In what’s sure to be a surprise to no one, we here at Nerdist have a serious case of Podcast fever (and no it’s not just because our own Nerdist Podcasts are so freakin’ awesome). It’s overwhelming how much there is to listen to these days. And with new podcasts from talented folks cropping up every two seconds, it’s hard to know what to add to your queue. Which is why we’ve broken it down for you in a best-of list of our favorites from 2015.
To be honest, any end of year ‘Best of’ list is a near impossible, genuinely stressful task. But we do love getting to look back on the podcasts that started lively conversations, spurred debates (yes, even though the next season of Serial hasn’t started yet, there are plenty of other podcasts raising important questions), and got permanently lodged into our memory banks.
Unfortunately, there are going to be a few gems left behind. That’s why we take pleasure in highlighting some (drum roll please) honorable mentions! An obvious choice here is NPR’s Invisibilia, which brings to light the invisible forces that control human behavior, you know—like that deathly feeling of fear that creeps into our overactive brains and tries to make us NOT do things? And KCRW’s Strangers, where personal stories get so honest they jolt you awake—in a good way of course. Cinemania is a new podcast you may not be familiar with yet, but it features legendary film instructor James Hosney talking with writer and professor Robert Taylor about popular films-both classic (such as Bringing Up Baby) and modern (such as Casino Royale). As you can imagine, it’s full of nerdy goodness and deserves your attention.
There are numerous others we could list, too, like Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast, Ted Radio Hour, The Purrcast (fine, maybe that’s just for cat lovers), Stuff You Should Know, Stuff You Missed in History Class, Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know. Phew… that’s a lot of Stuff, but all worth a earful!
So check out the gallery below to see our 10 ultimate favorite podcasts, and don’t hesitate to reach out on Twitter to discuss the merits of this list.
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IMAGE: Rob Wilson
