Best Podcasts of 2025

While my listening time went down last year, I was still able to cover a lot of podcast ground. I sifted through a pile of podcasts to compile this list of the best podcasts of 2025, in my opinion. Let’s jump right in. (For reference, here are my lists from 2024 and 2023.)

How to navigate the podcast list

As I mentioned in my previous podcast roundup posts, I have many gripes about Spotify such as their underpaying of musicians. My most petty gripe however is the way they categorize podcasts. The user experience is bottom tier at best. To make your life easier, I’ve broken up the recommendations into specific niche genres to help you locate what you’re most interested in for the long form section. This year I didn’t divide the episodic podcasts into genres since there aren’t nearly as many.

DISCLAIMER

Finally, there is the possibility that podcasts on this list came out the year prior and not 2025.  I mention this in case there are readers who take yearly podcast roundup posts extremely seriously and dislike this. With that said, I promise all of these shows are no older than that AND this isn’t another list that suggests listening to Serial etc.

LONG FORM STORYTELLING PODCASTS 2025

CORRUPTION (government, police etc)

Fiasco: Bush v. Gore (Season 2) 

Back in 2000 when the US election was being recalled, I was newly a teenager and blissfully unaware about global politics… this would all change of course post 9/11. As an adult, I took American history as an elective in university because I wanted to understand what the hell was going on but what is a small paragraph in a textbook could easily be a whole podcast, such as this fiasco.

This series focuses in on the contentious 2000 election and the underhanded tactics of George W Bush and affiliates used to stop a recount and secure the election in favour of himself. At least, that was my takeaway.

Listen to Fiasco: Bush v Gore.

FASHION

Curse of America’s Next Top Model

This podcasts predates the new Netflix series, Reality Check, and doesn’t include Tyra et al making excuses for their abusive and damaging decisions. The host interviews several of the models from different cycles. The podcast offers a balanced look back on the show by highlighting moments that were truly groundbreaking all while critiquing them with a modern lens. If you were a massive ANTM head like myself, this is a must listen!

Listen to The Curse of America’s Next Top Model.

Model Wars

The rise of the super model began in the 1980s and Paul Fisher was an unlikely character to take the industry by storm. He began an agency to rival the likes of Eileen Ford and John Casablanca’s… all while being backed by mob money. I listened to this podcast last year but in light of the latest dump of Epstein files, it makes me want to revisit it again with a more critical listen.

Listen to Model Wars.

MUSIC HISTORY

The Rise and Fall of Indie Sleaze

Indie Sleaze was the era I became a young adult and WHAT A TIME IT WAS TO BE ALIVE! I was in fashion school at the height of Vice Magazine, American Apparel, and indie sleaze. Though, if you’re hoping to hear about the North American experience, please adjust your expectations. This podcast was made by the BBC and thus focuses more on the British scene but I enjoyed it nonetheless. And if you want to just listen to the tunes from this era, check out my Indie Sleaze playlist.

Listen to The Rise and Fall of Indie Sleaze.

Bandsplain

Are you a music fan and want to hear band histories explained to you by a woman? Bandsplained is the way to go. The theme song was made by Bethany Cosentino from Best Coast, need I say more? I particularly enjoyed the series on The Smiths.

Listen to Bandsplain.

DISASTERS

Titanic Ship of Dreams

If I could choose one word to describe the podcast it would be elegant. The series takes listeners along the journey of creation and demise of the luxury liner. What I particularly love is the host’s personal connections to the story; his great Uncle Jimmy McGann was employed by White Star Line as a trimmer in Titanic’s boiler room. Are you truly a child of the 90s if you didn’t go through a Titanic phase? That decade saw the first artifacts recovered from the wreckage and the blockbuster hit starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo Decaprio. It was a big deal.

Listen to Titanic Ship of Dreams.

MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE

The Retrievals  (Season 2) 

If the first season of The Retrievals wasn’t harrowing enough, the second will surely blow your mind. This time the focus is on pain management during c-sections. Why do so many patients experience severe pain during such a major surgery? File under: yet another reason I will be remaining childfree.

Listen to The Retrievals.

Dangerous Memories

What happens when a therapist in London convinces her well-to-do patients, girls from considerable wealth, to run away from their families. It’s a bizarre marrying of medical negligence and cult-like behaviours.

Listen to Dangerous Memories.

CRIME

Wisecrack

People are always trying to marry comedy and crime but somehow this podcast ACTUALLY does it. A comedian jokes about nearly being murdered by his high school bully when he returned to his hometown for a festival. A journalist is in the audience and wants to delve deeper into the story beyond the stand up anecdote.

Listen to Wisecrack.

Uncover: Dirtbag Climber (Season 34)

This story takes some bizarre turns but opens with the discovery of a body in a burned out car in Squamish BC. The deceased was a tolerated member of the local climbing scene who had an unimaginable past pioneering the spam industry in the early days of the internet. Get ready to be equal parts fascinated and furious.

Listen to Uncover: Dirtbag Climber.

Stalked

What happens when your phone is compromised and you’re being digitally stalked without realizing it until it’s too late? Hannah, like many women before her, went to the police for help and was dismissed. Stalking and cyber crime continue to be under-investigated but with the help of her journalist ex step mom, they embark on a journey to uncover the true identity of her stalker.

Listen to Stalked.

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM

Missed Fortune

Some people get their kicks searching for the end of the internet and others by trying to cross impossible bodies of water in national parks in hopes of a monetary bonanza. In Missed Fortune, a hidden treasure is tucked away somewhere in the Rocky Mountains and the only map for clues is a poem. The series follows the mishaps of treasure hunters attempting to find the hidden windfall in a Goonies-esque adventure. It made me question what on earth would be valuable enough to make me pursue something this doggedly. Answer: not much.

Listen to Missed Fortune.

Understood: Who Broke the Internet?

Do you remember when the internet was filled with artfully designed flash websites and personal webpages? Cory Doctorow, father of the word Enshitification, hosts this exploration into the demise of the internet as we know it. What was once a useful tool with endless possibility is a husk of its former self. Everyone has experienced a google search bringing up useless information and Doctorow traces the history of its decline. As you can imagine, it’s packed with Silicon Valley bros picking profit while speed running the downward spiral. Despite it being hella depressing, I love learning about the various turning points and wistfully longing for a time before it all went so wrong.

Listen to Understood: Who Broke The Internet?.

Outlaw Ocean (Season 2)

While this podcast could have easily been under the crime category, the fact that Ian Urbina climbs aboard vessels and reports boots on the ground style makes this more investigative to me. (You couldn’t pay me to get on a boat for longer than an afternoon.) Much like the first season, the episodes revolve around different areas of subterfuge on the ocean. My personal favourite was the episode about the repo man of the seas!

Listen to Outlaw Ocean..

Scratch & Win

If there is one thing I am not interested in in the slightest, it’s gambling but I gave this podcast a whirl because I loved their previous podcast, The Big Dig. This series focuses on the history of Scratch & Win tickets and how they became the most popular form of gambling in the US.

Listen to Scratch & Win.

SCAMS

Uncover: Sea of Lies

A body is found by fishermen off the coast of England and the identity of the deceased is revealed by an inscription on a Rolex watch, a plot already worthy of a Hollywood movie. The story only becomes more remarkable as it unfolds through elaborate fraud and identity theft that ultimately leads back to the most random place imaginable: Manitoba.

Listen to Sea of Lies.

Forged

If last year’s round up of podcast didn’t make it evident how fascinated I am with art crime, here’s another to podcast to add to the pile. Forged investigates the story of Norval Morriseau, a celebrated Indigenous artist known as the Picasso of the North and the authenticity of his prolific body of work. Did he actually paint them all or was there a fraudster ring profiting off his name? To make this story extra Canadian, there’s even a Can Con Classic musician wrapped up in this boondoggle – Kevin Hearn of the Barenaked Ladies. Cue the jokes about him buying art if he had a million dollars… etc etc.

I might add, there was a documentary made about this in 2019 titled: There Are No Fakes which I recommend watching too since art is such a visual medium.

Listen to Forged.

Scam Inc

A seemingly random collapse of a rural bank in Kansas leads an investigative journalist, Sue-Lin Wong to uncover a much deeper, convoluted scam industry underpinned by money laundering and human trafficking on a global scale. Yet another podcast that has become even more relevant in light of the Epstein files.

Listen to Scam Inc.

PERSONAL STORIES

Tough Cookie: The Wally “Famous” Amos Story

A family drama story of rags to riches and then back again about the eponymous Famous Amos cookie empire as told by the daughter of the founder. As a self proclaimed inquiring mind (aka snoop) I ADORE hearing the inner workings of a family’s dynamics… even more so when they’re messy wealthy. Perhaps why I enjoyed The Just Enough Family podcast too. So step into the world of 1970s Black pop culture and glamour in this 6 part series that I guarantee you will listen to in one sitting.

Listen to Tough Cookie.

Embedded: Alternative Realities (Season 23)

Another household is being divided by conspiracies and circular arguments. A father and son are both convinced that the other is being brainwashed and agree to a bet in hopes of one truth being deemed correct. Host Zach Mack’s father makes a list of all the conspiracies he believes will come true in 2024 and wagers $10,000 on it. The series tracks their relationship over the course of the year and ultimately who wins the bet.

Listen to Embedded: Alternative Realities.

Uncover: Allison After NXIVM (Season 35)

I was hesitant to listen to this at first seeing as how Allison Mack was partially responsible for the branding of women in DOS, a subset in the NXIVM cult. The series follows her story and the unraveling of her beliefs and indoctrination. The episodes carefully navigate the story without making it a positive PR campaign for Mack though there were still times I felt myself side eying what she was saying. If you’re unfamiliar with the NXIVM cult, I’d recommend listening to Escaping NXIVM from 2018 to get the back story from a whistleblower.

Listen to Allison After NXIVM.

Personally: Forever is A Long Time (Season 6)

How does one believe in marriage as a lifetime commitment when they come from a long line of divorcees? Host Ian Cross interviews family members to figure out what went wrong in their marriages in hopes of breaking the familial pattern in his own.

Listen to Personally: Forever is a Long Time.

ONGOING EPISODIC PODCASTS 2025

This American Life

What is a podcast list without the inclusion of This American Life? Every Sunday I look forward to the soothing tones of Ira Glass’ voice chatting casually about the audio journey I’m about to enjoy. For those who are unaware, each episode is structured around a theme and then broken into 3 acts which consist of small stories related to the theme.

Heavyweight

This podcast got me HOOKED when I stumbled across the second episode which host Jonathan Goldstein tries to help his friend Gregor get a CD box set that he lent to Moby 20 years ago. The premise of Heavyweight is to help individuals rectify past hurts that continue to hang heavy on their minds years later. Some episodes are better than others, but a new season has started up after a long hiatus.

Listen to Heavyweight.

Death Sex & Money

Interesting stories about all facets of life. One of my favourite episodes detailed how private equity blew up this woman’s life.

Listen to Death, Sex, & Money.

Search Engine

Search Engine might be the most consistently solid podcast I have ever listened to. Even when I am not remotely interested in the topic, I still give it a try and am never let down. The podcast premise: PJ Vogt takes listener questions and acts as a human search engine to answer them.

Listen to Search Engine.

The Hatchet

My favourite reporter from Canadaland, Arshy Mann, left that sinking ship and began his own podcast exploring the wealthy and powerful people and family dynasties within Canada.

Listen to The Hatchet or check out their substack.

Crime Story

What is the story behind the infamous stories? Investigative journalist Kathleen Goldhar interviews the myriad of people involved in a crime story such as investigators, documentarians, and reporters. From cold cases to high profile crimes, each week Crime Story takes a peek behind the curtain with an insider’s perspective. 

Listen to Crime Story