71 Best Podcasts (2026): True Crime, Culture, Science, Fiction

Podcasts are to radio as streaming services are to television, and we're lucky to be living through a golden age of both. But you need help finding the best podcasts worthy of your ear because, while you can find a podcast about almost anything these days, with great choice comes great mediocrity. Our expertly curated list will entertain and educate you, whether you’re doing the dishes, working out, commuting, or lazing in the bath.

For more advice, check out our guides on how to listen to more podcasts and the best podcasts for kids. If you’re feeling entrepreneurial, read our recommendations on the gear you need to start a podcast.

Updated March 2026: I added several podcasts, including Flesh and Code, The Outlaw Ocean, What We Spend, Midnight Burger, and Fonejacker.

• Best Tech Podcasts
• Best Society Podcasts
• Best Culture Podcasts
• Best True-Crime Podcasts
• Best Science Podcasts
• Best Economics Podcasts
• Best Business Podcasts
• Best Celebrity Interview Podcasts
• Best Sports Podcasts
• Best Music Podcasts
• Best Movie Podcasts
• Best TV Podcasts
• Best Fiction Podcasts
• Best History Podcasts
• Best Food Podcasts
• Best Health and Wellness Podcasts
• Best Comedy Podcasts

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Podcast Subscriptions

There's a world of free podcasts, but you can also snag various podcast subscriptions that provide different benefits, including ad-free listening, early episodes, and bonus content. Subscriptions can also get you access to virtual events and discounted merch, and let you support your favorite podcasters.

Audible Plus ($9 a month): With a growing catalog of exclusive podcasts, it's worth considering Audible Plus. If you want to pick an audiobook each month, you need the Premium Plus subscription at $15 a month. This also now includes podcasts that were under the Wondery+ banner.

Tenderfoot TV Plus ($6 a month, $40 a year): This subscription gets you ad-free episodes and bonus content for Tenderfoot shows.

Pushkin Plus ($7 a month, $40 a year): There's a decent selection of podcasts in different genres at Pushkin, and this subscription provides ad-free listening, bonus content, and support for any podcast app.

NPR Plus ($8 a month): This subscription gives you full access to around 25 NPR podcasts, exclusive shows, and shop discounts.

Best Tech Podcasts

Flesh and Code

With human and AI relationships on the rise, this podcast tells the stories of people who have fallen in love with AI partners. With a gentle, empathetic approach, hosts Hannah Maguire and Suruthi Bala (Redhanded) unpick emotional human tales from what is becoming a big business with potentially tragic results.

Darknet Diaries

Anyone with an interest in hacking and cybercrime will appreciate this investigative podcast from Jack Rhysider. Densely packed and tightly edited, the show covers topics like Xbox hacking, a Greek wiretapping Vodafone scandal, and the impact of the NotPetya malware. Rhysider skillfully weaves informative narratives to unravel complex issues and keeps things mostly accessible, though it may occasionally get a little too technical for some folks.

The Dropout

Sneak a peek behind the curtain, as this podcast follows the trials and tribulations of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, the tech startup that promised to disrupt blood testing but disintegrated in the face of whistleblowers, inaccurate results, and fraudulent claims. John Carreyrou’s reporting broke the scandal, and his book Bad Blood also spawned another interesting podcast. But The Dropout is a refreshingly clear recounting of the sordid tale, with season two tackling the trial.

Your Undivided Attention

Ex-Googler Tristan Harris, whom you may recognize from the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, talks with Aza Raskin about the dangers of living your life online. As cofounders of the Center for Humane Technology, they delve into the ethics of Big Tech, unpack the potential pitfalls, and try to imagine ways to harness technology for the good of humanity.

Twenty Thousand Hertz

Painstakingly researched, this podcast dives deep into the world of sound to explain everything from those sounds you always hear in movie trailers to car engines, choral music, the Netflix intro, and way beyond. Learn how iconic sounds were created, why certain sounds make us feel the way they do, and how sound enriches our lives in myriad ways.

WIRED’sIf we may be so bold, our flagship podcast offers an insider look at the people, power, and influence of Silicon Valley. Check out our Big Interview episodes hosted by Katie Drummond, and our roundtables with Zoë Schiffer, Brian Barrett, and Leah Feiger.Uncanny Valley:This captivating investigation starts with the Sony hacks, digs into the involvement of North Korean hackers, and moves on to a billion-dollar cybertheft.The Lazarus Heist:What is the internet doing to us?Rabbit Hole:New York Timestech columnist Kevin Roose investigates things like the impact of algorithms on radicalization with a dreamy soundscape backdrop.The beautifully paced, always convivial, and sorely missedReply All:Reply Alldragged us down internet rabbit holes to investigate long-forgotten songs, phone scammers, hacked Snapchat accounts, andTeam Fortress 2bots.With a focus on cybersecurity, this podcast unravels tales of hacking, misinformation, cyberterrorism, and more, with interviews and insight from experts in episodes that usually come in under half an hour.Click Here:Laid-back chats about the latest gadgets and developments in the world of tech with tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) and cohost David Imel.Waveform:

Best Society Podcasts

Things Fell Apart

If you want to understand the culture wars blighting our society, this well-researched podcast charts the slide into extremism. Through interviews with pro-lifers and anti-vaxxers, Ronson skillfully tackles unpalatable topics and roots out their inception, which is often based on misunderstanding. Jon Ronson is my favorite podcaster, as he brings an inquisitive, empathetic, and slightly neurotic intelligence to bear on fascinating and often surprising tales. We also recommend The Butterfly Effect (only on Audible) and The Last Days of August, which delve into the pornography industry, and So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, about folks being canceled on the internet.

Wild Things: Siegfried and Roy

Famous German duo Siegfried and Roy were a mainstay on the Las Vegas show scene and performed about 30,000 times over five decades with an act that included white lions and tigers. When Roy was attacked live on stage, it made headlines everywhere. This podcast unravels their rise to stardom, touches on their controversial handling of wild animals, and digs into what happened that fateful night.

Revisionist History

In this eclectic mix of quirky stories, Malcolm Gladwell tackles misunderstood events and rarely discussed ideas, veering from subjects like Toyota’s car recall to underhand-throwing basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain, and even the firebombing of Tokyo at the end of World War II. Gladwell freely mixes research and opinion and enjoys challenging conventional views, but every episode serves up facts and stories you have likely never heard before.

: You will be shocked by this true story about All-American Cindy Murphy with her two daughters, a house in the burbs, and a finance job in Manhattan, who turns out to be a deep cover Russian spy. There’s narration by Rosamund Pike and interviews with Cindy’s best friend and employer.Mother, Neighbor, Russian Spy: This story of a small California town that turns to cannabis cultivation to try and revive itself soon descends into chaos.Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto