I’m a bit of a podcast addict. As a rule of thumb I don’t listen to every episode of each podcast, I just focus on what interests me at the time that I go to download new episodes. Description by the podcast in quotes, any commentary by me in italics. A few current listens have gone unlisted as I need to gauge them more before I commit and list them. Invariably I will have forgotten to list a few more.
To start out with, a few highlights:
Flash Forward – “Flash Forward is a podcast about the future. Each episode we take on a possible (or not so possible) future scenario — everything from the existence of artificial wombs, to what would happen if space pirates dragged a second moon to Earth.”
Fall of Civilizations – “Fall of Civilizations tells the story of what happens when societies collapse.”
Mind of Snaps – “Mind of Snaps podcast is a variety podcast from popular Twitch streamer, She Snaps. During each episode, Snaps will be learning about something relating to her mind, the world or her fellow man and then sharing what she’s learned with you.” – Definitely worth a listen, and a good way to break up the rest of your podcast list with something unexpected.
Risky Business – “Risky Business is a weekly information security podcast featuring news and in-depth interviews with industry luminaries.”
Others:
99% Invisible – “99% Invisible is about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world.”
All Things Risk – “I plan on having some great conversations with wonderful guests and sharing some eclectic ideas, concepts and also practical tools to not only take risk intelligently, but to also embrace it with passion and elegance.”
BBC Analysis podcast – “Analysis examines the ideas and forces which shape public policy in Britain and abroad.”
Arab Tyrant Manual – “Iyad El-Baghdadi and Ahmed Gatnash discuss all things related to authoritarianism and liberty in the Arab Tyrant Manual podcast.”
Arms Control Wonk – “A nuclear weapons, arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation podcast.”
Bomb Shell – “Bombshell brings together Radha Iyengar Plumb, Loren DeJonge Schulman, and Erin Simpson to unpack the craziest national security and defense issues while debating the best cocktails known to (wo)man.”
Brain Science – “The Brain Science Podcast features the latest books about neuroscience as well as interviews with leading scientists from around the world.”
Cyber – Motherboard’s podcast on cyber issues.
The Cyberlaw Podcast – “The Cyberlaw Podcast is a weekly interview series and discussion on the latest events in technology, security, privacy, and government.”
Hardcore History – Good historical storytelling.
Darknet Diaries – “Darknet Diaries is a podcast covering true stories from the dark side of the Internet. Stories about hackers, defenders, threats, malware, botnets, breaches, and privacy.”
Data Skeptic – “Our primary output is the weekly podcast featuring short mini-episodes explaining high level concepts in data science, and longer interview segments with researchers and practitioners.”
BBC Documentary – An aggregation of a number of BBC documentary works.
EconTalk – “The weekly talk show features one-on-one discussions with an eclectic mix of authors, professors, Nobel Laureates, entrepreneurs, leaders of charities and businesses, and people on the street.” – Often disagree deeply with the host, but the conversations are usually interesting.
Energy Transition – “Straight talk about the world’s transition from fossil fuels to renewables with energy expert Chris Nelder.”
Events at Brookings – “Brookings offers a platform to policy experts and world leaders, bringing expertise and informed debate to the public discussion of policy choices.”
Headphone Commute – Curated music, good for listening to while writing.
Hidden Brain – “Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.”
Hilarious World of Depression – “A show about clinical depression… with laughs.”
In Our Time – “Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of ideas”
Infinite Monkey Cage – “Witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists’ eyes. With Brian Cox and Robin Ince”
Intelligence Matters – “In Intelligence Matters, former acting Director of the CIA Michael Morell, speaks with top leaders of the U.S. intelligence community as they reflect on their life, career and the critical roles they play in shaping national security policies.”
Intelligence Squared US – Formal, crowd-rated debates on timely topics.
Lawfare Podcast – “Podcast episodes include interviews with policymakers, scholars, journalists, and analysts; events and panel discussions.”
Liminal – “The Liminal is a podcast about conscious metaphysical speculation and the future of minds created by Christopher Butler.”
Loopcast – “The Loopcast is a podcast series dedicated to long form conversations and interviews about pressing national security and technological issues.”
All the President’s Lawyers – “There are so many lawyers, so many lawsuits and so much legal news surrounding President Trump that we decided to call our own lawyer to catch you up.”
London School of Economics Events – “The London School of Economics and Political Science public events podcast series is a platform for thought, ideas and lively debate where you can hear from some of the world’s leading thinkers.”
Make No Law – “The Make No Law podcast explores the background of important First Amendment cases and the personalities and history that led to them.”
National Security Law – “The NSL Podcast is a weekly review of the latest legal controversies associated with the U.S. government’s national security activities and institutions, featuring Professors Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck of the University of Texas at Austin.”
On Being – “Pursuing deep thinking, social courage, moral imagination and joy, to renew inner life, outer life, and life together.”
Our Opinions Are Correct – “Explore the meaning of science fiction, and how it’s relevant to real-life science and society. Your hosts are Annalee Newitz, a science journalist who writes science fiction, and Charlie Jane Anders, a science fiction writer who is obsessed with science.”
Paul’s Security Weekly – “Paul’s Security Weekly is a chance for a bunch of us security nerds to get together and talk shop. The topics vary greatly and the atmosphere is relaxed and very conversational.”
Pivot – “Every Friday, Recode’s Kara Swisher and NYU Professor Scott Galloway offer sharp, unfiltered insights into the way technology is shaping business and culture across media, advertising, politics, and more.”
Privacy Security & OSINT – “This weekly podcast presents ideas to help you become digitally invisible, stay secure from cyber threats, and make you a better online investigator.”
Pseudopod – “You’ve found the world’s premier horror fiction podcast. For over a decade, Pseudopod has been bringing you the best short horror in audio form, to take with you anywhere.”
Rational Security – “Rational Security is a weekly roundtable podcast featuring Shane Harris of the Washington Post and Susan Hennessey, Tamara Cofman Wittes and Benjamin Wittes of the Brookings Institution. It’s a lively and irreverent discussion of news, ideas, foreign policy, and law.”
Recode Decode – “Silicon Valley’s most revered journalist hosts candid interviews with tech execs, politicians, celebrities and more about their big ideas and how they’re changing our world.”
Spektrmodule – Warren Ellis’ music compilation podcast.
The State Sponsored Podcast – “Information Security, Threat Intelligence, and all the Cybers – With Javvad Malik and Scot Terban.”
Team Human – “Team Human is a podcast striving to amplify human connection. Each week we are engaging in real-time, no-holds-barred discussions with people who are hacking the machine to make it more compatible with human life, and helping redefine what it means to stay human in a digital age.”