Each month, Podcast Review’s staff offers recommendations on the best new shows to listen to. Here are our favorite podcasts for November.
Avery Trufelman returns with the seventh season of her acclaimed fashion podcast, Articles of Interest. In this new series, she examines the surprising origins of “gear” within the context of the American military. She argues that virtually all modern clothing has some link to the armed forces, and the series untangles these connections by tracing them back to the beginning of the modern military.
From the field jacket to hiking boots, American outdoors apparel has gained wide global appeal. No other fashion trend benefits from millions of dollars of military research to test its durability. Where did the global interest in the “gorpcore” utilitarianism of American gear come from? Trufelman explains how military influences have profoundly shaped the items we buy today in her seven-part series.
We recently published a list of our favorite veterans podcasts, and this season of Articles of Interest would be a fitting addition to that playlist.
In the early 1970s, a British family faced grim prospects. They decided to set sail on a voyage around the world. But a few years into their adventure, catastrophe strikes. Apple Original podcast Adrift is based on the true story of Dougal Robinson and his family who were forced to survive on a raft after their boat sank in the Pacific. With few options, the family must do whatever they can to survive.
The series has obvious creative embellishments, but the core plot sticks closely to the real account. For those easily spooked by sharks and deep water, like myself, you may want to give this heart-pumping series a wide berth. Press play, if you dare.
The second season of The Harvard Plan picks up where the first left off. The impact of the Trump administration on Harvard’s operations is no longer a hypothetical. Host Ilya Marritz investigates the pressure Harvard’s been under since January 2025, through the stories of some of the key players: politics professor Ryan Enos, genetics professor and cancer researcher Kamila Naxerova, and Kit Parker, a colonel in the United States Army Reserve and professor of bioengineering and applied physics.
Hearing the personal perspectives cuts through the noise of the headlines to bring a compelling, and often frighting, illustration of the damage that political overreach can have on academic institutions.
¤
Alice Florence Orr is Managing Editor of Podcast Review