I’m back with another podcast recommendation roundup post!
I first shared a few favorite podcasts in 2018, then I posted a 2019 update, and most recently in 2020 I shared my favorite podcasts that aren’t true crime.
One big exciting change since my last podcast post: I started my own podcast!
Grace and I now have a weekly show called Under Our Roof, and it has quickly become one of my favorite hobbies. We’ve been so lucky to cultivate a really supportive listenership and we are so thankful for everyone who has taken the time to check us out! If you’re interested, you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts.
Anyway, self-plug aside, I wanted to share a few new favorite podcasts that I’ve been listening to in quarantine. I don’t repeat my past recommendations in this list, so if you want even more, go check out the previous posts that I linked above.
These are in no particular order:
This podcast is all about the unique challenges of being stuck inside for quarantine and experimenting with - as the name suggests - home cooking! The hosts are Samin Nosrat (chef, author of the book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat) and Hrishikesh Hirway, podcaster (Song Exploder, The West Wing Weekly). Their dynamic is so fun, and I learned a TON about cooking while listening to this podcast over the past year. Listeners will write in with questions about the random pantry items they’re trying to use in quarantine and the hosts will suggest incredible ways of using them. I feel like this podcast really elevated my home chef hobby and is just so fun to listen to. I feel like whenever I recommend this podcast to people, they’ve never heard of it, but TRUST me when I say it’s really good. It was named one of the best podcasts in Time, Rolling Stone, Vulture, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, etc. I don’t think they’re currently making any more episodes, but this would be a fun binge listen for the past ones while you’re stirring up a risotto in the kitchen :)
This podcast has a bunch of seasons, and I’ve listened to most but not all of them yet. Each one chronicles a different modern dynasty or icon - the British Royals, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Britney Spears, the Murdoch Family, Paris Hilton, etc. It’s an entertaining listen on a road trip. Grace and I listened to the whole Britney Spears season in a day on our West Coast road trip back in November.
Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen
I liked this show a lot because it has the mystery and intrigue of true crime, and I guess it technically is true crime (crimes of fraud), but without the scary gruesome factor. The podcast covers a really bizarre scam that has been going on in Hollywood for the past several years. I don’t want to give anything away by saying more, but it’s such a fascinating story! I highly recommend this one.
Okay, a little backstory for this: I am unashamed to say that I was OBSESSED with the TV show the L Word in high school. It was recently rebooted, but I’m talking about the old seasons that started airing in 2004 (that was actually while I was still in middle school, but I discovered the show a couple years later in high school). Those early seasons do feel somewhat dated now, but in terms of queer representation, it was huge at the time. Anyway, two of the actors from the show are best friends in real life and they have a podcast that is super fun. They sometimes reflect on the heyday of the show and it’s just a good conversational podcast. I don’t know if it would appeal to someone who hasn’t seen the L Word, although it is not a recap podcast specifically about the show. Maybe a little niche, but I love it!
I am fascinated by different religions and cults. I think that’s especially because I myself grew up in a religious tradition that I now question through a pretty critical lens (even though I am still religious - I just think a lot of the specific things I experienced and was told in church growing up were wrong). That’s probably why I really enjoy hearing about deconstructions of other religions, and this podcast about scientology delivers on that. Leah Remini and Mike Rinder are both ex-scientologists and in this podcast they explore the phenomenon called “Fair Game,” which they say was a policy of scientology to discredit its enemies. There are a lot of really wild stories about it and it’s a gripping listen. I do kind of wish there was more of a structure to the episodes, but overall I really like this podcast.
This is an investigative podcast centering on two child protective services interventions that “got it wrong.” The short version is that a couple of different families in Texas had accidental injuries with their babies (and it’s pretty much unquestioned now that they were in fact accidents - not abuse), but the State took the kids away because of concerns of abuse. The podcast follows the story of the families working to regain custody of their children. I always enjoy podcasts that highlight problems with bureaucratic systems, and this one is exactly that. I don’t have children yet, but I imagine this might be especially hard to listen to if you do.
Kind of in line with what I wrote above about being interested in cults, this podcast tells the story of a quasi-cult that went very wrong. The focus is a superstar self-help “guru” who ended up not being quite what he claimed to be. More broadly, it explores the psychological effect that a person like that can have on vulnerable people. Super interesting, especially in the time we’re living in now, where we can see how dangerous a “cult of personality” can be.
I also have to give a shout-out to my neighbor, Sha, who recently started her own podcast! If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen me post about Bean’s best friend, a little white chihuahua named Tonks. Tonks’s mom is the host of this podcast, and it truly feels like having a glass of wine and catching up with a friend. If you like our podcast, Under Our Roof, I think you’ll also love Sha’s.
If you have other recent podcast favorites, please let me know! I always love to discover new ones.