I thought I’d just list five, since I move around podcasts as they ebb or end, and I like to listen to a variety of things, so these aren’t really related to each other for the most part.
Cautionary Tales by Tim Harford is sort of what its name implies - Tim reviews different events and scenarios and shows what we can learn from them, and often what unexpected causes and effects go on. It’s well produced but there are ‘guest’ episodes which are usually good too, but are essentially trailers for other podcasts.
Front End Chatter is a motorcycling podcast - yes, given that’s a decent area of interest for me, I had to sneak one in. This is by two English chaps who are not far from my old home town, so I can relate to some of the local stories. They balance sports with general riding, readers letters and other areas which impact motorcycling. I’m not a motorsports fan, but I actually find those sections listenable as they explain the people and the teams in a more interesting way.
Pure Tokyo Scope is a fun Japan pop culture podcast, which covers current fads and interests but is rooted in the older Japanese ‘heyday’ times of the 70s-90s, which is fine for me, as time marches on. The hosts are knowledgeable and fairly even handed, so it’s quite an interesting look at the place.
No Such Thing As a Fish is a show where each host brings one fact they learned that week. These often go down random rabbit holes and on tangents as they explain the backstory to some truly obscure people and events. I find this great to listen to, and I’ve actually learned a few things over the years!
Self-Hosted is one of several open source and technical podcasts out of Jupiter Broadcasting. They’re well produced and easy to listen to, and as its name suggests, this one focusses on self-hosting systems, from home automation, to home servers, media distribution and everything in between.
So those are five - there are plenty more so may later in the year I’ll do another list. Hope these can fill some time when you too were cooking, cleaning, commuting or decorating.