Warning
This is a rough and incomplete draft. Expect revisions.
Around 2013, I started listening to podcasts and have used Pocket Casts nearly exclusively as my client. I say “nearly” because some of these I’ve watched on YouTube instead.
I’ve lost my entire podcast history at least twice, primarily due to swapping phones without transferring old account data. That said, this compilation is undoubtedly incomplete. I haven’t listened to many of these in years, so my assessments are often based on years-old memories.
Additionally, I find that many podcasts have significant downturns in quality over time. For the most part, I will try to approximate when I listened to these shows to provide context, but for many, I am unable to recall the exact dates.
I also listen to podcasts much less than I did between 2013 and 2018.
Personal Favorites
Very Bad Wizards
This is one of the few podcasts that I still listen to regularly. The show’s conceit is that it features a philosopher (Tamler Sommers) and a psychologist (Dave Pizarro) discussing topics in science and ethics. In reality, however, the show is not limited to science and ethics.
The show is typically divided into two segments. The opening segment is usually a discussion lasting around a half-hour about something topical—whether this is a (typically spurious) publication or something in the news—often related to culture wars. The main segment runs for about an hour and is a conversation about a specific piece of media. Often, the main segment covers an established work in science or philosophy, but in later episodes, it has expanded to movies, TV shows, and literary fiction. A “beat break,” which is a beat that Dave Pizarro produced, separates these two segments.
The beat breaks are, in a way, representative of what I think makes the show appealing. Many who cover academic topics fall victim to the expectations that come along with those topics. It shows a great deal of security to do a show as they do.
Back when I first started listening, I viewed some of this as a deficit. I saw the show as too casual—not rigorous enough. In retrospect, that lack of pretension is one of the show’s greatest strengths. I would much rather listen to or converse with people casually discussing cerebral topics than those who merely adopt airs of rigor. Basically, I think they do well to prioritize substance over style.
It is one of the few shows that actually makes me laugh, and for me at least, shared sensibilies extend beyond humor. For instance, I find that I am typically in agreement with the hosts’ positions (not that they always agree) on culture war topics. I also share much the same taste in literature as the hosts; primarily I have in mind Borges, but also Kafka. Dave’s beats often interpolate MF DOOM samples, whom I had been listening to long before hearing of the show.
As a young adult, I read some collections of Borges’ fiction without knowing much about his influences, simply enjoying them as mind-bending, thought-provoking stories. Some years later, while taking a course covering the history of modern philosophy, I was often reminded of these stories—such as Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Berkeley’s idealism and The Aleph by Leibniz’s Monadology. Learning these topics did deepen my appreciation for Borges, but my main point is to make clear that my taste had already been established prior to listening to VBW, and that I did not start liking these things just because the hosts discussed them.
For the past few years, I have had something approaching a preoccupation with the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes—specifically regarding widely accepted falsehoods. This show somewhat embodies the spirit of this story, turning a critical eye to publications that put the style of academics prior to the substance. And it manages to do this without falling into a mean-spirited cynicism. In that way, it reminds me of what Nietzsche advocates for in his The Gay Science: a sort of critical levity.
As far as shortcomings, I have recommended this podcast to others and gotten the response that it demands too much attention because the hosts are smart. This surprised me, because I think of the show as casual. Listening with another audience in mind, however, I did realize that the hosts assume a lot of knowledge from their listeners. I’m by no means a scholar, and never even went to grad school, but I did study a good amount of philosophy, psychology, and literature in college. On top of the references to these subjects, there is a fair amount of references to the show’s internal lore, such as Tamler’s stepmom being alt-right, Dave being anti-Semitic, and inside baseball about academia. I think I would like the show less if it attempted to make itself more accessible, but I also see this as a hurdle for introducing new people to the show.
Omnibus
https://www.omnibusproject.com/
Pretty great show about overlooked history. The conceit of the show is cool; they are creating a time capsule of arcana for future generations. I am worried and somewhat expect that it is in its death throes given that Ken Jennings has left.
I do have some misgivings about the show. For instance, at times it does seem as if the hosts are just wiki-warrioring. Also, I remember once there was some discussion of Goethe and I think I underwent Gell-Mann Amnesia, noticing that much of what was said was inaccurate, but still taking Ken and John as credible in other episodes.
Recent Discoveries
The Rest Is Science
I’d been a fan of Michael Stevens’ Vsauce YouTube Channels probably since the early 2010s. I have also been familiar with Hannah Fry from her appearances on the Numberphile YouTube channel. The hosts mesh very well, and the topics covered are pretty fascinating. They also seem to be publishing new episodes frequently. It is shaping up to be a new favorite.
Robinson’s Podcast
Robinson Erhardt is a PhD student at Stanford. He interviews primarily philosophers and scientists. He seems to do his homework when it comes to his guests and their areas of specialty. Although it has much less of an emphasis on tech and politics, I view him as doing well what Lex Fridman purports to do.
Dwarkesh Podcast
Dwarkesh is somehow involved in the AI space, and I had seen his interviews with some of the people from Anthropic. This is okay, but really what drew me to his podcast is his interviews with David Reich and Joseph Henrich.
Galaxy Brain
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/galaxy-brain/
The name of this podcast sucks. In conversations about podcasts, I’m reluctant to even bring it up because of its name. Still, what I have heard so far has been good.
- The internet is a misery machine with Hank Green
- How YouTube Ate Podcasts and TV
- Prediction Markets and Suckerfication
On Paper, I Should Like These
Ologies
This is not a bad podcast by any stretch. I also think the premise is interesting—interviews with people who are -ologists of various sorts. I specifically remember listening to the episode on thanatology, the study of death, and liking it. I’m not sure what turned me off of this podcast. It may have been something to do with the host, but it could have just been variation in the interviewees.
Radiolab
Never really listened to much, but like Hardcore History, Memory Palace, and 99% Invisible, it is touted as one of the greatest podcasts ever. I’ve read there was a significant downturn in the quality, and I could not even describe what this show is about. That said, I do have an impression that it is overrated.
Lateral with Tom Scott
Lateral is a relatively new project and, as I understand it, has become Tom Scott’s main focus since he retired his weekly YouTube videos. It held a lot of promise for me, as I was a fan of Tom’s channel and enjoyed Tell Me Something I Don’t Know (a short-run game show from the Freakonomics network).
However, I discovered I’m not much of a fan of lateral thinking puzzles. I remain unsure if this is a “me problem”—in that I simply dislike the genre—or if it is actually just a weak premise for a show. All in all, it feels like the show is still establishing its footing, but unfortunately, I suspect I won’t be giving it much more of a chance.
Hardcore History
Another much-lauded podcast, which I’ve never gotten into. It is one I think I should give more of a chance. Unrelated to the actual content is that I think when I first encountered it, what episodes were accessible to the public were limited.
I have heard that Dan Carlin often remarks on how he is not a historian, despite doing research comparable to one, which I respect.
99% Invisible
Still to this day, when I read descriptions of 99% Invisible it seems like something I would enjoy. I still think I should give it another shot.
Memory Palace
I remember this used to be recommended a lot as if it was the best podcast ever. I know I had attempted to listen in the past and found it just flat-out boring.
By Category
Linguistics
The Endless Knot
Phenomenal podcast, very well-researched. Likely should be in personal favorites. I think the only thing keeping it from that is that it is a little too dry and academic. I have a great appreciation for how the hosts situate ideas within a conceptually associative web.
Unfortunately, for the past few years, the hosts seem more focused on creating short-form content.
A Way with Words
Etymology radio show. I’ve not listened to it in years, but it is very easy listening.
Lexicon Valley (John McWhorter)
Great show, not listened to in years. It is a common point of criticism, but too many examples from showtunes are shoehorned in.
Philosophy & Ideas
Philosophy Bites
Around 2014, I used to binge this show. I’m typically against short-form podcasts, those that are under roughly 20 minutes, but this is an exception. I’ve not really listened to it in years.
The Partially Examined Life
I kind of think that hearing about this show is what was the impetus behind me listening to podcasts at all. I do think some of the criticism about the hosts getting things wrong has merit, but for the most part, you would experience the same thing if you were a grad student in philosophy in a seminar, which is what the show attempts to emulate.
History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps
I really only listened to the first season on the Pre-Socratics. It’s good, but a bit too dry. I’m glad that the host has adapted this podcast to book form, and in some ways, I think it is a more appropriate medium.
In Our Time
I’m considering here the masterfeed, not just the philosophy or history episodes. The show is decent. I think it is too short and has too many hosts. If it was a single guest being interviewed for a half-hour or so, similar to Philosophy Bites, it would likely work, but because it is short and there are multiple guests, it seems that the show is forced into being a little too shallow.
Rationally Speaking
The era with Massimo is all I listened to. It is decent and I think Massimo does well to point out flaws in thinking in the sciences. I have some misgivings about Julia Galef. She basically seems to be selling Bayesian thinking as a lifestyle brand.
The Panpsycast
Decent show, content is not bad, but I think the hosts’ sensibilities are maybe a bit at odds with mine, or it may just be American and British cultural differences. I was interested when they were attempting to do Platonic dialogues as radio plays.
Entitled Opinions
Too continental, too pretentious.
The Philosopher’s Zone (Australian)
Remember thinking this was decent. Know there was some host change at some point, and the show took a downturn.
Philosophy For Our Times
Seemingly good idea, never really landed. Philosophers talking philosophy at a bar. Pretty weak.
New Books in Philosophy
The most academic of the philosophy podcasts that I am aware of. Interviews with philosophers about recent publications. It’s good.
Farnam Street (The Knowledge Project)
Not really philosophy. Occupies a weird space where it is on the surface about investment and business leadership, but the real focus is mental models or different modes of interpreting the world, which makes it almost part of the self-help space. Nonetheless, I do think I have picked up some interesting ideas from the show.
Science & Tech
- Sean Carroll’s Mindscape
- Hidden Brain
- Darknet Diaries
- Science Vs
Programming and Linux
Tech Over Tea
This is cool in that if you have an interest in the open source community, Linux ricing, and other related topics, there are interviews with project maintainers and other insiders. I feel pity for Brodie because I think he faces a lot of criticism, but flat out, I do not think he is a good interviewer.
Changelog Master Feed
There are a handful of different shows on this feed. The AI one is good. The Go and Javascript ones I barely listen to. Whatever the main one is, I listen to the most. There are interesting guests and it is a decent way to find new programs and applications. I do often feel like it is old Ruby devs, not up to date on what is current, and phoning it in.
Linux Unplugged
The focus here is self-hosting and the hosts of the show are pretty pro-NixOS. I appreciate the challenges they do such as trying to use only TUI applications. Not a bad show, definitely special interest.
Full Time Nix
What seems to be the most active and visible podcast around Nix and NixOS. I am reluctant to be critical at all because I think it is good for the space.
This Week in Self-Hosted
Pretty much just listen to it to learn about self-hosted services I may want to run.
Linkarzu
Much in the same way that I think Robinson Erhardt is doing well what Lex Fridman is doing, but in a slightly different space, I think Linkarzu is doing well what Brodie Robertson is doing.
Brodie’s focus is on the open source community generally, but Linkarzu is a bit more narrowly focused. This is not strictly limited to developer tools, but largely, the bulk of his content surrounds the Neovim ecosystem.
Linkarzu does not use Linux for personal computing, but instead just Debian for servers, and macOS with a tiling window manager for personal use. That setup—macOS with a tiling window manager—is pretty niche and precludes him from a sizable potential audience, specifically those who use tiling window managers on Linux and view macOS as a walled garden.
Economics, Business & Society
Freakonomics
OG podcast in my books and sort of the baseline for comparison of other podcasts. Definitely do not listen to much now, but I am a fan of the entire network of podcasts.
Planet Money
Great podcast, interesting topics, well-structured, engaging. Should probably be in personal favorites.
The Uncertain Hour (The “White House Crack” episode)
Only really remember the White House Crack episode. I was impressed by how journalistic it seemed to be. Should revisit.
The Dream
Season one on MLMs was great. Stopped listening after that.
How I Built This
Founder porn. Interviews with business founders. Host does a great job. Add comment on questions about luck, hard work, and skill.
Masters of Scale
Decent. Reid Hoffman of the Paypal mafia and LinkedIn fame.
The Sweaty Startup
Sets off guru grifter spidey senses, but in large part, the advice, I think, is sound. The show is about creating startups but not in the tech space, more along the lines of if you were to start a lawn mowing or pressure washing business.
EconTalk
I basically view this as Mindscape with Sean Carroll except with an economist instead of a physicist, and less polish.
People I (Mostly) Admire
Good show.
No Stupid Questions (Angela Duckworth)
Good show. Light, easy listening. Fan of Angela Duckworth as a personality.
Behind the Bastards
Some interesting people covered, but stopped listening because it was so editorialized. Lots of moral grandstanding. I’m also not a fan of the podcast format where some dude is explaining stuff to some woman (typically girlfriend).
History & Narrative
The Ancients
Listen occasionally. No complaints.
Throughline
Good show.
Presidential
Listened to the entire series. Remember very little.
Cautionary Tales
Remember being excited when I first learned about it. Remember being somewhat let down.
The Lazarus Heist
Good miniseries.
The Missing Cryptoqueen
Good miniseries.
This American Life
Some episodes are very good.
Invisibilia
Season 1 was great. Stopped listening after that.
Interviews & Commentary
The Happiness Lab
Watched Santos’ lectures on Psych of Well-Being. Know I have listened to this, but not much memorable.
Lex Fridman
This guy is a fraud. He also sucks as an interviewer. The main thing that is redeeming is that he gets good guests.
Joe Rogan
Somewhat storied history. I remember people attempting to put me onto Joe Rogan when I was fairly young, and immediately thinking that it is just bro-science and conspiracy theories. His comedy has always sucked.
Around 2016, I got somewhat interested in MMA and started listening some because of that, and found that he had interviews with various academics. I did feel as if I had written him off without giving a proper chance. There was quite a bit I found respectable about Joe, such as his seeming humility.
I never really listened to his show consistently. Post-pandemic, I’m not really sure what to think about him.
Pod Save America and Pod Save the World
Listened to both of these leading up to the 2016 election. Lost interest, mainly because I did feel as if it is political filter bubble content, and also I somewhat consciously at the time decided to stop consuming political content because I thought I and many others were becoming too obsessed with it.
Redbar
Some of the humor is abrasive and mean-spirited. A lot is interesting like how he is not reliant on platforms like YouTube. Also think he is a much-needed check on the podcast comedy scene. Made me realize the importance of critics.
The Portal (Weinstein)
Eric Weinstein is a charlatan and he almost got me. I listened to the first few episodes and really some interesting ideas and topics were explored. I remember one episode was with Thiel and the other with the guy who wrote American Psycho.
I did get the sense that Weinstein was trying to float conspiratorial ideation and position himself as something of a guru, and I pretty much tuned out. I had seen him doing similar on Lex Fridman. I’m wholly convinced he is a charlatan nowadays.
Tell Me Something I Don’t Know
Great podcast. Would make a great TV show. Short-lived. Well-executed.
The Tim Ferriss Show
Bro sci guru.