The Best Podcast Episodes Of 2019 So Far

Their interview-format pod welcomes a different expert each week, and with nearly 300 episodes under their belt, they’ve likely addressed an issue you may be grappling with. The internet is full of mysteries, and podcasts have proven to be an entertaining space to unravel them. Joining the ranks of the legendary “Mystery Show,” the prolific “Reply All” and the quirky “Endless Thread,” this year is “Underunderstood,” which trains its magnifying glass on, well …

Filled with fabulously awkward personal stories and experiences, 51 First Dates is superbly entertaining and terrifically informative. By analysing Foskett’s testimonies, the duo help examine how both she and others date, talking about everything from Facebook Dating price list communication and hook-ups to body image and couples counselling. After listening to a history episode for four hours, you might as well take a little break with Doug Benson while he interviews famous celebrities and smokes marijuana with them.

From those people arrested, falsely or otherwise, to the officers’ ongoing relationship to their own quotas and the show’s production team, this gets at the incremental changes that “Cops” can bring to an entire town and the lives it can alter as a result. Talking about the composers in the greater classical canon is a tricky proposition, as many show hosts struggle to find the ideal middle ground between a certain academic remove and an oversimplified desanitization of what makes this area worth studying. Jade Simmons’ tour through the underknown and underappreciated subplots in classical music history finds that particular balance, bringing a thrilling narrative touch to each of these tiny sagas. Told with a mix of scholarly appreciation and infectious energy, Simmons provides tales like this one — of Tchaikovsky’s ardent and dutiful letter-writing relationship — with an enthusiasm that makes it near impossible to stop listening. Facing a terminal colon cancer diagnosis, Julie Yip-Williams made a choice to record what she could in the days, weeks, and months before her death.

There may be some fatigue around the subject matter, however, BROKEN is a riveting six-episode series detailing Epstein’s history, rise of his monstrous empire, and eventual arrest and death. The first season of StartUp documented Alex Blumberg’s post-This American Life entrepreneurial project which would later become podcast studio success story, Gimlet. It was an expertly-narrated meta look into the difficulties of podcasting and starting a business. Another memorable early episode came at the end of 2018, where the topics were slightly less raunchy than usual and the hosts attempt to break down the elusive “friend zone” and how to get out of it.

Executive produced by Daniel Alarcón and Carolina Guerrero, two Latino journalists committed to bringing fascinating stories to their listeners, Radio Ambulante is the Spanish-language podcast to listen to. Focusing on longform journalistic storytelling, the episodes are anchored by fascinating stories of Latin Americans all around the world, from foreign students starting school in Oakland to used book-sellers in Bogotá, Colombia. The popular Instagram account that beautifully captures your favorite celebrities commenting on social media blossomed into a podcast in the summer of 2018. Geniuses Emma Diamond and Julie Kramer are hosts, naturally, and episodes have included everything from breaking down important celeb feuds to having Gary Janetti as a guest. This podcast from the folks of Bust is offered twice a month and features refreshing discussions with women in pop culture.

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The host, Christopher Frierson, is a geeky, profane, unparalleled chronicler of the festival’s rise and fall, uncovering its history and exploring Atlanta alongside listeners. Freaknik is an ode to a unique city, and an elegy for one of the greatest music festivals that ever existed. Becoming Wise’s tagline is that it “offers depth and discovery in the time it takes to make a cup of tea,” and honestly, that’s not an exaggeration. The podcast covers the big ideas of human existence in digestible, five-minute conversations. The topics are lofty and philosophical, but the episodes are so short your brain won’t have time to start drifting off. Whether you’re cleaning your room, stuck on an unusually long commute, or just generally bored as hell, there’s really no scenario that popping in your headphones and listening to a podcast can’t save.

Two University of Texas students cover the 2005 murder of Jennifer Cave in this limited series podcast. The 21-year-old went out one night and disappeared—and then her body was found at The Orange Tree, a condo complex near the university. This story takes such a crazy turn you’ll find yourself binging all the episodes in one day. NPR’s only national Latino news and cultural weekly radio program should be at the top of your list. Executive produced and anchored by award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa, LatinoUSA was created by the Futuro Media Group, a Harlem-based nonprofit that’s producing content that better reflects America’s diverse voices. Episodes of LatinoUSA run the gamut, covering everything from parenthood and quinceañeras to intersectional identities and the Latino history of hip-hop.

The London DJ trio Above & Beyond hosts the weekly two-hour show, bringing in 30-minute guest mixes from some of their favorite artists. Fans of Serial will enjoy this true-crime podcast, which is a pet project of professional radio producer Phoebe Judge. Criminal incorporates reimagined versions of murder ballads, investigations into historical crimes, and stories on the wrongdoings within the criminal system.

‘Obscura: A True Crime Podcast’

Maybe Gossip, a 12-part fictional narrative podcast, aka a comedic soap opera podcast, from bestselling author Allison Raskin. Gossip follows three “unlikely” female friends who meet weekly over coffee to share the latest—you guessed it—gossip brewing in their town of Golden Acres. The rest of the cast includes Victoria Rowell , Beth Littleford , and Peter Mackenzie (Black-ish). If you’ve never heard of Franklin Jones, let producer and host Jonathan Hirsch tell you.

ave You Heard George’s Podcast?

This one is a video podcast because you don’t want to miss any of the fun. So if you ever wondered what Jack Black looks like when he’s high, this is your chance. “Brave New World” is the final episode of the podcast series and is absolutely loved and cherished by the Wolf 359 podcast listeners. But before you get there, you still have 60 beautiful podcast episodes to enjoy. While we’re on it, here is another podcast that explores murders, only this time it’s not about an ordinary Baltimore high-school case, but it’s actually a series of most famous homicides that dealt with Hollywood celebrities.

It wasn’t a project aimed solely for posterity, but also for the family and friends that would be left to reconcile her absence. As a result, this audio companion to her memoir captures Julie’s assorted stories, imparted with hopeful lessons and solemn reflections on a search for clarity, if not finality. Told with grace and care in collaboration with Julie’s own wishes, it’s a kind of mediated memoir that also shows how much one person can still be present after their passing.

My husband and I recently attended one of their live shows, and it was one of the funnest nights out in a long time. Since Franklyn departed from the show, Cooper has invited several new and repeat guests onto the show to essentially serve as co-hosts. This episode with comedian and podcaster Hannah Berner has a similar feel to early Call Her Daddy shows and features a hilarious story that you can probably start to imagine based on the episode title. Because Berner and Cooper know each other from outside of the show as well, the “eavesdropping on two friends” certainly comes back in the 60-minute episode. Almost exactly one year after an errant push notification convinced people in Hawaii that a deadly missile attack was imminent, this piece is a prismatic look at those whose lives were unmistakably shaken by the prospect of certain death. Ranging from families scrambling to prepare for the worst to those who resigned themselves to a tragic fate, this audio tapestry shows the many ways the human brain can respond in times of crisis.