Find your new favourite podcast this International Podcast Day
Since their creation in the mid-2000s, podcasts have not just risen to popularity – they have become a cultural phenomenon. Now it seems you can find a podcast on just about anything, and if not, you can always start one yourself!
Whether you’re looking to learn or just be entertained, podcasts are great for listening on your commute, while exercising or to take a break while you study.
To celebrate International Podcast Day, here are some of the library team’s top podcast recommendations.
News
This is the ABC’s daily news podcast, offering 15 minutes a day of news with an Australian focus.
The Daily from the New York Times
Twenty-minute podcasts, five times a week with insights on a range of global news and issues.
History
Journalists Mike and Sarah look back at people and events – such as the OJ Simpson trial, Marie Antoinette, and the Y2K bug – that they believe have been miscast in the public imagination.
In 1990 the Scorpions, a heavy metal band from West Germany, released the power ballad ‘Wind of Change’. Decades later, New Yorker writer Patrick Radden Keefe hears a rumour: it was actually written by the CIA. This podcast is an eight-part investigation into the truth.
In this podcast Bailey Sarian explores stories of the ‘dark past’ – from the Trail of Tears to the Zoot Suit Riots.
Wellbeing
Think you know what makes people happy? In this podcast Yale professor Dr Laurie Santos explains the latest scientific research and shares some surprising and inspiring stories that will forever alter the way you think about happiness.
Good Life Project podcast with Johnathon Fields
The Good Life Project’s mission is to ‘help you live a better life’. This regular podcast includes interviews with leading figures in psychology, spirituality, culture, activism and more to explore the question of what a good life actually looks like.
True Crime
This seven-episode series from the ABC investigates the sudden disappearance of journalist and activist Juanita Nielson in Sydney’s Kings Cross during the early 1970’s.
This true crime series explores a mysterious death in the small town of Canadian, Texas, where it seemed that everyone in town became a suspect.
Photo by Charlotte May from Pexels
Humour
Australian comedians Kitty Flanagan and Dave O’Neill review their favourite junk food snacks, from choosing the best flavour of Shapes to comparing Crunchies and Violet Crumbles.
After years of hosting one of the highest-rated radio shows in Australia, comedians Hamish Blake and Andy Lee now create this weekly podcast full of humour and their ‘silly adventures’.
And a few more in the mix
Hosted by American actors Dax Shepherd and Monica Padman, this weekly podcast ‘celebrates the messiness of being human’ as they interview celebrities and other prominent figures.
Overheard at National Geographic
We might not be able to do much travel right now, but this podcast takes listeners behind the scenes to explore overheard conversations at the National Geographic Headquarters. From global cultures to travel, science and nature this series will feed your curiosity about our incredible world.
What do you call the science of pelicans? What do we know about etymology? This podcast explores all kinds of ‘ologies’, speaking to experts on a whole range of topics from niche to everyday.
Pop-chart analyst Chris Molanphy examines how popular songs from the last 50 years made their way to the top of the charts and the legacies they left behind.
We hope you find something you enjoy from the list above! Got any podcast recommendations of your own? Make sure you share them with us on Facebook or Twitter.