Podcasts?

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History is my favorite podcast, by far.

In Our Time is a BBC production, where 3-4 academics explain a topic from their field to a lay audience. The host manages it very well, and it has a large archive, so you can pick and choose topics.

Also, if you like podcasts, consider audiobooks.

Radiolab is, hands down, the best of all the podcasts. This seems universally recognized: I’ve yet to meet anyone who disagrees.

FWIW, I disagree (though I agree that everyone else seems to love it). It has high production values but I think it's pretty bad if you're actually interested in learning about something. They drag out even the most basic fact by coating it in (to me) extremely boring narrative, and leave out anything that would let you actually reason about the subject they're talking about.

I seem to be alone in this opinion.

I think Econtalk is a much better podcast for actually learning about something. Hardcore History also seems to be pretty good for this, though I've only just started listening to it.

I listen to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, EconTalk, Meet the Composer, Planet Money, Radiolab, Serial, StartUp, and This American Life.

I'm currently doing a Microeconomics Podcast optimized for students taking an introductory microeconomics course.

Writing Excuses is good.

Singularity 1 on 1 is a podcast that has interviewed people associated with this forum, like Lukeprog, Robin Hanson and James Miller. However there seems to be a lot of inferential distance between the host and his guests. I think someone like James Miller or Yvain would make a better host for this type of podcast.

Side note, if you find podcasts almost unlistenable at normal speed, you should use Overcast, which has the best speed-up effects of any app I've tried.

Planet Money is fantastic, I never miss it. Savage Love is equally fantastic, and on a topic too many people neglect because they don't think there's much to learn.

Welcome to Night Vale is quirky and fun. Plus quite popular, so gives you something to talk about with other geeks you run into at random.

I almost exclusively listen to medical podcasts (as I work in the medical field), but have been meaning to break into some non-medical podcasts; this looks like an interesting list to start with, thank you.

If anyone else is interested in medical podcasts, particularly from the emergency/intensive care/anaesthetics/retrieval sphere, there is a flourishing community of #FOAMed (Free Open Access Meducation) that strive to provide quality, evidence based teaching in medicine. It aims to reduce the knowledge translation time, as well as discuss cutting edge topics and portray different styles of work from around the world. I have found it excellent for making me both more passionate and more knowledgeable about my work.

Some of the best from my perspective are EMCrit, the SMACC conference talks from 2014 (or direct download here) and 2013, Life In The Fast Lane, The RAGE Podcast, St.Emlyn's Virtual Hospital podcast, and the Intensive Care Network

Lukeprog's Pale Blue Dot podcast is great.

When I'm in the mood for light entertainment, I like the Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality podcast (even though the written version didn't interest me). I will definitely try Cracked, though.

Thanks for raising the topic.

The only ones I listen to semi-regularly are Planet Money and Econtalk, and even then it depends on the subjects being discussed/the people being interviewed.

you may also enjoy Science For The People

I'm actually quite surprised at RadioLab's high ranking. I've not listened for a few months because I found a rather startling drop in quality from the good old days (the early episodes are certainly unbelievably good). Has it improved again recently, or have others not found a recent drop in quality?

Interviews with people who've recently written history books

This Week in Microbiology
http://www.microbeworld.org/podcasts/this-week-in-microbiology
If you're in the mood for more science than you'll get from a TED talk.

Why do you listen to all but a few of the podcasts at x1.5 or x2 speed? I know there's another person on here who does the same with audio books (can't remember who). Does it improve retention/enjoyment or does it simply allow you to get through more items quickly?

Radiolab is, hands down, the best of all the podcasts. This seems universally recognized: I’ve yet to meet anyone who disagrees. Even the people who make other podcasts think that Radiolab is better than their own. This one regularly invokes a profound sense of wonder at the universe and gratitude for being able to appreciate it. If you missed it somehow, you're probably missing out.

Is there a particular episode that you can recommend?

James Altucher, the serial entrepreneur and chess champ, has a great podcast. Recently he interviewed Geoffrey Miller, the evolutionary psychologist who wrote the Mating Mind. The other episodes feature guests that dispense advice relating to business, life, entrepreneurship etc... Itunes link :https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-james-altucher-show/id794030859?mt=2

Roderick on the Line is an entertaining podcast, mainly because John Roderick is a quirky storyteller with a lot of stories to tell. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/roderick-on-the-line/id471418144?mt=2

I'm surprised to see Radiolab get top billing, and This American Life not even get a mention. I think of Radiolab as an excellent imitation of TAL. :-)

I've found The Art of Charm Podcast valuable in helping me overcome mild social anxiety and in being more confident generally. The podcast has its roots in the pickup community (which is particularly evident in its early episodes), but has morphed into more of a "men's lifestyle" show.