From 'You Must Remember This: Erotic ‘90s' to 'Broken Record', these podcasts will take you on a serious journey.
11 of the Most Addictive Podcast Series to Binge This Weekend
From 'You Must Remember This: Erotic ‘90s' to 'Broken Record', these podcasts will take you on a serious journey.
It feels like everyone has a podcast nowadays. But this also makes it difficult to know which ones are worth listening to. How do you choose?!
We love a good podcast series. One that provides a captivating and immersive storytelling experience that sets them apart from standalone episodes or one-off podcasts.
So whether you're heading on a road trip, doing a deep clean of your home, or simply need some entertainment for your work commute, consider one of these seriously captivating listens. Plus, they're all available for free on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
1. Broken Record
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Music enthusiasts, this one's for you. Hosted by Justin Richmond with interviews by producer Rick Rubin, writer Malcolm Gladwell, and former New York Times editor Bruce Headlam, Broken Record features a new icon of music each episode. The team do deep dives into each musician's career/creative process, bringing artists such as Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Patti Smith, and Usher onto the podcast.
2. Sounds Like a Cult
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Ever look at groups of people who are fascinated by a particular topic and think “Hmm, that seems a bit odd” – Amanda Montell and Isa Medina certainly do, so much so that they’ve created a whole podcast on it. The Sounds Like a Cult podcast analyses the modern-day “cults” people follow. From essential oils to The Kardashians, Isa and Amanda break down fanatical fringe groups from the cultural zeitgeist and try to answer the big question: this sounds like a cult, but is it really?
3. Best Friend Therapy
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Hosted by author Elizabeth Day and psychotherapist Emma Reed-Turrell, Best Friend Therapy is a gentle and insightful exploration of life's challenges. Each episode focuses on a different psychological topic in an effort to help us better understand ourselves. Whether it's about rejection, perfectionism, co-dependency, self-worth, or grief, each episode is a valuable insight into our inner workings, making us question why we feel the way we do and how to improve our lives. Every topic is approached with honesty, compassion, and practical wisdom, that leads you to feel just that little bit better by the end.
4. Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus Lemonada
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Julia celebrates women older than 70 and their wisdom in her Wiser Than Me podcast. Personal conversations with guests such as Fran Lebowitz, Diane von Furstenberg, and Jane Fonda who share their extensive life experiences, are comedic and touching. At the end of each episode, Julia reflects on her conversations with her mother, Judith, sharing insights from the episode’s guest.
5. Killer Fun Crime and Entertainment
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
A crime meets entertainment podcast that teeters on the lighter side of things, Killer Fun Crime and Entertainment is a great podcast for those who enjoy true crime but don't want anything too morbid. A few times a month internet sleuth Christy and Harvard psychology masters graduate Jackie watch a television show or movie, read a book, or play a game, in the crime genre. Well-researched facts and plenty of laughs are guaranteed.
6. Filthy Ritual
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
A true-crime podcast centring on one of the most prolific fraudsters in British history, Filthy Ritual hooks you in from the get-go. The six-part series, hosted by Redhanded podcasters Hannah Maguire and Suruthi Bala, divulges the true story of Juliette D’Souza, who claimed she could perform miracles and scammed a number of wealthy Londoners. The podcast features discussions with the reporters who travelled to Suriname to track Juliette down, one of Britain's leading shamans, and the victims who were brought together to find justice.
7. Rabbit Hole
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Also from The New York Times is Rabbit Hole, a podcast about the reality of getting lost in the depths of the internet. With stellar tech reporting, this eight-part miniseries is hosted by tech columnist Kevin Roose and deep-dives into how the internet is shaping us and how many of our thoughts are dictated by what we see on our screens. It’s a captivating listen.
8. Cover Up: The Pill Plot
Listen on Spotify
This new podcast recounts the story of a ragtag group of people who, in the ‘90s, were responsible for smuggling abortion pills into the US. The conversations that were being had at the time about how these activists could make real change in America also could not be more relevant in today’s world, where reproductive rights in the US have become a battleground once again.
9. You Must Remember This: Erotic ‘90s
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Karina Longworth’s beloved podcast You Must Remember This has returned for a new season called Erotic ‘90s, in which she looks at the films of the decade that pushed boundaries – or conformed – to the ideas of sex and femininity of the time. Impeccably researched, Erotic ‘90s offers a fascinating new look at some of the stars and films you know from that era, from Thelma & Louise to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, uncovering what conversations were really being had about sex on screen. It’s a revealing look at movie culture for anyone who is a film fanatic.
10. Missed Fortune
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Treasure hunts! Missing fortune! What more could you want in an addictive podcast? This series follows an elderly and eccentric millionaire who stashed a literal chest full of gold, sapphires, and rubies somewhere in the Rocky Mountains more than a decade ago, leaving behind only a poem containing the clues of its location. How far would people go in their search for the hidden treasure? And what would they really find if they ever made it?
11. The Sunshine Place
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
One for the fans of true crime and cult podcasts, The Sunshine Place is about Synanon, a program in Santa Monica in the ‘60s that claimed it could cure heroin addiction – or anything that ailed you – for a price. The eight-part series is a gripping listen and also happens to be the first podcast from Robert Downey Jr., who produced the show with his wife Susan.
