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Comment by DamnInteresting | Hacker News Reader

It's refreshing to see recommendations that aren't just the same rehashed list. Thanks OP, I plan to give a few of these a try.

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What's the old rehashed list for podcasts that make you smarter? I feel like I should listen to those too!

Depends on what you like listening. I listen to Exponents by Ben Thomson, The Tim Ferris Show, This weekend in startups, Freakonomics radio, How I built this and Planet Money

These lists are usually characterized by having RadioLab in the #1 slot. I'm not saying I disagree, RadioLab can be amazing. But the lists do little good for a veteran listener like me if they're all mostly the same.

Other podcasts that frequent such lists are 99% Invisible, Planet Money, Freakonomics, and Stuff You Should Know. Newer lists will include Revisionist History. Those are all good podcasts, deserving of praise, but anybody who's been listening for any amount of time is well aware of them.

As it happened with blogs in the mid-2000s, we are all listening to the same damn 10 podcasts. Discovering quality podcasts based on topic/keyword is almost impossible.

Unless you download podcasts from websites, almost all podcast apps (iTunes, Overcast, Spotify etc) have a "Top 10" or "highly recommended" section.

Here's my list:

Side Hustle School

Art of Charm

NPR Marketplace

Parent Savers

Radical Personal Finance

Intelligence Squared

Intelligence Squared US Debates

HBR Ideacast

Happier

Serial

Slate Money

Common Sense

NPR Politics

Hardcore History

Freakonomics

Stuff You Should Know

99% Invisible

Planet Money

I'd add in:

Stuff you missed in history class - Various events from history, covering a wide range of events, small and large.

Make me smart - Kai Ryssdal and Molly Wood covering current affairs in the economy, tech and culture.

I've heard the plugs for Stuff you missed in history class, and the first episode of Make me smart...

...but I'm about 2 months behind in my feed as it is.

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