13+ Best Podcasts to Listen To

One of my favorite ways to pass time when I am driving or on walking is by listening to podcasts. I especially gravitate towards political and true crime podcasts. I am always looking for new recommendations, so I would love to hear your favorites in the comments. Keep scrolling for 13 of the best podcasts to listen to in 2025! Check out some of my favorite Twitter accounts and documentaries.

This article was originally published in June 2019 and has since been updated and recirculated for April 2025.

13+ Best Podcasts to Listen To

History Podcasts

History Matters (…and so does coffee)

Synopsis & Review

History Matters (…and so does coffee!) is a weekly podcast hosted by the National Council for History Education featuring the teaching and scholarship of Dr. Joanne Freeman, a professor of history at Yale University and former NCHE board member. Each episode features a conversation about an historic person, place, event, or piece of evidence; what it reveals; and how it emerges (or reemerges) in America today. Dr. Freeman begins with a short discussion of a topic, often connecting it to documents in the historical record, and then shows how it connects with the challenges and responsibilities of American citizenship in the here and now. Dr. Freeman also takes questions from the live webcast audience about the day’s topic. History Matters (…and so does coffee!) is a fun, funny, interactive, educational, and — amidst our current challenges — important webcast for understanding how history happens and its vital relevance today.

I look forward to this webcast each week because I enjoy the way that Dr. Freeman contextualizes history and is a great way to support the NCHE.

Presidential

Synopsis & Review

In 44 chronological episodes, the “Presidential” podcast takes listeners on an epic historical journey through the personality and legacy of each of the American presidents. Created and hosted by Washington Post reporter Lillian Cunningham, “Presidential” features interviews with the country’s greatest experts on the presidency, including Pulitzer Prize-winning biographers Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough, Jon Meacham and Bob Woodward. Start listening at the very beginning, with the life of George Washington, or jump ahead to any president whose story you want to better understand.

While this podcast has been around for a while, I loved listening to the historians takes on presidents and learning new information. I definitely recommend it for a different (and fun) perspective on former presidents.

Retropod

Synopsis & Review

“Retropod” is a show for history lovers, featuring stories about the past, rediscovered. Host Mike Rosenwald introduces you to history’s most colorful characters – forgotten heroes, overlooked villains, dreamers, explorers, world changers.

This podcast is another from the Washington Post, and offers a really great perspective on a variety of topics. For even more stories, there is a blog that provides contextualization from historical time to current events.

News & Political Podcasts

Civics 101

Synopsis & Review

What’s the difference between the House and the Senate? How do congressional investigations work? What is Federalist X actually about? Civics 101 is the podcast refresher course on the basics of how our democracy works.

I usually binge listen to this one and I love the connections to current events as it helps answer questions that may come up with our current political climate.

The Daily

Synopsis & Review

This is how the news should sound. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, hosted by Michael Barbaro and powered by New York Times journalism.

I listen to this every morning when I wake up while drinking my coffee. The coverage is timely and I find myself constantly learning something new to research further. I became hooked when there was an episode about a local North Carolina hospital that I had not seen in the local newspapers. It is a great way to start my morning with getting my news and information that I might want to pay more attention to during the day.

IHIP News

Synopsis & Review

Deep in a red state, progressive podcasters, Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan, share how they *really feel* about political news. Their comedic, feel-good takes drop twice weekly, possibly more, if sh*t really hits the fan.

I absolutely love Jennifer & Angie, and I first found their “I’ve Had It” podcast thanks to my friend, Amy. They are hilarious, no-nonsense, and I love everything about them! Pumps reminds me of Rose Nylund from the Golden Girls.

Pantsuit Politics

Synopsis & Review

Pantsuit Politics is a podcast where cohosts Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers take a different approach to the news. They keep listeners informed without the overwhelm or anxiety. Listeners describe us as “America’s political therapists”, and the New York Times called Pantsuit Politics “compelling and thoughtful listening”. New episodes of Pantsuit Politics are published on Tuesdays and Fridays for free for everyone, wherever you listen to your podcasts.

I love this podcast because it’s two women on either side of the political spectrum having a conversation without yelling, insulting, rather expressing their views around the current news. I highly recommend.

This American Life

Synopsis & Review

This American Life is a weekly public radio program and podcast. Each week we choose a theme and put together different kinds of stories on that theme. 

I am a huge fan of their themes and stories, though I cannot possibly keep up. I love their quirky stories, risk taking journalism, and ability to incorporate (appropriate) humor into tense stories.

We the People

Synopsis & Review

A weekly show of constitutional debate hosted by National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen where listeners can hear the best arguments on all sides of the constitutional issues at the center of American life.

This podcast is from the National Constitution Center and brings together people from both sides of the aisle to. have conversations around constitutional issues that affect our lives. I usually binge listen to this one as well, though I also like to check the topics to see if it’s one of particular interest. For example, there was a recent one about the North Carolina gerrymandering case that I listened to on my way to work that morning.

True Crime Podcasts

Crime Town

Synopsis & Review

Each season, Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier investigate the culture of crime in different cities. The first season is in Providence, RI and traces a history of crime throughout a city where organized crime corrupted every aspect of public life. 

This came highly recommended recently and I have enjoyed listening to the history and the impact organized crime had on the city.

Criminal

Synopsis & Review

Criminal is an award-winning podcast about true crime. Stories of people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. Criminal launched January of 2014, and new episodes come out weekly on Fridays.

This podcast is such an exceptional true crime podcast! It has only gotten better over time and it provides a look at the people, not just the crime, and offers a look at the criminal justice system.

Dirty John

Synopsis & Review

Debra Newell is a successful interior designer. She meets John Meehan, a handsome man who seems to check all the boxes: attentive, available, just back from a year in Iraq with Doctors Without Borders. But her family doesn’t like John, and they get entangled in an increasingly complex web of love, deception, forgiveness, denial, and ultimately, survival. Reported and hosted by Christopher Goffard from the L.A. Times.

I cannot get enough of this story. I watched the mini-series on Bravo and had a really hard time identifying Connie Britton as Debra based on her previous characters. However, the story was so twisted and bizarre, I followed it up with the podcast and it was just as good.

The Dream

Synopsis & Review

What if we told you that with zero experience and only a few hundred dollars down, this podcast could change your life? Well, we’d be lying. This season on The Dream, Jane Marie dives into the world of pyramid schemes, multi-level marketing, and all the other businesses that require their members to recruit their nearest and dearest in hopes of a commission. Join us as we trace the path of get-rich schemes from Jane’s roots in rural Michigan all the way to the White House.

I have been fascinated with the whole idea of MLM and the history of these businesses, the gendering of it, and the affects of it in small towns had me binge listening.

Serial

Synopsis & Review

Serial is an investigative journalism podcast hosted by Sarah Koenig, narrating a nonfiction story over multiple episodes. The series was co-created and is co-produced by Koenig and Julie Snyder and developed by This American Life.

I particularly loved seasons 1 and 3 of Serial. I a binge listener to this one, too. Sarah does a great job with her reporting and I thoroughly enjoy listening to her. This is the podcast that initially got me hooked.

S-Town

Synopsis & Review

John despises his Alabama town and decides to do something about it. He asks a reporter to investigate the son of a wealthy family who’s allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. But then someone else ends up dead, sparking a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure, and an unearthing of the mysteries of one man’s life.

This one took me a little while to get into, though it ended up being such a dark tale that I could not stop listening. Definitely recommend.

Up next for me to listen to are: Believed, Crime Junkie, How I Built This, and Root of Evil. Vivian Howard recommended all these, and if Vivian recommends them, then they must be good. I also have This Land and Gladiator on my list.

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