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If you’ve seen some of my previous posts, you’ll know I’m an avid podcast listener. Podcasts are where I get most of my news and a lot of my entertainment.

Here are some of the podcasts I’m subscribed to in 2020 and why.

News

Start Here

ABC’s Start Here was launched a bit over two years ago. The show is very balanced and informative. The host, Brad Mielke, talks fast and never runs out of correspondents on any subject. Each episode is just over 20 minutes and fits perfectly into my 30-minute drive to work.

Normally when your favorite show host takes the day off, whoever fills in for them just does not work for you, but with Start Here, it’s so much fun to listen to it when other hosts fill in for Brad and try to do his style.

The Daily

The New York Time’s The Daily is really good at diving deep into the news. Each episode of The Daily focuses on one main story and presents it in an intimate conversation between the host, Michael Barbaro, and his guests.

Michael speaks in a very unique way that could put certain people off, but for others, it’s intelligent, thoughtful and inspiring.

Each episode of The Daily runs about 30 minutes. At the end of each episode, there is a “here’s what else you need to know” session where Michael tells the audience other news stories not covered in his main focus for the day. 

The Daily also distinguishes itself from others with its use of sound and music.

Global News Podcast

Each episode of the BBC’s Global News Podcast is about 30 minutes and breaks down a few main stories of the day. If you like to catch up on multiple things at a time, the Global News Podcast is a pretty neat option.

The World This Week

The BBC’s The World This Week catches you up with the week’s main news stories in less than 30 minutes.

Fox News Radio Newscast

These 4-minute bite-sized news flashes from Fox help you quickly take in important headlines. Although it’s interesting how the show’s editing ends up cutting themselves off a lot of the time.

Entertainment

The Joe Rogan Experience

There are two reasons behind Joe Rogan’s success in podcasting. One, he’s giving his audience what they want – a deep conversation between two people. Two, he has access to a wide variety of guests. From his fellow comedians, to tech people, to politicians, to countless celebrity guests, Joe Rogan can talk to anyone about anything.

A normal JRE episode could easily go beyond three hours, so it’s important to pick the right episode to start if you are new to the show. I recommend scrolling through the list of episodes and pick the one with the guest you are most interested in. With close to 1,500 episodes available, chances are you’ll find something you like.

Car Talk

NPR’s Car Talk podcast is an edited rerun of their radio talk show. It’s hosted by Tom and Ray Magliozzi, also known as “click and clack, the tappet brothers”. The show focuses on cars and car repairs discussed often in a humorous way. 

Each episode of Car Talk is usually just shy of an hour. While it probably won’t help you much with your car repair, the humorous exchange between the callers and the hosts are guaranteed to crack you up.