10 Podcasts You Can Listen to In 10 Minutes or Less
When people discuss short-form podcasts, they’re usually talking about podcasts with episodes that clock in at about twenty or thirty minutes–the kinds of podcasts you can listen to on your commute or while running errands. These podcasts never really struck me as short, though. I wanted episodes that would wow me in the time it took to make my coffee or get dressed, not just drive to work.
Over the years, I’ve found podcasts with pocket-sized episodes under 10 minutes from a wide variety of genres that can appeal to just about anyone. They’re not listed in any particular order; this is just a collection of podcasts that can do so much in so little time.
1. A Thousand Things to Talk About
A Thousand Things to Talk About is a podcast all about questions. Every weekday, this podcast will bring you a question to mull over–questions like “Do you support the creation of an official national language?” or “How much would you be willing to pay to live one additional year?“–in under five minutes. Host Andrea Parrish shares some of the research she’s done behind the question and sometimes shares her opinions, but always ultimately leaves it up to the listener to ponder.
2. Love and Luck
Love and Luck is a scripted audio drama (or fiction podcast) with a whimsical edge. The plot follows Kane and Jason, a couple who finds out they have magical abilities, through the voicemails they leave each other. Love and Luck is an aggressively optimistic audio drama without feeling too saccharine. While the longest episode currently clocks in at just over 11 minutes, most are between seven and nine.
3. Up First
NPR’s daily news roundup podcast Up First is one of the best ways to stay informed without getting overwhelmed. Up First reminds me of a vitamin; there’s so many important things all packed into one daily digestible unit. Instead of having to catch NPR throughout the day, Up First allows you the ability to get caught up all at once. Technically these episodes run at about 12 minutes, but that’s with two minutes of cross-promoting other shows. NPR says it’s 10 minutes, so we’re calling it 10 minutes too.
4. Kind World
WBUR’s Kind World is exactly what it sounds like: true stories about true acts of kindness. Like Love and Luck, Kind World manages to be deeply tender while not feeling tooth-achingly sweet. Each story has its own arc, usually one that starts in a very dark place, only to be brought somewhere beautiful by the end. Kind World is a great, quick reminder that sometimes, the world really can be kind.
5. 2298
Maybe what you’re looking for in a short podcast isn’t softness, though. Maybe you’re looking for something a little more 1984, a little more Black Mirror. 2298 is a sci-fi audio drama told in nine-minute installments, each one more suspenseful and intriguing than the last. 2298 follows Profile 24, a man living in a world controlled by the ominous, Big Brother-esque Network, and the bird that helps him discover the truths he’s been blind to until now.
6. Six Minutes
Or maybe what you’re looking for is a podcast that will keep your kid’s attention, both in thanks to its exciting story and its length. Gen-Z’s aptly named Six Minutes is a family-friendly adventure audio drama about Holiday, a pre-teen girl with powers and a mysterious past. Each episode is only six minutes long (seven with ads), and its riveting plot is perfect to hook everyone in your family.
7. Seven Minute Opinions
The Week‘s Seven Minute Opinions is a podcast of just that: opinions given in seven minutes, specifically from various writers for The Week. These opinions range from discussing America’s public transit or health care systems to discussing those awful noises you keep unknowingly making. These episodes are a quick way to share an opinion or mentally debate with the host without getting too wrapped up. Seven Minute Opinions hasn’t updated in a short while, but its healthy backlog should keep you satiated.
8. 600 Second Saga
600 Second Saga bills itself as “[flash] fiction that fits your life and lets you explore a new world weekly.” This anthology audio drama series has a new spin each episode, meaning you can jump in wherever. With its catalogue of over 100 different stories as of writing, you’re sure to find plenty of transportive stories with captivating plots, all in the time it takes to check the mail.
9. 60 Second Science
60 Second Science is Scientific American‘s podcast that attempts to inform and educate its audience about scientific topics, all in just one minute. This podcast breezes by while still imparting new knowledge on the listener, raising new questions, and blending interesting facts with science news. It’s one of the best ways to feel smarter and more interesting it you’re on a serious time crunch.
10. Mercury: A Broadcast of Hope
By the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company, Mercury: A Broadcast of Hope is a daily audio drama about radio hosts living in a zombie apocalypse, just trying to give listeners a way to stay sane. The theme of hope is in fact prevalent, breathing some new life into the otherwise very dead–in many ways–zombie apocalypse genre. Get on this zombie-centric audio drama fast; not only are the episodes quick, but they also expire for everyone but Patreon supporters!
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1 comment
What about The Indicator by Planet Money? I love that podcast. It’s so good I wish it were longer!!!
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