of fame, to analyzing the Mattress Firm potential conspiracy, to a story of strangers going great lengths to do a favor, and many other tangents, Endless Thread combines WBUR’s talent for good radio and Reddit’s already proven focus group of what people find interesting.

7. Dissect

I wrote about Dissect, the deep dive podcast analyzing specific hip hop albums, after host Cole Cuchna wrapped up the season on Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Since then, the podcast and host were gobbled up by Spotify and Cuchna has completed two seasons on Frank Ocean and Lauryn Hill.

Cuchna’s penchant for choosing albums that happen to near and dear to my heart is unfathomable (pssst Cole, Yeezus next, thanks). Dissect does a great job of providing context into the events that led to the album creation, analyzing and discussing the significance of the lyrics, and breaking apart the beat production so even us layman can understand.

8. Disgraceland

I don’t typically gush over true crime podcasts unless there’s something unique or some unmatched production value. Disgraceland does have its faults — notably some exaggeration. However, there’s no denying the compelling writing and delivery of the story. Each episode tells the past crime of some musician. Stories include the alleged forced overdose of Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious, drug- and sex-crazed Rick James, and of course the murder of Tupac.

Read my feature on Disgraceland creator, Jake Brennan here.

9. Slow Burn

The first anthology of Slow Burn was one of the best podcasts of 2017, chronicling the Watergate investigation and impeachment process of President Nixon. The collective podcast community was unsurprisingly excited when they revealed the Bill Clinton scandal and impeachment would be the focus of season two. It didn’t disappoint, and in many ways, surpassed the inaugural season. Host Leon Neyfakh does a masterful job of crafting historical evidence, new interviews, and forgotten context to present a well-known story in a new light.

Neyfakh surprised many when he announced his departure from Slate to start his own podcast company. Their first podcast, FIASCO, appears to follow a similar format to Slow Burn and will initially focus on the 2000 presidential election, Bush v. Gore. For their part, Slate has remained steadfast that Slow Burn will continue without Neyfakh.

10. Ars Paradoxica

Another audio drama I fell in love with (thanks again Wil! Read her full review). Ars Paradoxica tells the complicated story of time travel and clandestine government organizations. What I appreciated most, however, was their magnified attention to detail. They don’t shy away from the existential issues time travel would undoubtedly create — multiple universes, butterfly effect, and more. This unbridled focus is also readily apparent within the plot and dialogue that led to constant theorizing and speculation among the most ardent fans.

Though the main story is spread between 36 episodes, there are several bonus episodes and cast interviews that give even more insight into the story and characters.

11. Villains

Best-selling author, Shea Serrano, takes his unique humor, fanboy’ness, and honesty to create one of my favorite new podcasts. The concept of Villains is fairly simple, each week Serrano and a panel of guest hosts dive into a specific movie villain and discuss their motivations, actions, and determine if they’re redeemable. The topics and format is something The Ringer has already had success with The Rewatchables — a movie podcast.

What’s absolutely endearing about Villains is Shea’s honesty about being an amateur podcaster. In multiple episodes, Shea has added post-production audio footnotes providing meta-commentary on the podcast and his mistakes. It’s great.

12. Hi-Phi Nation

Along with Dissect, Hi-Phi Nation is another indie podcast receiving a promotion in 2018. In November, creator Barry Lam announced Hi-Phi Nation had been picked up by Slate to join their ranks. The philosophy podcast carefully blends qualitative and quantitative data to craft an immensely interesting podcast while also being extremely informative.

If you need to start with one episode, I’d recommend “The Chamber of Facts,” which details how our political beliefs are shaped by media echo chambers and what happens when the script is flipped.

13. Decoder Ring

Another new podcast from this year to crack my best of list. Slate’s Decoder Ring is billed as “cracking cultural mysteries”. This likely intentional vague descriptor really works for a podcast that’s explored topics ranging from opposing factions of a Sherlock Holmes fanfic theory to the origins and rise of the art in hotels.

Also, what I said at the top of the article about why I listen: “to be informed, to learn about something new, and to be entertained” — this podcast is a perfect 3/3. Host, Willa Paskin, does a great job acting as the audience’s proxy by asking the right questions and getting to the crucial aspects of the story.  

14. The Big Loop

Whoa, another audio drama! Audio dramas make-up 18.75% of my best of list, a stat I would not have believed had you told me a year ago. Creator and professional good human, Paul Bae, takes an episodic approach the genre. While most audio dramas tell a narrative fiction story serialized over several seasons, The Big Loop changes stories, characters, and overall format with each episode.

In the first episode, “The Studio,” Bae takes his influence from a popular Love+Radio episode, “The Living Room,” but adds a characteristic supernatural spin on the story. Arguably the best episode, however, is “Goodbye Mr. Adams,” which tells the coming-of-age story and a special lesson from a unique teacher. Briggon Snow voices the main character and does a great job encapsulating the teenage angst he brought to his character Caleb from The Bright Sessions. Combined with clever writing and intriguing stories, The Big Loop also adds custom music to provide the soundtrack for each episode.

15. Everything is Alive

Probably the most unique podcast I’ve heard in quite some time, Everything Is Alive brings life and personality to inanimate everyday objects. Creator and host, Ian Chillag, has a compelling and heartfelt unscripted conversation with objects you encounter on a daily basis to understand what they’re thinking, their struggles, and to see life a little differently. Objects range from a can of cola, to a lamppost, to a subway seat, and you actually start to think about how your interactions with these objects may be construed.

16. This is Love

I wanted to leave this list with the most heartfelt, uplifting podcasts in a world too often filled with negativity. Along with Everything Is Alive, This Is Love win the award for most likely to make you sob uncontrollably. From the team that brought you episodic true crime podcast, Criminal, you’ll get weekly episodes detailing different examples of love and loving in the world.

For example, in the second episode, “Something Large and Wild,” I was blown away by how much I cared about the relationship between an avid swimmer and a whale.

The post The 16 Best Podcasts of 2018 appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

But what exactly is a documentary podcast? They tell true stories through a heavily produced / polished style consisting of music, many interviews and tight editing that feels like a documentary film. They’re the most difficult and most time consuming podcasts to create. Many exists but only a few pass as the best. The following list is a glance at some of the very best documentary podcasts.

This American Life

Episode: When Patents Attack!

About: Who knew patents were so mysterious and twisted? This episode sheds light on the dark side of patent trolls and how they can bankrupt a company or make a company billions. This episode was so popular This American Life produced a sequel appropriately titled, When Patents Attack Part 2! The runtime is about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

American Fiasco

Episodes: Season 1

About: United States has always been on the cusp of a soccer revolution but soccer fever never seems to fully arrive before the excitement burns off. This was never more true than in 1998. The U.S. men’s World Cup team had a golden opportunity to create magic but the team’s internal drama destroyed their chances of becoming soccer royalty. Cinderella story to Fiasco. Disclaimer: You do not need to be a soccer fan to enjoy this show! Each episode is easily digestible, running about 30 minutes each.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Criminal

Episode: Deep Dive

About: Criminal tells one-off stories each episode and one of their finest productions is Deep Dive. A Los Angeles rescue diver who never turns down a dive mission meets his match in this suffocating and heart pounding story. The runtime is only 20 minutes.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Related reading: Phoebe Judge Pulls Double Duty with Criminal and This is Love

The Leap

Episode: 17 and Me

About: A college student needs money. So he donates sperm. Every week for years. Fast forward twenty years later, that poor college student is now a loving husband and dad. But his college “job” soon catches up with him as dozens of teenagers began to seek out their biological father. An easy listen in less than one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Mystery Show

Episode: Belt Buckle

About: Mystery Show was one of those rare podcast that broke the mold for what a podcast could be… unfortunately it was plagued with it’s own internal dramas and was canceled. But fortunately for us, the first season will always be online — I highly suggest Belt Buckle be your first listen of this Mystery Show. It’s a simple story with incredible heart and soul. Runtime is roughly one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Planet Money

Episode: How Four Drinking Buddies Saved Brazil

About: How does a country re-establish a new currency? For Brazil, all it took was four buddies drinking beer at a bar and advising a plan. This is truly a fascinating look into how the Real was created out of thin air — This episode is a short listen and you don’t need to be an economics geek to enjoy!

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Reply All

Episode: Long Distance pt. 1 and pt. 2

About: Reply All creates shows around a very wide theme: the internet. These two episodes are mysterious and eye-opening that pull back the curtain on international tech scammers. Who are these people who spam for a living and why do they do it? Each part runs about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

S-Town

Episode: Season 1

About: From the producers of This American Life and Serial podcasts, S-Town is a strange one. I can’t describe it without giving anything away so just give it a listen and enjoy. A NSFW heads up, there are many F-bombs dropped and it pours with vulgar language. S-Town is a seven part series, each part running roughly one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Related reading: The 20 Best True Crime Podcasts (Beyond Serial & S-Town)

Serial

Episode: Season 1

About: This is the most popular podcast of all time so if you haven’t listened to it, you’re probably on this page by mistake. Can’t recommend season one enough. It was the OG that started the true crime podcast craze that’s been ignited over the last couple of years. The season is 12 episodes and each episode runs about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Related reading: 8 of the most chilling podcasts like Serial

Snap Judgement

Episode: Bait and Switch

About: Snap tells different gripping stories every episode. If sneaky drug smuggler stories are your thing, then this episode is all you! It’s like an episode of Narcos in podcast form. Sketchy characters, big money, and the true tale of a man who always had to keep one step ahead. This is a one-off episode running about 30 minutes.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

StartUp

Episode: S3 E4 Dear Music Fans

About: StartUp tells the stories of you guessed it, tech startups. Grooveshark was an illegal music website that attempted and (almost) succeeded in changing the music industry forever. The creators of this site saw an unbelievable rise to fame but also a heartbreaking crash to reality. This episode runs about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Embedded

Episode: The League

About: Embedded is an extremely polished show that tells many stories pressing in today’s political climate but they also tell non-political stories about hidden worlds. Like this episode about the NBA D-League and the struggle of many players trapped in this world of almost making it to the big court of the NBA. So much hard work and sacrifice, this episode follows two players as they try to earn their way out of the D-League. This episode runs about 45 minutes.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

30 for 30

Episode: The Trials of Dan and Dave

About: ESPN’s series consistently incredible stories and The Trails of Dan and Dave is one their best. This story falls back to the 1992 ad campaign by Reebok promoting two athletes. A campaign that equated to the company’s entire year’s marketing budget of 25 million. The campaign was supposed to be a massive lift ended up being a complete bust, ending in gut wrenching embarrassment. This episode runs about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Related reading: Jody Avirgan can’t just stick to sports hosting both ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcast and FiveThiryEight Politics

Up and Vanished

Episode: Season 1

About: Serial spawned a slew of true crime podcasts but only one has caught similar attention and its for good reason. Up and Vanished starts like any other true crime show but as the show progresses more information comes to light and suddenly (almost in real time) the case begins to unravel. It’ll be hard to top the ending to this season, it was spectacular and if you haven’t heard this one and are a fan of mysteries — go listen now. There’s a reason it’s still on the top charts two years later. Each episode runs about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

The post The 14 Best Documentary Podcasts appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

In a curious departure from a working formula, ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcasts kicked off their third season with a 5-part serialized story about the sinister origins and founder of the popular Bikram yoga. The format change is noticeable for a couple reasons. For starters, in the podcasts previous two seasons, each episode was a standalone story. They hadn’t even run a two-part podcast to date. The second change is the story premise. While previous 30 for 30 Podcasts episodes chronicled “core” sports around baseball, hockey, basketball, and even tangential sports like the UFC and professional poker, yoga likely isn’t a topic many would consider a “sports podcast” to cover.

I mention this simply because it’s my only issue with this podcast season. I do wonder if other traditional 30 for 30 fans would prefer the original format covering interesting stories confined in the wide world of sports. I also question if listeners interested in the tumultuous story of Bikram would have found it under the ESPN umbrella. Just asking unanswerable questions here before I gush over the production of the podcast.

Without giving too much of the core story away, this season of 30 for 30 covers the origins of the once highly-popular fitness routine, Bikram yoga. If you’re unfamiliar with the workout, it’s a specific yoga routine performed over 90 minutes typically in over 100 degree temperature. I’ve never done the exercise myself — since being in close proximity with others as we’re all sweating profusely is my version of hell — but from those that have done Bikram yoga, I’ve learned it’s a grueling as it sounds. This specific brand of yoga was popularized by Bikram Choudhury, an Indian-born yogi who, at least on paper, has an impressive resume. Through his teaching and evangelical followers, Bikram yoga exploded throughout the US and Choudhury’s fame and wealth soared along with it.

Unfortunately, over the past 18 months we’ve learned that sometimes success and power can be intoxicating and lead to heartbreak. In 2015, six women came forward with allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and rape. The podcast — reported on for over a year and a half — hits especially hard during the #MeToo movement. Choudhury has fled the US and shied away from the press since. There’s a warrant out for his arrest.

The whole season was reported and produced by Julia Lowrie Henderson, who previously was a devout fan of Bikram yoga and managed a Bikram-style yoga studio in New York City. Through Henderson’s reporting and interviews, she’s able to empathize with the yoga fans who almost sound like ex-cult members, while sympathizing with the victims of Bikram himself. Henderson tells Refinery29, “There were layers and bigger picture issues of identity and fallen heroes, narcissism, and cultish personalities.”

The podcast itself carefully crafts and blends the narrative through historical audio footage of Choudhury and some of his early followers, interviews with some of the most prominent yoga fans, and balanced interviews with several of the survivors and their supporters. After the first episode, I noticed a similarity in structure and narrative to Stitcher’s Heaven’s Gate podcast. Only after getting further into the story did I realize how Bikram purposely fostered a cult’ish following as well.

Though Henderson was able to track down and interview Choudhury in Mexico, the audio interview isn’t included in the podcast. From her synopsis of the conversation, he continues to dodge the allegations and shame the survivors. Though the audio would have been a nice bookend to the story, I can imagine there were some legal release hurdles that would have either overly-polished the interview or else given more control to Choudhury about what was disclosed. In her recounting of the interview, Henderson’s voice perfectly conveys the contempt she undoubtedly feels towards her subject. At the 9:30 mark in the fifth episode (aptly titled “Reckoning”), she says, “He told me he was done with America. He talked about how stupid we are, how we fucked up, how he had sacrificed so much for us and we were too dumb to get it and he was done with us now.” Specifically when she says “we fucked up,” you can hear her seething as she says the words.

What the podcast excels at, likely intentionally, is infuriating their listener base by transparently displaying the lack of accountability on Choudhury’s part and the lack of a satisfying conclusion to the story. I came away from the podcast enraged that he not only hasn’t been punished, but he doesn’t show an ounce of remorse. Henderson again tells Refinery29, “In the moment of #MeToo and #TimesUp, a lot of people are finally seeing accountability placed on people who have done wrong. Unfortunately, this story is about someone that’s not the case yet for.”

Related reading: Jody Avirgan can’t just stick to sports hosting both ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcast and FiveThirtyEight Politics

The post ESPNs 30 for 30 Podcasts Tackles The Sordid History of Bikram Yoga appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

What if I told you it’s possible to host two wildly-different successful podcasts? Meet Jody Avirgan, host of ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcast and FiveThirtyEight’s Politics Podcast. Jody has your traditional route to become a big-time podcaster, if there actually was a traditional podcaster career arc. Starting with a public radio background at WNYC, Jody eventually landed at the ESPN-owned FiveThirtyEight where she hosted and produced podcasts before doing double duty with ESPN’s sports documentary series (and now podcast), 30 for 30.

If you’re unfamiliar, ESPN launched the 30 for 30 documentary series in 2009 intended to feature 30 stories in sports from the past 30 years. The series was (and is) widely successful — earning a Peabody Award in 2010, an Emmy in 2014, and culminated by winning the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2016.

In March 2017 ESPN announced they were launching a podcast under the same umbrella brand, the 30 for 30 Podcast was born. Highly-anticipated, this wasn’t a traditional podcast launch. Since ESPN chose to brand the podcast “30 for 30”, it immediately had higher, more grandiose expectations than any other podcast they’ve launched. In short, it had a lot to live up to.

Two seasons later, it’s clear the podcast delivered on the hype providing yet another unique medium to the larger 30 for 30 brand. The stories they choose to report on are everything you’d want (and expect): riveting characters blended with little-known, yet fascinating stories. Even the most diehard sports fans will learn something new, like not knowing a particular side of the story or an unheard of perspective. Yet, non-sports fans will find them just as interesting, if not more. Where sports fans will sometimes enter the story with some preconceived ideas or opinions, non-sports fans will be treated to a highly-produced and painstakingly-researched documentary series (or podcast).

I was fortunate enough to discuss the podcast with host Jody Avirgan. What was immediately interesting for me, a fan of both series, was the origin of the podcast and the early trial and errors. Instead of the polished original stories that made it into your podcast feed, they first thought you could simply create audio formats of the existing video documentary series only to realize the stories, interviews, and research wouldn’t quite translate to an audio-only format as they intended. Back to the drawing board.

I won’t spoil the rest of the conversation, but I will say it’s always fascinating to learn one’s origin story and how that led them to where they are today. Though we typically assume it’s some masterfully orchestrated decision, more often it’s by happen chance, or in Jody’s case, bouncing ideas off colleagues. Below is our Q&A, lightly edited for clarity.

Listen: iTunes

***

Kevin: To start things off, can you tell us a little bit about how you ended up in podcasts, and, ultimately ended up with ESPN hosting 30 for 30 and FiveThirtyEight Politics podcasts?

Jody: I started in public radio working at WNYC, the NPR station in New York. I had a home base called the Brian Lehrer Show, the daily public affairs talk show. I was able to report for other shows, help launch a new project, or work on a special project, so I bounced around and got a lot of different experience. Eventually after seven years, for all the reasons people get antsy and itchy, I decided to leave WNYC and was freelancing for awhile.

This was late 2015 and I knew I wanted to be somewhere permanent in time for the 2016 election. I didn’t know the 2016 election was going to be what it was, but I love covering elections. Not long after I left WNYC, I ended up talking to some folks at FiveThirtyEight as they were starting to think about podcasting, and wanted to bring someone in to get that going. So my freelance career lasted a month and a half before I then linked back up with a gig at FiveThirtyEight.

I started the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast and a couple other shows, while also doing more hosting which was a goal of mine. FiveThirtyEight and 30 for 30 share an office space inside the little ESPN universe. Since we physically sit on the same floor I started to get to know some of the 30 for 30 team.

Over the course of early 2016 we had some conversations about what a 30 for 30 podcasts look like. I started talking with them and we tried a few things on the side. Eventually, we agreed it’s something we wanted to do for real. We worked out a way for me to keep hosting some FiveThirtyEight stuff but transition over and do the 30 for 30 podcasts.

Throughout the whole process, I didn’t even switch desks.

Kevin: How do you view or classify the 30 for 30 documentary series, as companions or completely different entities?

Jody: Our initial thought was to repurpose some of the films as podcasts. We tried and realized audio is its own medium, different stories work in different ways. In order to tell a good audio story you need to report it out and select the stories that lend themselves to audio. So we decided, “hey, if we’re going to do 30 for 30 podcasts and we want them to live up to everything we love about 30 for 30, we’ve got to do these for real.” These need to be original stories developed, chosen, and reported out for audio specifically. I want to move to a place where we do some stuff across both sides, but our audio documentaries are conceived of as audio first and reported that way.

The cool thing is now, when an idea or story comes to us, we have the ability to say, “hey, is this best done as a short film? A full length film? A multi-part thing? A podcast? A multi-part podcast?” We now have a range of options for any given story and we can hopefully find the best fit.

Kevin: With the podcasts, you’re obviously losing the visual aid and you touched on this in a previous answer, but how do you compensate with that?

Jody: I would quibble with your word “compensate” because there are certain strengths audio has that video does not. Story selection is the most important part of the whole process. When you have a great story with vivid characters, then your job is to basically get out of the way. If you’ve chosen a bad story, or a story doesn’t work for whatever reason, you end up fighting the story and it becomes hard. So we spend a lot of time developing ideas, evaluating ideas, and only selecting ones we feel like, “Hey, this is a great, rich story that meets all of our standards.”

In terms of what’s different about the mediums, yes, you don’t have the visuals but audio — it sounds cliché — is very intimate. You can get people to talk and open up in a way you can’t on video. We ask for a lot of time. We ask the kinds of questions people aren’t used to getting asked, particularly if they’re in the sports world. So hopefully you’re getting people to open up a little bit more, talk about their experience, reflect.

There’s a lot of stories where there isn’t a visual component. We did a story last season about a casino heist. A lot of story takes place in the back room at Crockfords Casino in London where there aren’t cameras. We can take our listener there by having people describe it, by telling you what it looks like, by talking about what goes down there, by building an audio element. Think about how that would have to look as a film. You’d have to have all of these cutaways of chips in slow motion hitting a poker table. All these awful, cheesy film cliches.

There are also stories 30 for 30 hasn’t been able to do because the footage doesn’t exist. Well, now all of a sudden it’s a possibility to tell it as an audio story.

Kevin: Are there certain stories you wanted as a podcast but didn’t work or became documentaries?

Jody: There are certainly high-profile stories that could be either one, like the Dan and Dave one we did last season. You get a little selfish and say, “this is a good story. I want to tell it.” But we’re all pretty much rowing in the same direction so it feels like we’re trying to evaluate what’s the best way for this story to get told.

We’ve certainly killed a number of stories. Some stories where you start to go down the line, you even do a bunch of interviews, only to realize people aren’t opening up in the way we need them to. People aren’t taking us there. When you’re listening to audio you don’t have the other visual element to help tell the story, so you need someone to be able to take you there in their voice. That was certainly part of the experience with trying to repurpose the audio for the films. We ripped the audio, re-cut it, but the kind of clips we were getting for a visual film are different from the kind of clips that make an audio piece elevate.

Kevin: Was the 30 for 30 podcast something you fought for or did you plant the seeds with the 30 for 30 team and they ran with it and brought you on?

Jody: To put it bluntly, 30 for 30 were probably the last people to have the idea there should be a 30 for 30 podcast. The initial idea, which I was game for, was turn to the existing films into podcasts and they asked if I could help them.

Pretty early on we started thinking about how to make these original. To do narrative audio documentaries inspired by 30 for 30. It all lined up and we agreed to do it right and resource it correctly. Hire the proper staff, do original stories, give it time, space, resources, and a budget.

Kevin: How do you balance your time between 30 for 30 and FiveThirtyEight?

Jody: It’s definitely been a challenge to balance. Certainly, taking on 30 for 30 meant stepping back from FiveThirtyEight. One of the shows I was hosting no longer exists, but it was also an opportunity to have someone else step in the FiveThirtyEight setting. This gave them the chance to build something new and have more resources on their side. The FiveThirtyEight folks have been accommodating in letting me balance.

It was tough in the heat of the election when we were covering the last month of the election and launching this new thing. I found more of a balance mostly due to the fact we hired a great team. It’s only been a year of this thing, but we have some systems in place and know our roles. Anyone who’s built a team will tell you, the most important thing is to hire people who you trust, want to work with, and have their own set of talents. Then, simply set them up to do their thing and get out of the way. This last year has been a big process of doing that.

To answer your question in a more nuts and bolts manner: I come in on Mondays and prep for the politics pod. We record later on Monday afternoons. Then, much of the rest of the week is devoted to 30 for 30. The physical closeness to the FiveThirtyEight team allows me to jump into meetings and stuff throughout the week.

I will say the 30 for 30 thing is incredibly satisfying, we’re telling stories that go beyond sports. But I do have a political journalism streak in me. This is an incredibly interesting and important political time and I’m lucky I’ve been able to find a way to do both of these things.

Kevin: That must anger the stick to sports crowd because for you it’s actually impossible.

Jody: I know, my job description is literally talk about politics and also talk about sports. I’m not a target for the stick to sports stuff.

Kevin: With a background in radio, where do you see the relationship between the two medium headed? Do you think there’ll ultimately be a winner or do you think there’s a mutual balance?

Jody: It’s a good question. I use the word “radio” to talk about every audio product. I think public radio, tends to be in a position of strength. When you talk about ambitious narrative, highly-produced, highly-resourced radio, they’re the ones that have been doing it the longest. A lot of the DNA in the podcast world comes from public radio DNA. We’re doing a bit of this by taking an ESPN sensibility and marrying it with a public radio sensibility.

A lot of the conventional wisdom within public radio is not in the podcasting space. It means stuff is going to sound more different and ambitious and weird, in an experimental way.

For decades, if you were an ambitious, thoughtful, narrative, audio journalist the only game in town was your local public radio station or NPR. Pretty quickly in the last five years, there’s now more competition. You can be independent and viable. You can go to another podcasting company or another legacy media institution like ESPN or whoever is getting into podcasting.

It’s healthy, but it’s been a rocky road for a lot of public radio because they’re not used to added competition.

To me, a divide is when advertising and metrics start to evolve further. We’re going to see winners and losers in terms of shows that have an attractive audience to advertisers. 2018 is going to be a year of reckoning on that front. When we start to get more data and analytics about our audiences there’s going to be a lot of changes.

Kevin: Besides advertising and analytics, are there other larger podcasting trends you’re following closely?

Jody: For me that’s the big one. It’s helpful to compare the podcast industry as the film industry, the TV industry, or the web video industry, but a few generations behind. We are walking the same path TV walked generations ago and YouTube creators walked over the last 10 years or so. This initial movement is the Wild West. People can be independent, and still make a bunch of money because it’s new and you can find niche audiences. There’s explosion and buzz. Then, all of a sudden, the money and the metrics show up and the big players get involved and there’s a contraction. It’s natural and it’s going to happen, but I also think there’s going to be some real downsides from that.

A lot of shows aren’t going to be viable anymore. The conventional wisdom is going to change about what makes for a viable podcast.

At the same time, the other trend we’re going to see is more and more experimentation. Right now, to put it bluntly, podcasts sound very much like public radio or talk — a few people in a room talking about comedy, sports, or politics. True crime feels like the type of show that found a groove and is taking off.

We’re starting to see children’s podcasting taking off. We haven’t seen a ton of ambitious, non-fiction podcasting or fiction podcasting. We haven’t seen a ton of romantic comedy podcasting or historical fiction. We’re the only ones doing narrative sports podcasting, I think there should be many more.

Kevin: I’m glad you brought up true crime. From my perspective, it seems so many podcast listeners entrance into the medium was through Serial or S-Town and they’ve stuck with that genre. But it is refreshing on the other hand, to see the experimentation like you mentioned start to take off.

Jody: Yeah, and we’re going to see more and of it. I don’t know why true crime became this thing. Maybe because people like crime and it’s inherently interesting, but it is slightly baffling to me that, that’s been the big new bucket.

Kevin: I think everybody’s trying to capture the Serial or S-Town success right now. So you’re balancing your time between two podcasts, have a baby at home, when you do get the chance what podcasts out there do you listen to?

Jody: I still think This American Life is basically the best show. I love On the Media, I also listen to a lot of comedy talk type shows. I actually have recently loved The Rewatchables at The Ringer. It’s the show The Ringer and Bill Simmons was born to do. At some level, no matter what the topic is, all their shows have tended to veer towards super obsessive, pop culture references. The brilliance of this show is they made a format of it. I recently re-listened to Serial season two. I listen to Fresh Air, basically every day. I also think The Daily is the first show I’ve heard in a long time that feels like, there’s something special and new happening. I’m incredibly impressed with that show on its own and even more impressed they do it every day.

I like Mogul and The Nod a lot, as well.

I write a little podcast recommendation in a newsletter every weekend, so, it forces me to poke around and listen a little bit each week. That’s a big goal of mine this year, to listen and watch more widely. I don’t watch as many documentaries as I should. I don’t listen to as much of what’s been done out there as I should.

Kevin: That’s a good New Year’s resolution. What’s something a casual user probably doesn’t know about you or your podcasts or the process that goes on behind the scenes?

Jody: A big part of the 30 for 30 project is to show and continue to make the case ambitious, narrative, deeply reported podcasting takes real resources. It takes time. It takes intellectual resources. It takes people. It takes money.

The word “podcasting” can mean so many different things. It can mean everything from The Rewatchables to This American Life. There’s a notion all podcasts are cheap or easy or a quick turnaround. A big part of my job is to show people in many ways it’s important to think of our stuff as closer to a short film than their misperception of a “podcast”.

Our stories take months and months and months. They take hundreds of hours of interviews. They take travel. They take archival. They take licensing. They take original music and composition. This world is still so young that people don’t have their head around this in the same way they do with film.

Kevin: There’s a lot of people working on the podcast behind the scenes.

Jody: Absolutely. To that end, I feel so grateful we are well-resourced. The best part of this whole thing was being given the opportunity to hire some incredibly talented folks and bring them on board. In the grand scheme of things, we are very, very lucky to have the resources we have. We want to take advantage of this and continue to build the case to do it right, it’s got to be this way.

The post Jody Avirgan can’t just stick to sports hosting both ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcast and FiveThirtyEight Politics appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.