A good podcast can encourage you to go for a walk—or, keep you going even after you've reached your destination or hit your step count. Fortunately, we live in a golden era of podcasts: Whatever your interest, there's likely a podcast available, whether it's The Bachelorette (Will You Accept This Rose?), knitting (KnitBritish), technology (This Week in Tech), or anything else under the sun. We've come a long way from the early 2000s, when I used to ration out each week's single episode of This American Life.
Whether you've never listened to a podcast before and are looking for a good first listen, or you're just always on the lookout for new recommendations, here are 12 compelling podcasts to stream during your next walk.
For online explainers: Reply All
If you've ever wondered why a certain tweet is funny or what's behind a meme, seek out the episodes of Reply All that feature a segment called Yes Yes No. In it, hosts Alex Goldman and PJ Vogt explain an internet phenomenon—most often, a tweet—to their boss, Alex Blumberg. Longer episodes dive into unexpected aspects of internet culture: In What Kind of Idiot Gets Phished?, a producer tries to hack into her coworkers' email (spoiler: it works and during Undo, Undo, Undo, Goldman and comedian Max Silvestri share moments when they wish the internet came with control-Z (AKA delete) function. The show lends itself to binge listening, and most episodes are fairly timeless (although some of the Yes Yes No segments are dated by nature).
For movie fanatics: I Was There Too
I Was There Too isn't your typical celebrity interview show: Instead of speaking to the stars of a film, host Matt Gourley talks to the people billed as "Waitress #2" when the credits roll. That means, for instance, hearing about what it was like to film the movie Speed—from the perspective of the passengers on the bus (and not Sandra Bullock). When big names do appear on the show—like Joshua Malina—the focus is squarely on their lesser-known roles. (Like me, you may have forgotten that Malina appeared in A Few Good Men.) Each episode offers a behind-the-scenes candid look at the process and people involved in making a movie.
For self-improvement: Slate's Dear Prudence
Mallory Orberg, co-founder of the now-defunct site The Toast, is the latest writer for Slate's Dear Prudence advice column. On the Dear Prudence podcast, along with guests, she reads letters and provides thoughtful, compassionate advice. As well as being wise and witty, Ortberg is also laugh-out-loud funny, so you might find yourself giggling as you stroll along listening to her rants.
For culture, politics, humor, and more: Another Round
On Another Round: A Podcast with Heben & Tracy, the two hosts interview big names—Cory Booker, David Simon, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, for example—and talk culture, race, politics, gender, and more, all interspersed with Tracy's masterful air horn noises. On the first episode, the hosts introduced the podcast as "basically happy hour with friends you haven't met yet," which feels accurate. The conversational, happy hour-vibe is enhanced by the fact that the two hosts enjoy cocktails while recording.
For binge-listeners: Accused: The Unsolved Murder of Elizabeth Andes
From the Cincinnati Enquirer, Accused is a season-long examination of a 1978 murder in a small college town in Ohio. The twist: While the boyfriend—always the most likely suspect—was accused and tried, two juries failed to convict him. The podcast is "an investigation of the aftermath of an innocent verdict," as well as a look at other suspects. Accused lends itself to binge listening, and is highly recommended for fans of the first season of Serial.
For food lovers: Spilled Milk
"This is Spilled Milk, the podcast where we cook something delicious, eat it all, and you can't have any," is the intro to every episode of Spilled Milk, which is hosted by Molly Wizenberg and Matthew Amster-Burton. The two are full of banter, memories, and yes, some actual techniques and recipes, as they dive into topics like gas station candy, polenta, and Brussels sprouts.
For intimate, personal confessions: Death, Sex & Money
Hosted by Anna Sales, this interview-style podcast dives into the topics—death, sex, money—that are often avoided out of squeamishness or manners. Unsurprisingly, episodes are frank and revealing: Jeff Garlin talks about his weight struggles, former NFL player Domonique Foxworth talks about why he no longer watches football, and Jane Fonda talks about sex, divorce and her mother's suicide. But celebrities aren’t the heart of the show: The real focus is honest stories, as in the episode on what it's like to be a sibling, which is free from celebrity guests but charged with emotion.
For Hollywood-history lovers: You Must Remember This
You Must Remember This is the perfect show for Old Hollywood obsessives—or anyone eager to catch up on the secrets, history, and drama of celebrities from another era. Karina Longworth, the show's host, describes it as "creative nonfiction," and on each episode, she tells a fascinating, coherent story, with clips from movies and interviews spliced in. Don't miss the themed mini-series and seasons: "Dead Blondes" for instance, is a string of episodes on stars such as Grace Kelly and Carol Landis, and a recent season was titled "Six Degrees of Joan Crawford."
For answering questions you didn't know you had: 99% Invisible
After listening to an episode of 99% Invisible, hosted by the calm-voiced Roman Mars, you'll feel informed about something quirky and unexpected. The show focuses on exploring "all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about." In practice that means: understanding how New York City's transit system finally defeated subway graffiti or what it's like when everyone in a small town in Spain wins the lottery—except one lone resident.
For true crime and comedy lovers: My Favorite Murder
Plenty of highbrow true crime podcasts exist (Serial, Missing Richard Simmons, Crimetown), but My Favorite Murder is not one of them. Listening to hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark tell the story of a famous or not-so-famous murder has the same joys as watching a so-bad-it's-good Lifetime movie with your snarky BFF. Often, the show's epic, convoluted tangents are more compelling than the actual tales of the murders. Fans of the show refer to themselves as "murderinos," and the show's sign-off—"Stay sexy…and don't get murdered."—appears on t-shirts, totes and all types of items for sale on Etsy.
For a feminist conversation: Call Your Girlfriend
The show opens each week by playing a few seconds of Robyn's hit song of the same name. Call Your Girlfriend is hosted by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, and is billed as "a podcast for long-distance besties everywhere." Conversations range from periods to politics, and pretty much everywhere in between. It's frank, funny, and intimate. This podcast is best listened to weekly, since it does often feel like a rundown of the week's cultural and political news.
For sports (and storytelling) fans: ESPN's 30 for 30
You don't have to be a sports fan, or deeply knowledgeable about team and player stats, to enjoy ESPN's 30 for 30 podcast, which just wrapped its first season. The podcast—like the TV series it's based on—is about stories and sports narratives. Consider the Yankees Suck episode (if you're a Yankees fan, you may wince as you listen), which dives into the history of the chant, and the bootleg t-shirt sold outside Fenway Park by hardcore punk kids.
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