Behind the Bastards
fun + informative history podcast on awful people and events with a comedic bent
Blowback - https://blowback.show/
History of US interventions on different places over the last century.
Darknet Diaries - https://darknetdiaries.com/
True stories from the dark side of the Internet
I highly recommend Darknet Diaries.
I enjoy all of the episodes in one way or another. But here are a few of my recommendations.
Ep 36: Jeremy from Marketing - “A company hires a penetration tester to pose as a new hire, Jeremy from Marketing, to see how much he can hack into in his first week on the job. It doesn’t go as planned.”
Ep 14: #OpJustina - “In 2013 a hospital was accused of conducting a medical kidnapping against a young girl named Justina. This enraged many people across the country, including members of Anonymous. A DDOS attack was waged against the hospital.”
Ep 24: Operation Bayonet - "Darknet markets are online black markets. They are highly illegal, and dangerous to run. Hear exactly how dangerous it was for Alphabay and Hansa dark markets.
Ep 29: Stuxnet - “Stuxnet was the most sophisticated virus ever discovered. It’s target was a nuclear enrichment facility in Iran. This virus was successfully able to destroy numerous centrifuges. Hear who did it and why.”
Xbox underground is great story too.
I had a friend working at Microsoft in the Xbox division during that time who recommended me that podcast.
The Stuxnet episode was really good. Shows how a virus can be properly weaponised.
Oooo Jeremy from marketing was very fun, gonna keep on listening! Thank you!
I love Darknet Diaries. I want to recommend one in the same genre, Modem Mischief.
The Dollop: THIS is a bi-weekly American history podcast where labradoodle daddy and wearer of pants Dave Anthony reads a story from American history to his nemesis Gareth Reynolds who has no idea what the story is about
I love Gary
Great shout. Brilliant podcast.
They were on Behind the Bastards for KISSINGER and they were very funny.
I hadn’t put that together, will definitely check them out now.
For anyone looking for a good episode to start with, The Rube is a certified classic.
C’MON RUBE LETS PLAY!
Now hit him with the puppy.
I’m listening to that now and had to turn it off at work because I was laughing so hard.
Got any more great Dollop recs I might have missed? I’m a more recent convert - past few years or so, so anything before then :)
Some of my favorites that come to mind:
- Ten Cent Beer Night
- The Cereal Men
- Carry A Nation
- Ronald Reagan
- The Mad Gasser
Thank you!
I’m listening to the Elon Musk one now. That is a wild ride.
Not exactly a new one, but I listened to S-town with great enjoyment. It’s a little story about an alleged murder, a truly original American man, and rural Alabama. I was never bored, and I certainly learned something. And you get to hear an amazing Alabama accent.
Excellent miniseries! Know of other similar podcasts?
I wanna reply with my town I grew up in with a letter-hyphen combo but I’d dox myself at some point in time otherwise 😜
And u all neva gonna get that, neva gonna get that, tra-la-la-la-LA!
- The Amber & Lacey, Lacey & Amber Show gets me into a positive mood.
- Countdown with Keith Olbermann is still good when he isn’t bringing up exes.
- Worlds Beyond Number is a neat TTRPG live play from last year.
- Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
- Bonanas for Bonanza because Maria Bamford is an unsung comedy legend
- The Doug Stanhope Podcast
- How Did This Get Made? making fun of bad movies is fun.
- Lovett or Leave It politics with a spoonful of snark
- LeVar Burton Reads reading rainbow will never die!
- SmartLess easy listening
- Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me the sign of a true celebrity is appearing on this show.
- Strike Force Five was kinda neat as an insight into unscripted dialogue with competing professionals, but they seemed to gang up on Jimmy Fallon, who, arguably, has the most prestigious late night show.
Last podcast on the left, their research is great but they lean heavily into their comedy to really make the story entertaining.
I used to listen to them all the time.before the move to Spotify. Once they came out from behind Spotify and I could get them in my preferred app, I just couldn’t get back in the grove of listening to them. It seemed like for every 5 of their releases, I would find one interesting.
Don’t let this stop anyone else from listening to them as they research the shit out of their topics. Their Jim Jones episodes were more informative than any other description I have ever heard.
It seemed like for every 5 of their releases, I would find one interesting.
You can tell the difference between the episodes researched by them and their research team. I still listen to them from time to time, their recent series on the Survival on the Andes is harrowing, one of their best episodes in recent times.
Hell yeah, I love Behind the Bastards, I also reccomend its sister podcast Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff, similar podcast I Don’t Speak German (antifascists talking about various goings on regarding the far right) and, if you want Something Completely Different, Film Reroll, an actual play podcast in which all the campaigns are based on movies.
You’re wrong about (until Michael Hobbes left at least)
If books could kill
Maintenance phase
Maybe I just really like Michael Hobbes…
I actually really like the woman from you’re wrong about. Her laid back speech pattern is really appealing to me
To me it just seems like the episodes go on for too long without much actual information? I haven’t listened to many old episodes yet, though, so I don’t know if that’s how it’s always been
I still enjoy some of the new episodes, though agree it was more entertaining before. This is super nitpicky and probably more to do with my misophonia but the way he inhales while reading really made me angry though.
youarenotsosmart.com psychology, sociology, & more. Sounds boring but is fascinating. His own description:
The central theme of You Are Not So Smart is that you are unaware of how unaware you are which leads you to becoming the unreliable narrator in the story of your life. You Are Not So Smart is a fun exploration of the ways you and everyone else tends to develop an undeserved confidence in human perception, motivation, and behavior. I hope you’ll rediscover a humility and reconnect with the stumbling, fumbling community of humans trying to make sense of things the best we can.
Medical podcasts
This Podcast Will Kill You Saw Bones
Heavyweight on Spotify.
I’ve been listening to this series for a few years. People have a regret, encounter, or problem from the past that they wish to follow up but need help. Jonathan Goldstein is a go between in helping these people bury the past or make amends. One particular story is Gregor who lends a CD to a pre-famous Moby. The CD contains the songs that Moby sampled and made him huge but never returned the CD to Gregor. Heavyweight helps Gregor get the CD.
Unfortunately some muppet at Spotify has decided to stop this excellent series so check it out before it goes.
Sean Carroll - mindscape
Fraser Cain - universe today
David Eagleman - inner cosmos
In a similar vein, I’d like to recommend Skeptics Guide To The Universe. Mostly focused on science news and critical thinking. I believed they’ve interviewed Sean Carroll several times in the past as well.
It’s been around for 18 years, and they have a very rigid format that may not be for everyone, but I personally really like the organization of it
Yes, fully agree, that’s my Saturday morning special. Also talk nerdy by Cara Santa Maria can be quite nice.
Farheed Zakaria - Global Public Square.
Great political and events analysis.
Pivot
Tech news and analysis, but they cover many different things.
Freakonomics Radio
Freakonomics things. Really well done.
99% invisible
The hidden side of everything. Gosh darn if it the title may seem boring but he covers it extremely well and I’ve never regretted listening to an episode.
Beautiful/Anonymous with Chris Gethard. Random people call in and have 1 hour where Chris can’t hang up only the caller.
I tend to like history podcasts by academics, so here are three:
History of Egypt Podcast
Emperors of Rome
AskHistorians podcast, but I admit I pick and choose episodes with that one. I do wish they’d come over to the Fediverse, but I kind of get it, as their stated goals are broad outreach and getting warm&fuzzies for their mostly younger academics.Another good one is History of English
Do you mean Kevin Stroud’s linguistic history one? If so, I do listen to it and like it a lot. I didn’t include it because his degrees are in poli-sci and law, but he at least follows my main shibboleth for a thoughtful podcast by not shying away from “it depends” as an answer.
What I don’t like as much are the “well I need to make sure I tell a good story” types who read one secondary source, misinterpret one primary source, and then spend the rest of their time making sure they are awesome and dramatic. I don’t have time or motivation to keep up with the literature on Egyptology, but I’d prefer to get my survey of the subject from someone who does.
Late to the party here. Love many of the podcasts already shared, but I’d like to reccomend a couple.
The Weekly Planet: if you’re somewhat interested in keeping up with movies. Two aussie blokes, James and Maseau, have great banter keeping up with the entertainment industry. They originally kept up with comic book movies and adjacent content, but they do all kinds of movies. Doesn’t take itself seriously, but never devolves into repeating every click bait headline you read. Been keeping up for 8 years now.
Filthy Casuals: three aussie comedians, Tommy Dassalo, Ben Vernel, and Adam Knox, keep up with the video game industry. Similar to my last recommendation, but if you’re interested in video games.
National Park After Dark: hosted by two lovely ladies, Danielle and Cassie, and covers many different topics. Topics covered have included true crime, cryptids, and folklore but the two hosts try to keep a focus on outdoor experiences. They want to encourage people to get out and visit the many parks across the US, but to do so safely and respectfully.
