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Serial - An in-depth investigation of a 1999 murder case. Spellbinding, very well produced. Season 2 is interesting but doesn't quite reach the same quality.
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S-Town - A reporter investigates a criminal case in a small town in Georgia. As the story unfolds, the focus shifts in unexpected ways, to an examination of life in the town to the main person's biography. Extraordinary.
- Homecoming - A science-fiction audioplay. Very well written, with performances by well-known actors.
- Lexicon Valley - A podcast about (mostly) the English language. Long back-catalogue with episodes on etymology, descriptivism vs prescriptivism, slurs, and more. Funny and intelligent. Go back to earlier episodes with Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo first, but newer episodes with John McWhorter are also excellent.
- On the Media - NPR show covering media coverage of current events. Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield are my anchor of reason in a sea of media madness. Essential listening in an age of fake news.
- Thinking Allowed - Long-running BBC Radio 4 show covering various sociological topics, interviewing the actual researchers. Highly recommended.
- Strangers - Interviews with regular people about their lives and loves. Start with the author's confessional Love Hurts series about her own relationships.
- Where Should We Begin - Actual psychotherapy sessions taped. If you liked In Treatment, you'll love this. Therapist Esther Perel shows great analytical acumen and empathy at the same time. Not as voyeuristic as it sounds.
- Elemntarfragen - Intensive Longform-Interviews mit interessantent Menschen. Stimmen, die man nicht so häufig hört. Mehrere interssante Gespräche zur 68-er Generation.
- This American Life. The grey mother of all podcasts. Still mostly very good
- Reply All. Ostensibly about the internet but really about people. Start with Boy in Photo.
- The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps. Incredibly this podcast aims to achieve exactly what it says in the epic title. Even more incredibly, with success.