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.

Jake Brennan may be a podcaster, but you can’t take the punk rock out of him. His regular voice hints at a past likely involving some parties, but that only further exemplifies the rock and roll attitude that coincides with his podcast and storytelling technique. By telling immersive and engaging stories, his first foray into podcasts, Disgraceland, has been able to stand out and succeed in a crowded space of true crime podcasts.

Disgraceland is a true crime podcast that focuses specifically on crimes involving musicians. At the time of this writing, his stories have depicted Jerry Lee Lewis, Sid Vicious, Van Morrison, Sam Cooke, and a slew of Norwegian Black Metal bands. The stories are outlandish and instantly captivating given Brennan’s writing and delivery. The stories involve elements you’d likely expect: murder, drugs, and overall mayhem, but with Brennan’s narrative, the energy and excitement builds through each episode to the climax and resolution.

The origin story for Disgraceland will likely ring true for a lot of podcasters. Seeking a creative outlet and unsure of what the future would hold, Brennan dove headfirst into a podcast. “I was definitely at a crossroads in my life professionally and creatively when I made the decision to make Disgraceland. I decided I was going to throw myself wholeheartedly into a creative endeavor, which is not a decision that I take lightly.”

Brennan, an avid music historian, was well-versed in several of these stories already, reading editorial features and biographies recounting the events he’d later depict in Disgraceland. The challenge for him is often how to separate the person, the crime, and their musical talent. Brennan describes this, “Jerry Lee Lewis can be an alleged murdering psychopath and he’s still one of the greatest rock and roll musicians of all time. How do you reconcile that sort of tension of bad people, great music?”

Documentarians and podcasters alike aren’t unique to this problem. To construct a condensed, yet engaging story, the creators often need to inject their unique perspective on the situation. This is especially important when recounting a well-known topic or crime. Listeners won’t want to hear about something they’ve already seen depicted several times before, they want something unique, something new. Brennan describes an upcoming episode, “My take is the media killed Tupac and Biggie by upping the animosity and creating this honey trap for them to keep upping the tension themselves. The media was complicit, as well as the fans, in driving that narrative, driving the tension to a crescendo.”

The nit I will pick on Disgraceland is the balance the story teeters with in regards to factual evidence and entertainment. As a podcast, your goal is to engage listeners. Disgraceland — and several other true crime podcasts — is occasionally guilty of leaning too much into the entertainment at the cost of diverging from objective facts. In a couple episodes Brennan goes so far as to voice some of the people’s internal monologues happening during specific events. Brennan responded to the question of where the responsibility lies in staying truthful to the facts by saying, “as a listener, I’m attracted to those podcasts that are more story-focused and let the chips fall where they may.” Reading between the lines, it appears Brennan is aimed at telling the most immersive, entertaining story possible. He succeeds in this endeavor.

As an indie podcast, Disgraceland’s success has become somewhat of an anomaly. When a new episode is released, it’s not uncommon to see Disgraceland break the top ten podcasts on Apple. Along with a captivating podcast, this success is largely driven by the strong community Brennan has helped foster. When asked about if this was organic or purposeful, he responded with a simple: both. He also stole some ideas from his time in a band as well.

“When I was in a punk and hardcore bands (pre-internet) you’d share demo tapes with your friends at shows and you’d swap merch. It was this big organic supportive scene where all the bands helped each other out. What I found is this exists in the podcast world as well.”

Unsurprising, Brennan is big on merch, specifically stickers and t-shirts. He rewards his favorite app reviewers with a shirt and reads their review during the credits. This is the best example I’ve seen of a podcaster grooming a dedicated fanbase and turning them into advocates to spread the podcast through word of mouth. This remains the key for all podcasts, but especially imperative for indie podcasts with limited resources. Our 2017 Podcast Trends Report found 74% of people find podcasts through word of mouth, the largest discovery channel. Combine great content with action and the success will follow.

Planned as a seasonal podcast, the first season of Disgraceland will conclude after 12 episodes. When asked if he’s worried about following up with a second season to rival the first, Brennan responded confidently, “I think there’s some really crazy ones coming up. I don’t think I’ve scratched the surface really.” He continued, “I’m going to take three weeks after season one. Then come back with season two right away and that will take me through the end of the year.”

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