Podcasts in my playlist (2018 edition)

Last year, I posted my podcast playlist in response to a similar post by John Leeman (of Don’t Panic Geocast fame). In a recent episode (maybe episode 158), John asked listeners for an updated list of recommendations. Here are mine.

I’ll start with the new additions since last year, then the ones that stayed with me throughout 2017, and finally the ones that I’m looking to get started this year.

New additions:

• Gastropod: A podcast that “looks at food through the lens of science and history”. In each episode, the hosts dive deep into the science behind a type of food/process/ingredient and how it became what it is today. One of my favorite episodes is about koji, the fungus behind sake, miso, shoyu, and more.
• The Unmade Podcast: A podcast about insane ideas for new podcasts. Very meta and silly but a fun way to pass the time and get a few laughs.
• We Martians: A podcast all about the science and exploration of Mars. Just listened to a few episodes but I’m enjoying it so far.

The survivors:

• Undersampled Radio: Geeky and fun interviews, mostly about geo/science/technology.
• Don’t Panic Geocast: All things geoscience (sometimes with very interesting guests).
• Hello Internet: A light conversation between two friends who make science videos on YouTube with a surprisingly common discussion of flags.
• Imaginary Worlds: “A show about how we create them and why we suspend our disbelief”. Still one of my favorites.
• Invisibilia: A series about the forces that shape our lives. Also one of my favorites.
• Talk Python To Me: The title pretty much says it all.
• Radiolab: Interesting stories about all sorts of topics. Very high quality production.

The ones I haven’t tried yet:

• Fieldwork Diaries: Interviews with scientists about their field experiences.
• In Defense of Plants: I’m curious to learn more about the weird world of botany.
• Ologies: Each episode is about a different field of knowledge. I think it’s based on an idea from the Unmade Podcast.
• The Truth: “Movies for your ears”.

That’s it for my list. Do you have any recommendations?