As chosen by Podcast Review’s staff, here are the ten best podcasts of 2024:
Why did so many girls in an upstate New York high school suddenly come down with a Tourette’s-like condition where they couldn’t stop flailing, twitching, and producing verbal tics? Hysterical, the latest show from Dan Taberski, attempts to find out, via tangents following American diplomats abroad, 16th century witch trials, and the mass panic around fentanyl. Taberski’s amiable curiosity makes his meandering journey into the mysteries of our minds endlessly intriguing. By the end, the word “hysterical” has an altogether different connotation than it did at the beginning. – Chloe Walker
Puck’s podcasts have quickly become staples of my weekly listening. While Matt Belloni’s The Town — one of our best podcasts of 2022 — continues to garner well-deserved attention, this year also saw the debut of great shows like Lauren Sherman’s Fashion People and Dylan Byers’ The Grill Room. At the heart of Puck’s audio catalog, however, is The Powers That Be, its daily podcast hosted by Peter Hamby. As a companion to Puck’s sharp, insider journalism, the show features interviews with Puck’s top-tier roster of reporters, paired with Hamby’s signature mix of good humor and no-nonsense commentary. Critics on Apple Podcasts amusingly claim the show is both too left-wing and too sympathetic to executives, but what this should make clear is this isn’t another overly polished news podcast. The Powers That Be is the show that launched Puck’s burgeoning podcast empire — and the one I stlll find myself listening to most. – Jack Conway
There are plenty of great philosophy podcasts out there, but a favorite among the Podcast Review staff is The Gray Area. Hosted by Sean Illing for Vox, this podcast examines political and social issues through the lens of philosophical ideas. Rather than describe the show further, I want to highlight two episodes that stood out to me, not only as some of the best episodes of the show, but as my overall favorites of the year.
The first, “Taking Nietzsche Seriously,” features a conversation with academic Matt McManus about how Nietzsche’s philosophy has been interpreted—and misinterpreted—by various religions and political movements since his death. McManus skillfully ties Nietzsche’s legacy to today’s political landscape, making for a thrilling discussion that grapples with hard questions about morality. The second, “Life After Death,” takes an unexpectedly moving turn as Illing speaks with Sebastian Junger, a reporter and self-proclaimed rationalist who recounts a near-death experience during which he says he had a long discussion with his dead father. This episode dives deep into themes of mortality, the laws of physics, and our universal search for meaning, particularly as we age. For anyone who cares about the bigger questions in life, The Gray Area deserves a spot in your rotation. – Alice Florence Orr
After the huge success of Free Willy, news that Keiko, the orca who ‘played’ Willy, was also suffering from his poor conditions at an aqua park, led to a real-life campaign to free him too. As Daniel Alarcón’s compassionately reported show demonstrates however, the Free Keiko campaign proved a whole lot more complicated. Asking thought-provoking questions about the ways that humans impose our own ideas onto animals, as well as just telling one hell of a good tale – featuring a musical interlude from EGOT winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul – The Good Whale was one of 2024’s most bingeable podcasts. – Chloe Walker
When Short Cuts announced the BBC’s decision to end the show this year, it felt like a gut punch to those of us who value creative, boundary-pushing audio. For over 12 years, this series, hosted by Josie Long and produced by Falling Tree, showcased the art of the short documentary, nurturing new talent while consistently delivering strong storytelling. But don’t think of Short Cuts’ placement on this list as a sentimental nod to its past — the show’s brilliance was as clear as ever this year. Countless pieces have stayed with me, like Josephine Anderson’s “Dad’s Secret Life of Matchmaking” from the episode “In Time,” in which she interviews her father and discovers the closeness that emerges when parents reveal their true selves. Equally captivating, though entirely different, was Catherine Bouelle’s “mother house,” a literally instructive meditation on motherhood and free will, from the episode “A Word.” Short Cuts was never short on great work. Through humor, introspection, and a keen ear for life’s quieter moments, it leaves behind a legacy that will inspire storytellers for years to come — and it will be deeply missed. – Jack Conway
The 50th anniversary of the AIDS crisis is approaching, and Resurrection feels like the kind of podcast we need right now. This independent series returned this year with a poignant second season, focusing on the “heroes of the early years.” It chronicles the response to AIDS in New York and San Francisco, painting vivid, intimate portraits of those who fought on the frontlines, including a doctor, a playwright, and an activist.
Born after the hardest years of the AIDS crisis, I found Resurrection to be both educational and deeply moving. It’s more than a history lesson; it’s a tribute to the resilience and humanity of those who lived through the crisis. For anyone interested in American history or the power of archival storytelling, this podcast is essential. Resurrection lingers long after the final episode. This is a show to share with friends and family, especially those whose lives have been touched by these stories. – Alice Florence Orr
Evan Ratliff cloned his voice, linked up that voice clone to Chat GPT, and sent his AI creation off into the world, to interact with customer service agents, scammers, therapists, and even his own friends and family. Shell Game follows the chaos that followed in AI Evan’s wake, which proved revelatory about the perils and limitations of our new technological overlords. While Ratliff makes no bones about the scary times that lay ahead, the warm, personal tone of his podcast means it is as funny as it is fascinating. – Chloe Walker
The Atlantic’s Good on Paper launched quietly. As a podcast about policy, it may have been overlooked in favor of the latest true crime series or Elon Musk exposé. I was drawn in by the show’s first subject matter: Is remote working actually working? “Finally!” I thought. “Answers to questions that I care about.” Yes, I’m a wonk. But you might be too. That’s why you should be listening to this podcast.
Good on Paper is hosted by Jerusalem Demsas, a former Vox writer whose empathetic and meticulous approach suits the show’s central question: Is the idea under discussion working, or is it just good on paper? Her interviewing style invites comparisons to Ezra Klein’s, and it’s clear the show’s premise was constructed to appeal to listeners of his New York Times podcast. Yet from the first episode, Demsas establishes her own voice: fastidious, a bit nerdy, and instantly likable. Every subsequent episode has matched the high expectations set at the beginning of the year, and I can’t wait to see how the show evolves in the Trump 2.0 era. – Alice Florence Orr
This year, the hit investigative podcast returned to explore one of the worst war crimes in American history – the 2005 killing of twenty-four unarmed Iraqi civilians by US Marines in Haditha. No one ever served jail time, and as the relentless team led by Madeline Baran discover, that was just the way the military establishment wanted it. Although the third season of In The Dark is a devastating, infuriating listen, the rigor and passion of the reporting, and the tremendous import of the story make it an essential one too. – Chloe Walker
In the last twelve months, I have written no less than four reviews of Things Fell Apart, the latest podcast from writer Jon Ronson. Each one was glowing. I’ve sent episodes of the second season, which delves into Covid-era conspiracies, to all my friends who work in podcasting. Every single one replied with rapturous praise.
So what makes this BBC podcast my pick of the year? Things Fell Apart examines our “culture wars” with the approach of a thoughtful storyteller. It features the usual suspects: vaccine skepticism; New World Order conspiracies; fears about Antifa. Ronson explores all of these topics with his signature blend of skepticism, curiosity, and humanism. It’s a difficult thing to sympathize with a “troll” without letting her off the hook; Ronson manages it without breaking a sweat. Throughout both seasons of Things Fell Apart, Ronson offers a novel perspective on a polarized population. The result is a masterful examination of our recent past. – Alice Florence Orr
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