This is my first shout out because, not only do they cover all things disease-related, but they know about One Health and will occasionally mention the One Health implication in their episodes. Lately they have been covering a lot of the misinformation being disseminated by fringe groups, wellness influencers, and certain political figures pushing pseudoscience and dangerous public health opinions. They cover the history, epidemiology, and the biology of a disease, condition, treatment, and other medically-relevant topics. Two of my favourite episodes were the Dancing Plague and a more recent one on Raw Milk (a two-parter).

These two science reporters choose a food and interview experts to learn about the history of the food and, when relevant, the science behind what makes it taste a certain way, how it is made (if not grown), potential crop diseases, and anything potentially scandalous. In addition to the fun lesson in food, they will often do a taste test as well and share their thoughts. My favourite part of the show is how they find experts to dig up some of the most intriguing stories about the foods we eat. They are easy to listen to and their insights during the tastings are always super helpful. Just, be aware if you have misophonia, sometimes you can hear their chewing during this portion. Two of my favourite episodes were one on Beans and the one on Spirits.

This is story telling at its finest with nearly every episode a banger. They exist to be curious minds who explore a seemingly banal question or topic and find a way to draw you in and imbue the listener with the same curiosity. I can’t explain it any other way. The topic could be shoe laces and suddenly you are gripped into a story of love, loss, and intrigue about…SHOE LACES! To be fair, I don’t actually think they have done a show on laces yet, but you get my point. I’ve been listening to them for so long that I’m not sure I can name a favourite episode, but I know I very much enjoyed Baby Blue Blood Drive and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

This one is all about human psychology, but touches a great deal on social sciences. Shanker says that his goal with the show was to “help people get to know themselves a little better, to think of their inner worlds with less judgment and more curiosity.” Although it isn’t intended as a self-help show, I would be lying if I said I didn’t sometimes walk away either knowing more about myself, understanding myself a little better, or learning to give myself a little more grace with certain things, and that is certainly helpful. I have many favourites, some of which have helped me understand and quell my rage over the election (okay, maybe, but maybe not – I’m pretty disappointed). Here are some recommended episodes, nevertheless: One head, two brains and Out of the Rabbit Hole

Alie is an actress with a scientific curiosity and a talent for interviewing smart people in their fields of expertise. One thing she does that I love is take random pauses during interviews (edited in) to explain something an expert says – or, sometimes correct them if they’ve misspoken. As you might have guessed, the show name indicates she covers all of the “ologies” (i.e. biology, geology), sometimes bending a field a bit into an ‘ology’ by using the latin name of the subject matter. It’s fun and teaches you about things you didn’t know you needed to know! Check her out, she’s amazing – and incredibly authentic.

If you know Conan’s humour, then you really don’t need any further explanation here. It’s just constant laugh-out-loud funny for 20 mins to an hour and a half or so, depending on the interview. He either does a shorter 20-30 minute conversation (aptly named “Conan O’Brian meets a fan”) where he chats with a random fan who has called in or a longer episode where he interviews a celebrity (often a comedian). There are also new episodes done periodically with his nemesis, Jordan Schlansky called “The Conan and Jordan Show”, which is a beautiful train wreck between an overly serious and insufferable, yet oddly intriguing, know-it-all who you find yourself rooting for while simultaneously wanting to give a swirly to versus a rather unserious cartoon character who may, in fact, be a hyper-playful Buddha that accidentally quantum leaped into an Irishman with an over active pituitary gland and a rapid-fire imagination that is uniquely his. Listening to them argue about a subject is weirdly entertaining and brightens my day. My favourite episodes? I don’t know. Probably all of them. I did, very much, laugh uncontrollably when he interviewed Ben Stiller (big Severance fans, here) and the fan’s episode “I’m a Very Normal Person with Very Normal Hobbies” .

This is a podcast of comedians who bring 4 new facts each episode that they learned and then discuss. Technically, this could have also gone under the science category and I learn something obscure and interesting every single episode, but anyone can spout out new facts and fun information. The greatness behind the show is, in part, their banter, iconic British humour, and (to borrow a corporate term) the synergy between each of the hosts. Qi puts out a lot of great British programming, but this is the podcast that I found while living in Germany and listened to on every road trip throughout Europe. It got us through so much Stau (traffic congestion) in Germany. I really want to share a top episode here, but I’ve listened to so many at this point, I’m not sure that is possible.

This one admittedly does NOT take you out of the current events as she analyses the current political events in the context of history. I find it helpful to hear how our Nation has seen some of this nonsense before in a different time and different social landscape. It’s a slightly different format than most podcasts, as it really is just her reading her latest newsletter from her substack, but I find it helpful to listen, rather than read, the letters she drafts because it allows me to get ready in the morning for my day. I don’t have a favourite here, as it changes based on what we are living through, day to day, but a separate interview she did with Jon Stewart ranks high on my list.

This podcast is essentially another story-telling machine, but the focus is on people. Everyday people, everyday lives, and the little things we all experience. They can be humerous, serious, about love and loss, and sometimes about seemingly mundane things that are just so beautifully human. I don’t get around to these episodes nearly as often as I’d like, and lose access to them after a time (I simply can’t subscribe to everything I’d like to, sadly), but the episode Chaos Graph was well worth the listen.