- In Our Time. Legendary BBC Radio 4 show in which four experts discuss a topic (e.g. 'enzymes', 'The Egyptian Book of the Dead', 'The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum') in terms a layperson can understand for about an hour, guided by a host who asks all the dumb questions for the listener.
- Norm Macdonald Live. Former SNL castmember spends a couple of hours interviewing e.g. Billy Bob Thornton, Adam Sandler, etc.). One of the most consistently funny and off-key shows I've ever heard.
I couldn't agree more about In Our Time. It's my weekly go-to programme on Radio 4 regardless of what subject they're discussing. On many subjects they've discussed I've usually picked up one or two books to learn more about events, people and things I didn't even know existed.
[0] Tell Me Something I Don't Know - Trivia show with a twist, hosted by Steven Dubner of Freakonomics fame.
[1] How I built this - Interviews successful entrepreneurs on their background, motivations, challenges etc. in building their businesses.
[2] Revolutions - Podcast on some of the biggest political revolutions in history. I am going through season 2 (American Revolution against the British Empire).
[3] War Stories - "Traces the evolution of warfare through the eyes who lived it". Season 1 focused on armoured warfare (a.k.a. Tanks). Waiting on Season 2.
[4] Science Vs - Researches the fads/opinions (organic food, meditation, ghosts etc.) to figure out if they are based on science.
Linux Unplugged (Jupiter Broadcasting) [0]: Informal chat with some cool people from the Linux world, often guests like Martin Wimpress (Ubuntu Mate, Raspberry Pi enthusiast), Frank Karlitschek/Jos Poortvliet (Nextcloud), Ikey Doherty (Solus/Coreboot), etc.
Linux Action News (Jupiter Broadcasting) [1]: 30 min overview of news from the Linux world.
No Agenda: For a healthy news diet [2].
TWIT: Loving the over-friendliness and forced extravertedness less and less and missing Dvorak, but still, a nice Tech overview.
Story Grid: (From time to time) In depth analysis of books from the perspective of a writer and editor. Very insightful.
It's great if you're interested in continuous delivery, startups, fundraising, product development, best practices etc. from two founders who have been and continue to be successful at their roles.
The Perceptive Photographer - 10-15 minute podcast released every Monday from my favorite photography teacher. Insightful and brief snippets about a variety of topics of interest to fine art photographers. https://www.danieljgregory.com/perceptivephotographerpodcast...
Pod Save the People - DeRay McKesson's weekly podcast on social justice and activism. Even if you don't know DeRay's name, you'd probably recognize him based on his blue Patagonia vest. https://getcrookedmedia.com/pod-save-the-people-56bc42af53d
S-Town - A co-production from Serial and This American Life. It starts off as a murder mystery and then goes off into left field. A beautiful, sort of American Gothic look at our country. The ending left me feeling a bit...empty maybe? Still, an incredibly worthwhile way to spend seven hours. https://stownpodcast.org
I mostly listen to things from the BBC due to the World Service no longer broadcasting to North America as of 2001. There are some CBC programs since the loss of Radio Canada International. Mostly comedies plus The Archers Omnibus.
These are for listening pleasure. CBC & BBC both have comedy of the week podcasts. Because News on CBC is hilarious. Drama of the Week on BBC is good though sometimes off the wall.
I could listen to Larry Kudlow for business reasons but lately I cling tight to my comedies. I need the escape.
I listen to the SANS Internet StormCast ("daily 5-10 minute information security threat updates") every morning:
https://isc.sans.edu/podcast.html
Many of my other favorites have already been mentioned, but I also listen to:
Twenty Thousand Hertz ("stories behind the world's most
recognizable and interesting sounds")
https://www.20k.org
and have started listening to this new NPR podcast:
Wow in the World ("a new way for families to connect, look up and discover the wonders in the world around them. Every episode, hosts Mindy and Guy guide curious kids and their grown-ups away from their screens and on a journey. Through a combination of careful scientific research and fun, we'll go inside our brains, out into space, and deep into the coolest new stories in science and technology")
http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510321/wow-in-the-world
http://exponent.fm/ Exponent by Ben Thompson (of Stratechery) and James Allworth is great for analysis of big tech issues and news.
https://trackchanges.postlight.com/ Track Changes by Paul Ford and Rich Ziade can be quite light, but they have some interesting guests and have lived on the web since it started.
I listen to a lot of horror fiction podcasts like Darkest Night, the No Sleep Podcast, some other fiction stuff like Rabbits and Alice Isn't Dead, and then some other stuff.
Planet Money -- my favorite
99% Invisible
Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal
History Honeys
Six Feats Under
My wife is more into Sunday School Dropouts than I am, but I listen to it occasionally. She also listens to some other history podcasts but I don't recall what they are.
I am surprised that the omega tau ( http://omegataupodcast.net ) has not been mentioned yet. Many episodes on aviation, but also quite a few on hardware, software, and science. The style is incredibly nerdy, which I guess is an advantage for the HN crowd.
Knowledge @ Wharton - sometimes interesting, I end up skipping about half of the episodes.
Exponent -Ben Thompson of Stratechery -- very insightful commentary on business and technology/
NPR Planet Money -- Economics is a second love of mine.
Startup -- by Gimlet Media -- Stories about the startup culture
Science vs -- Researches fad and compares them to the actual science.
Acquired -- discusses technology acquisitions
Internet History Podcast -- just what it says it is.
Freakonomics -- Because it's Freakonomics, should be required listening for anyone who wants to talk about economics.
Political Gabfest -- definitely liberal leaning political commentary.
Career Tools/Manager Tools -- I suggest these two podcasts to anyone who is working. Binge on them from the beginning and skip the ones that aren't relevant to you.
The Talk Show w/John Gruber -- required listening for Apple nerds.
Accidental Tech Podcast -- same as above/
Slate Money -- Did I mention I'm an economics nerd?
Not seen Floss Weekly mentioned thus far. Features some really amazing projects and the presenter somehow makes complex topics understandable. This and HN are the main sources of my tech knowledge.
I'm a big fan of Skeptoid (http://www.skeptoid.com). Brian does a great job of telling the story of many popular pseudoscientific/conspiratorial/unexplained things and then addresses them with evidence and scientific skepticism but in an insightful way without mocking or being judgemental.
Reply All is about the internet and planet money is about money, but in both cases it's as much about people and the interesting things that we do.
Hanselminutes is Scott Hanselman interviewing interesting guests about aspects of software development. It has a laid back and friendly pace. Scott is always well prepared and a very nice host.
My podcasts aren't hugely funny, or startup centric, but everyone else is sharing their list... Not an American, but with a strong interest in what's going on across the Pacific.
Risky Business, Pod Save America, Lawfare Podcast, Chat 10 Looks 3, The Dollop, Bombshell (War on the Rocks), FiveThirtyEight Politics
In addition to what I consider the usual suspects (Startup [Gimlet] / Radiolab / This American Life), I just added two a little more off the beaten path:
The Pitch - Shark Tank on a podcast essentially. Somewhat deeper. The more recent episodes are way better than the first ones so just skip to the end.
Waking Up - so refreshing to hear someone as thoughtful as Sam Harris on a regular basis. I love that he is so calmly rational that he can have productive conversations with everyone from left to right, atheist to Muslim.
LOVE Waking Up, been both a reader of Sam Harris' books and a Patreon supporter for a while now. Dave Rubin also manages to bring a lot of interesting guests to his show.
I've heard Dave Rubin's name thrown around so I was going to check him out until I saw his performance here a few days ago. I didn't like it. Of course, you simply mentioned his guests, and I'm certain he has some really good ones!
If you're interested in Security Now, you might like Risky Business: https://risky.biz
It feels like an upgrade to me, by people who spend their days working in infosec. They've had interviews with members of LulzSec, the NSA's General Counsel, and the guy behind PwnAllTheThings. They also broke the inside story of what actually happened in Australia's national census outage.
My one hesitation is it's starting to feel like pro-5eyes propaganda. They were very dismissive of the Shadow Brokers last year (because "NSA superiority"), and have had to rewrite history since the actual 0-days & WannaCry were released. So I don't listen to every episode anymore, but I do find it informative.
Rationally Speaking and Security Now in the same list make my head hurt. Julia Galef has entertaining, highly intelligent and nuanced conversations with brilliant people. Gibson tries to sell tools that are "good because they are written in assembly".
Not related to startups specifically (unless edtech?) but I highly recommend Metalearn for personal development. It's interview-based but that's what I like about it!
Reply all is funny and about the internet.
The Dig is not funny or about startups but I just discovered it and wanted to share. Smart policy discussion with a lefty viewpoint.
+1 for ATP. I don't even have any Apple hardware but I like their style, not so much technical, but focusing on other aspects engineers tend to care about (UX, product quality, economics, etc).
- In Our Time. Legendary BBC Radio 4 show in which four experts discuss a topic (e.g. 'enzymes', 'The Egyptian Book of the Dead', 'The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum') in terms a layperson can understand for about an hour, guided by a host who asks all the dumb questions for the listener.
- Norm Macdonald Live. Former SNL castmember spends a couple of hours interviewing e.g. Billy Bob Thornton, Adam Sandler, etc.). One of the most consistently funny and off-key shows I've ever heard.