This month, we're thinking about the news that Apple Podcasts is changing the way it does local curation in its podcast app. Podnews broke the story last week: the platform will be more algorithmically focused, but many have raised concerns that this will reduce the discoverability of indie shows outside of major markets.
In addition to including more independent podcasts, our Editorial Team is going to share more podcasts from beyond the United States, starting with one of this month's picks.
I've Had Trouble Sleeping Lately
October is spooky month, a holiday akin to Christmas for true crime and paranormal podcasts. A new horror series on our radar is I've Had Trouble Sleeping Lately, an immersive and creepy anthology series with a full cast of actors and not a single AI voice to be heard. Described as "queer, diverse, and fiercely indie," the show will appeal to fans of The Magnus Archives and The NoSleep Podcast. As for the stories, which are best heard with headphones, each episode is a stand-alone narrative that allow intrepid new listeners to jump in at any point.
Reaching Out
Reaching Out is an affecting true story about family that won the prestigious Audio Memoir Award at Tribeca Festival. Twin brothers, Sayre and Connor, are about to turn 30 when decide to find the biological father who abandoned them before they were born. Their journey takes them to desert raves, drunken nightclubs, and ultimately forces both brothers to face uncomfortable truths that they didn't account for. Reaching Out was described by Ira Glass as the "best new show I’ve heard in years."
Heist at the Louvre
On October 19, 2025, the news broke that the most famous museum in the world, the Louvre in Paris, had been robbed. $100 million worth of jewelry, once owned by French royalty, is missing. In a four-part series from ABC's 20/20, James Longman charts the investigation into the robbery and explores the Parisian criminal underworld. This is an old-fashioned heist story with real-world consequences, and makes for compelling listening.
