Podcasts

This is a list of the podcasts I currently listen to, have listened to completely or given up on.

If there’s a rating next to the title it usually means I’ve either completed it (or completed a particular season’s arc) or given up on it.

Accused: The Unsolved Murder of Elizabeth Andes (8/10)

This podcast covers the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Andes, at a university in Ohio in the ’70s. It’s a new take on the rash of podcasts that are out there as, in this case, the crime is unsolved. (However, when In the Dark started recording, that crime was also unsolved.)

This podcast once again highlights police and investigative failures. As much as Serial or In the Dark, or perhaps more, it also highlights the stubbornness of law enforcement, and their unwillingness to review what they did wrong. (Though In the Dark really focuses on this as well.) In this case it’s the police’s unshakeable belief that the guy they failed to convict of the murder actually did it. As with these other true crime podcasts, the listener cannot believe that this stubbornness persists.I have listened to the second season as well, and I’m not on the third season.

Accused Season 2 (7/10)

At first this season seemed like it was going to be a harder case to make. But, though the defendant is a worse person, the case that he is innocent might be even stronger than the case in the first season. And it’s more incredible.

Accused Season 3 (7/10)

A very different story, one that makes the title nonsensical. (At this point the show should be called Unsolved not Accused.) This is more interesting for anyone who is tired of the spate of wrongful conviction shows. A man dies at a uranium plant and nobody knows whether it was suicide or murder.

You can read a graphic novel summary here.

Against the Rules (9/10)

“A show about the decline of the referee.” A fascinating examination of the lack of fairness in the United States. Read the review of Against the Rules.

Listening to the second season now.

Atlanta Monster

Same guy as Up and Vanished. I just don’t like how he tells stories.

Bag Man (6/10)

A really interesting story about Spiro Agnew’s resignation told by someone who believes you are not paying attention to her. Read the review of Bag Man.

Bear Brook (9/10)

A pretty incredible unsolved truce crime mystery podcast with some really interesting stuff about forensics. Read the review of Bear Brook.

Behind the Bastards

“The true stories behind the worst people in history.”

Listening to this one from the beginning so it will likely be years (and years) before I ever finish it.

The Black Tapes

I stuck with this one for a season, but it infuriated me by constantly humming and hawing between “The Paranormal is Real!” and “It’s complete nonsense.”

The Breakdown

A little too “now I’m just a humble Georgian reporter.”

Bundyville (9/10)

An excellent examination of the “patriot movement” in the US. Read the review of Bundyville.

The Butterfly Effect (7/10)

The host’s voice is a really acquired taste and the use of the concept of the “butterfly effect” is a little overdone but otherwise this is a fascinating examination of how the porn industry has changed due to free streaming and what that means for people in the industry.

COMMONS:

A podcast from Canadaland with different topics each season. I have only listened to one season completely:

Dynasties (6/10)

This is an interesting but flawed podcast about major recent familial dynasties in Canada. I have a bunch of reservations about it but, given that I know of no other coverage of this subject in Canada, I still recommend it to you if you are at all interested on the impact of inter-generational wealth and success in Canada.

Read the review of COMMONS: Dynasties.

Conspiracyland (8/10)

An excellent look at how the Seth Rich murder turned into a massive conspiracy by the Democrats or the Deep State. Read the review of Conspiracyland.

Conviction (8/10)

A good spin on the criminal justice podcast genre. Read the review of Conviction.

Darknet Diaries (9/10)

Really interesting blackhat stories. One of my favourite podcasts.

Death at the Wing (7/10)

This podcast about the social consequences of American politics through the lens of basketball is way too left wing and a little unfocused, but it’s also well-done and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. I don’t think they’re winning anyone over, which is a problem for me. But I liked it.

Disgraceland

I can’t think of another podcast I’ve listened to that felt like it was glorifying murder. This one feels like it has a very convoluted relationship with morality. Also, I’m not prude but there is so much swearing in this it’s just crazy.

I gave up after one episode.

Dirty John (7/10)

Most true crime podcasts are about murder, or at least kidnapping. This podcast is about a different kind of criminal. Read the review of Dirty John.

Dynasties

Famous families in Canada.

I wish these were more in depth but nobody else is covering this stuff.

Edge

Not truly a podcast, these are actually YouTube/Sound Cloud video interviews where you can get the audio-only version. Conversations about science, technology and philosophy (among other things) with people at the leading edges of their fields (hence the name).

Going Viral (7/10)

The first season is on the Spanish Flu. I’ve finished it.

The second season is about COVID and is somewhat interesting but is also not the best thing to listen to on the subject.

As far as I know, it’s over.

The Heist

I might have appreciated this when it game out but I started listening it too many years later and I just couldn’t be bothered.

Hi Phi Nation

My go-to contemporary (practical) philosophy podcast.

Homecoming (6/10)

Honestly I don’t know why I forgot to review this one when I finished, but I did.

So the production values are obviously excellent, and there is something pleasing about listening to voices you recognize play characters when you cannot see the actors.

But I was always kind of frustrated a little by the storytelling and I can’t really remember why at this remove.

In the Dark (7/10)

Note: Here is my review of the first season. They are continuing to make new seasons now, so I likely won’t review the whole show unless it ends.

I forgot to review this when I finished listening to it and I presume I have forgotten to review a bunch of other podcasts I finished. This is a frustrating, devastating and infuriating portrait of a child kidnapping in the ’80s, the near-absolute power of country Sheriffs in the US (and their general incompetence) and how badly things can go when something seizes national attention in a democracy.

If you’ve listened to Serial, or watched Making a Murderer, this is for you. Though the story is different – there is nobody in jail for decades for this particular crime – so much of the story is unfortunately familiar: ineffective policing, the bizarre unwillingness to consider certain evidence/suspects while focusing on others, the unwillingness of the police to admit mistakes, and so forth.

If you are interested in stories about injustice or true crime, I recommend it.

The Last Days of August (8/10)

The Shit Town or porn star suicide podcasts. Read the review of The Last Days of August.

Limetown (7/10)

Limetown is an engrossing hard science fiction story that mostly manages to avoid the issues that seem to accompany these fictional podcasts – mostly the audio equivalent of the found footage film problem; in this case, ‘why is everything recorded?’

It’s a reasonably compelling mystery that keeps enough hidden for long enough. There’s still some nonsense typical of conspiracy theory stories, but it’s limited. Of the fictional podcasts I’ve listened to so far, it’s certainly as good as I’ve heard.

The Message (7/10)

The Message is a fictional podcast, something that might have worked in the Golden Age of Radio, though with obviously higher production values and a much better understanding of science.

It’s a neat idea and it mostly works: It turns out that the US government (but of course) has been sitting on an audio message received from extraterrestrials back in the ’40s. They’ve been trying to decode it unsuccessfully ever since. It’s a conceit appropriate for the format and, though the listener has to stretch credulity a few times about the audio access this podcaster gets, it’s compelling enough that you want to find out what happened.

I’m glad to see (hear, I mean) stuff like this that shows that podcasting isn’t just for non-fiction. And I look forward to something more ambitious than the two hours or so this one lasts. In the meantime, this is sufficient.

Missing & Murdered (6?/10)

It’s been long enough now that I don’t remember why I stopped listening to this podcast. Something about the storytelling style frustrated me, but I can’t remember what. I don’t know if I’ll ever give it another chance. I have too many ongoing podcasts to listen to.

The Missing Cryptoqueen (7/10)

Pretty excellent podcast with some iffy sound design. Read the review of The Missing Cryptoqueen.

Nice Try!

About utopianism on a small scale. Only listened to the first season so far. I’d say it’s worth a listen.

My Favourite Murder

I don’t understand what the appeal of this show is. It’s got none of the things that I find appealing about true crime. It’s just mystifying.

Patient Zero (8/10)

An excellent podcast about Lyme Disease and the psychology of medicine. Read the review of Patient Zero.

Reply All

The original internet podcast, I’m listening to it from the beginning.

Revolutions

Slowly making my way through this. Currently in the middle of the 1848 season.

Science Vs. (8/10)

I have decided to stop listening. Read my review of Science Vs.

Serial (10/10)

The first season changed the industry and launched a favourite podcast of mine, and it convinced me to start listening to podcasts.

I might be the only person who enjoyed the second season and its examination of a seemingly simple story that was actually very complicated. (Dealing with the issue of “justice” is never easy.)

The third season does a better job than most podcasts of showing the systemic problems of the justice system in the US.

Shit Town (10/10)

This Serial spinoff is completely different from the main show and an utterly unique look at both mental illness and our innate human desire for complete explanations. Read the review.

60 Songs that Explain the ’90s (7/10):

I wasn’t initially interested and then eavesdropped enough on Jenn’s listening that I decided I had to. Only listened to the episodes I was legitimately interested in which I think probably added up to about 40 or 50 of the 120 episodes.

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe (6/10)

I started listening to this one from the beginning, which could be why I got tired of it. Another problem was it just felt like they were dunking on people a lot of the time.

Sleepwalkers

An interesting assessment of the current state of Artificial Intelligence. Read the review of the first season of Sleepwalkers.

Slow Burn (8/10)

Read my review of Slow Burn season one.

I cannot explain to you why I didn’t review Season 2, about the Clinton impeachment, but I didn’t. It’s worth listening to.

I did not listen to season 3 or Season 4, both of which were considerably different from the first two seasons.

I finished Season 5 in August 2021. I found it somewhat useful, in further processing the Iraq War. But I’m not sure how much of an improvement it was on, say, the best Frontline episodes about it. (There is a two part Frontline about one of the topics of this season which is a must-watch but I cannot currently recall the name.)

Standoff (8/10)

A brief but pretty excellent documentary about what happened at Ruby Ridge and why it’s important. Read the review.

30 for 30 Podcasts (8/10)

This is an ongoing series, but it is significantly different than many of the podcasts I listen to with different hosts and different formats.

Seasons 1 and 2 are individual stories, some better than others but good overall.

The third season is the excellent Bikram, a story which has since told in a movie or TV documentary form. (I can’t remember which.) This is a must listen for anyone interested in #metoo or in cults.

The fourth season is the same format as the first two. As is the sixth season.

The fifth season is The Sterling Affairs, a fascinating account of the sale of the Clippers. But it’s a little hyperbolic at times.

The seventh season is Heavy Metals and it’s far and away the weakest thing they’ve done yet. It’s 7 episodes (6 hours or so) of coverage of Karolyi coaching couple, their journey from Romania to the US, and their dominance as coaches. You keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and it doesn’t drop until half way through the last episode. This story is either too short for such a long treatment or the way it was told leaves something to be desired because I didn’t need 5 hours of strict, perhaps abusive gymnastics training to learn it created a culture of silence where a sexual predator would feel secure. That could be done in 2 or 3 hours.

Thunder Bay (9/10)

Every Canadian must listen to this podcast. Read the review of Thunder Bay.

Trump Inc.

For me, this is the best way to keep tabs on what is going on behind the scenes at the White House.

Uncivil (6/10)

I admire what they are trying to do. It’s always important to tell people’s version of history.

But this is a very flawed show. From the very first episode, there are oversights, omissions and factual errors (or, if not errors, assertions which are not proved). In the first episode, they have a legal question and they don’t interview a lawyer. In future episodes there are questions that are unanswered. Worse, there are claims made that a quick Wikipedia search suggests are not very well established.

Basically what I am saying is that the show lacks rigour.

If you are going to challenge the prevailing view of history, you have to do a better job than the earlier histories have. That may seem like an unfair standard, but it’s a practical one – if you want to convince people that the version of history they grew up with is incorrect, you need to do a more thorough job establishing your version of history.

Uncover

6 different podcasts so far.

Undisclosed (9/10)

Yes, they are too “in the weeds” when it comes to the first season of Serial. But their subsequent seasons focusing on new cases have been mostly excellent, a couple of which I would recommend more than just about anything else I’ve listened to. Still a must listen for me.

Read my final thoughts on Undisclosed.

Up and Vanished

I gave this one ten episodes. It’s too conspiratorial for me. Every “clue,” no matter how coincidental or insignificant, is treated like it’s The Key to Cracking The Case and that gets tiring after awhile.

You Are Not So Smart

For a while, this was my go-to psychology podcast. I haven’t listened to it in ages and I cannot tell you why. I’m going to read both of his books so it’s not as if I don’t like it.