I get enough tech in my daily life, so I look to podcasts to enrich my life in other dimensions and teach me new things. Here are some of my favorites:
Somebody already mentioned Welcome to Night Vale, which is a serial fiction podcast in the form of public radio news announcements from a town where all the weirdness of the world is true.
Also, there is The Thrilling Adventure Hour. This is a comedic take on old-school radio serials. There are multiple ongoing series within the show. This is a really funny show, with great production values, and some high profile guest stars.
Agreed. I listen to very few tech podcasts, for the same reason: I'm exposed to it so much elsewhere (HN, RSS etc).
But yeah, as you'll see by this list, I LOVE podcasts.
Here's what's in my 'Listen First' feed, which I listen to as soon as they're published:
* Do You Link Prince Movies?
* The BS Report w/ Bill Simmons
* Grantland NFL Podcast
* Grantland Pop Culture
* Grantland Sports
* Here's the Thing with Alec Baldwin
* Hollywood Prospectus
* Jalen & Jacoby
* Rembert Explains
* Serial
* Startup
* Adam & Drew Show (Adam Carolla & Dr Drew)
* Upvoted by Reddit
* This American Life
And here are the others that I've subscribed to and listen to when I don;t have anything in the "Listen First" feed:
* 1 Day Business Breakthrough (haven't listened yet, but it's in my feed)
* 99% Invisible
* Bret Easton Ellis Podcast
* Criminal (haven't listened yet, but it's in my feed)
* Deadcast (Sports, from deadspin.com)
* Entreprogrammers (haven't listened yet, but it's in my feed)
* Here Be Monsters (haven't listened yet, but it's in my feed)
* Kalzumeus Podcast (patio11 & others)
* Mixergy (I mark a lot of these as listened without listening)
* NPR Fresh Air (I mark a lot of these as listened without listening)
* NPR Invisibilia (haven't listened yet, but it's in my feed)
* PO'd with Dennis Miller & Adam Carolla (probably going to remove this soon)
* Reply All (haven't listened yet, but it's in my feed)
* Startups for the Rest of Us (I mark a lot of these as listened without listening)
* Adam Carolla Podcast (I mark a lot of these as listened without listening)
* Andy Greenwald Podcast (I mark a lot of these as listened without listening)
* Dr Drew Podcast (I mark a lot of these as listened without listening)
* The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
* WTF w/ Mark Maron (I mark a lot of these as listened without listening)
* You Made it Weird w/ Pete Holmes (I mark a lot of these as listened without listening)
If you like horror, you might be interested The NoSleep Podcast: readings of the cream of the crop of short stories from reddit's NoSleep forum. Really good voices and sound design, and it won a Parsec Award for speculative fiction in 2014.
If you like Song Exploder, a friend of mine and I started a music production podcast where we dissect one song each week that you might also like: http://songaweek.net/
Dan Carlin Hardcore History - Very long episodes covering history in detail. Dan is a very enjoyable story teller.
Common Sense with Dan Carlin - Episodes covering recent events. The host is opinionated, but very interesting.
Skeptic's Guide to the Universe - this podcast covers science, but mostly is about combating pseudoscience in society. The hosts can seem dismissive, but I agree with them, so I like it.
EconTalk - I'd say some of these are a step above pop Econ. The variety and high stature (some Nobel laureates) of the guests is impressive.
StarTalk - NGT, what else is there to say. I like the comedians he has on as cohosts too.
Stuff You Missed In History Class - less in depth than hardcore history above, but also more easily consumed.
How To Start a Startup - good advice on startups. This is one you listen to over and over again.
Startup - this one doesn't have a lot of specific advice on starting a startup, but is interesting nonetheless.
Lexicon Valley -Etymology of different a words and phrases. Good hosts.
I Love Marketing - covers direct response marketing. The hosts can seem self serving, but the early episodes are very informative.
* Ruby Rogues | http://devchat.tv/ruby-rogues/ | weekly panel discussion about programming (emphasis on Ruby) | ★★★ (can vary wildly based on topic/panel)
* The Bike Shed | http://bikeshed.fm/ | biweekly show discussing thoughtbot's experiences in web development (Rails-heavy) | ★★★
* TechZing | http://techzinglive.com/ | a "two people talking" genre podcast about programming, software business, general HN-like topics; a bit hard to approach but I've been listening for over 250 episodes so I'm fully dug in at this point | ★★★
Additionally I mix up all the technical podcasts with a couple others: Stop Podcasting Yourself (Canadian comedy podcast), Tim Ferriss Show (interviews with world-renowned experts), The Random Show (Tim Ferriss + Kevin Rose talking about random things that interest them), and Back to Work (Merlin Mann vehicle for talking about productivity/work-life balance).
# Setup
I use PocketCasts for Android (worth every penny) and a Griffin Technology BlueTrip AUX car adapter to listen to podcasts while driving. This replaces the radio/music for me when driving.
I've heard Carlin's podcast recommended several times, but latel I'm tired of history that primarily gives me a finished narrative, andam interested more in finding accounts where they spend a lot of time discussing sources (e.g., I'm less excited about hearing about Ben Franklin's life than I might be about the letters of Ben Franklin).
How does Hardcore Hisotry stack up in this regard?
Hardcore History is all finished narrative. Where Dan Carlin really shines is taking facts from history, like body counts from ancient battles and making them visceral so that you can really feel how terrified people would have been if there city was being besieged by Mongols, or if you were a soldier in Stalin's army and were used as so much cannon fodder against the nazis.
If you are more interested in the primary sources, he's probably not for you, but if you want to feel history rather than just hear about it, then I highly recommend.
Not a podcast, but I found many of the history courses on The Great Courses series (which is now available on Audible) are like what you desire. Not all of them are, but it's usually possible to tell based on the description.
* Planet Money - http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/ - mostly looks at quirky aspects of modern culture/society from an economics bent. It is very "light" economics, but the topics are usually interesting.
* EconTalk - http://www.econtalk.org/ - Still pop-economics oriented, but definitely deeper than Planet Money. The people Russ interviews have changed my opinion on controversial issues many times.
* Writing Excuses - http://www.writingexcuses.com/ - I don't currently write fiction and it is very low on my priority list, but hearing authors describe how they deal with all aspects of writing is interesting to me. They cover different kinds of plots, common plot/character issues, and plenty of meta topics about writing/publishing.
* Behind the News with Doug Henwood - http://www.kpfa.org/all-programs/behind-news-doug-henwood - The stuff that Doug thinks are important are usually not the things that I feel are important which is why I like listening to his shows. It's nice to hear different takes on the world.
* Skeptic's Guide to the Universe - http://www.theskepticsguide.org/ - I often listen to this for light half-zoned-out entertainment, but they often talk about science news/history that I wouldn't hear otherwise and are usually entertaining.
* 99% Invisible - http://99percentinvisible.org/ - I think of this as Planet Money for Design. It has introduced me to new ways of looking at cities.
* Quirks and Quarks - http://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks - Probably my favorite Science news story podcast. I find it has less fluff than Science Friday.
* Brain Science Podcast - http://brainsciencepodcast.com/ - Has some interesting interviews with experts in the current understanding of the brain.
+1 for Startup. I listened to the last episode of season 1 this weekend -- the first half is the most honest discussion of entrepreneurship I've encountered.
I really like Startup and I'm an avid listener. But, while Alex does a great job of trying to present an honest view of starting a company, I don't think his experiences translate to the everyday entrepreneur.
Sure listening to his initial pitch to Chris Sacca is horrifying and hilarious, but eventually people just start throwing money at him. Everywhere he turns someone is trying to invest. I'm not saying this doesn't happen, but because of who he is the "money" side of things neatly works itself out for him.
Again, I love the podcast and I think Alex is completely honest in it, but he never has to confront the issue of runway which is probably the most nerve-wracking part of being starting a company.
I totally agree - it's not your representative founder story, and while I listened to all of it an enjoyed, I also got the distinct impression that a ton was omitted and or edited out. I guess this is to be expected with a high product podcast, but as it went on, I increasingly felt like large portions of the story were missing.
I had the same feeling, I couldn't stand the voice fry. I heard the episode you linked to and felt like a jerk, but I still can't get myself to listen to Invisibilia. The content of the episodes I heard were interesting though.
One episode per week, like clockwork. Typically ~30 minutes long. Actionable stuff. Whenever I get a new episode of this podcast it instantly goes to top of listening queue. Also, I listen to it 1x speed, because I don't want to miss anything.
One episode per forever, extremely uneven schedule. Typically ~60 minutes long or so. Sort of This American Life, but - as you already figured out - with the developer angle.
The Talking Machines is my favorite machine learning podcast. So far they've had interviews with many of the big names in ML: Yann LeCun, Goeff Hinton, Yoshua Bengio.
For in depth world news and technology trends I listen to the no agenda show with John c Dvorak and Adam curry; their weekly Hunt through the news and c-span broadcasts saves me endless time and the voluminous show notes will be your handy reference too!
Woah, John C. Dvorak is still alive and podcasting? I remember listening to him on Leo LaPorte's podcast back in like 2004 (before I got kinda sick of LaPorte) and thinking Dvorak was the entertaining cranky old man of tech back then.
It's not especially programming or design related; but I was recently turned on to EconTalk (http://www.econtalk.org/) and it's been very enjoyable. Especially good talks were:
I can't recommend anything about programming/design, but I listen to Ask Altucher and The James Altucher Podcast. He interviews successful people – mostly entrepreneurs – from all walks of life. It's very interesting to hear all the past struggles and failures. James somehow makes the guests reveal the most intimate experiences. http://goo.gl/bJBMqN
For Design topics, check out 99% Invisible (http://99percentinvisible.org/) and Design Details (http://www.designdetails.fm/).
I feel silly mentioning This American Life (http://www.thisamericanlife.org/) since it seems like everyone's heard of it, but the quality of the show is just so incredible I can't leave it out. There's the quality of TAL's storytelling and then there's everything else...
Radiolab is also incredible (http://www.radiolab.org/) for more technical/scientific topics, but it's definitely not specific to engineering/software.
There is a lot of wisdom on family life as a bootstrapper. I also like it because it's a small window into the reality of things, rather than just the 'glossy version'.
We're launching a podcast next month about programming and technical topics for non-technical people: http://www.talkingcode.com/
Our favorite interview so far (feels like picking your favorite kid!) has been with Sandi Metz, partly because it's so funny to me to have discussed object-oriented design for a non-technical audience. But she had some tremendous, actionable insights for people who want to know how software works without knowing how to write it.
I'm hoping we can bridge the gap a little bit. Ideally, if a non-technical friend or colleague asked me – "hey, what is continuous deployment, anyway?" – I would point them here for an approachable 30,000 foot view. We have a lot of work to do to get there, though.
I feel the same, but I think the short form is a great feature. In fact, this format is inspiring me to start my own frequently published podcast (feels like something I can do, vs the longer formats)
Like many - I started (and still love) the Joe Rogan Experience (http://joerogan.net/). Now my list is pretty large, but one I really love is Song Exploder (http://songexploder.net)
self-promotion disclaimer I also host one about in-person, uncensored conversations with uncommon people. http://oznog.com
If you enjoy stuff which deals with spirituality you may want to check out Tapestry http://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry.
The subject is not my cup of tea, but I have heard many rave reviews of it.
I listen to a few every time there's a new episode:
* Free Beer & Hot Wings -- this is actually a radio show, but I've been listening since I was in high school and I'm a huge fan or their humor: http://www.freebeerandhotwings.com/
Another vote for ShopTalk[1]. Also Jen Simmons' The Web Ahead[2] is fantastic, and gets into some higher-level trends and concepts in tech, art and design. For my Chris Coyier overdose, I tack on Codepen Radio[3]. On the UX and design side, I love The Dirt[4] and Hustle[5]. Finally, The Businessology Show[6] does a great job covering management and leadership (focused on the agency/service world).
I am a premium member of Mixergy. I forget about it for months and then remember again, listen to a random interview and almost always take away something valuable. I like Andrew Warners interview style. He is very kind and respectful but he is still good at asking questions until you get down to the details that actually matter.
- I've also heard good things about, http://devchat.tv/freelancers (another DevChat.tv offering), but haven't had time, between the other podcasts, to start working my way through it
edited: trying to provide a list of links, not a code snippet; why isn't standard MarkDown supported on Hacker News?
Listen over time and you get an education. You can also check out his books, explore his web site, and end up with a good idea of how to run your financial life yourself.
This is especially good for those in their 20s - start now by putting away modest amounts and you'll be rich by the time you're my age.
Also the "Video DownloadHelper" extension for FireFox will let you download these podcasts and others like them that don't offer a direct download option, so you're not stuck sitting there in real time.
The Bugle regularly makes me laugh out loud on my commute, although I'm not sure quite how well it translates for non-Brits. Co-host Andy Zaltzman is the brother of Helen Zaltzman who also co-hosts an excellent comedy podcast, Answer Me This.
A fellow bugler?! Well met, good sir. I like its Britishness and frequent references to cricket and other such obscure and quaint social rituals. In truth - though I am a non-Brit, I am an inhabitant of the Emerald Isle persuasion and require very little in the way of machine translation.
I am listening to Answer Me This! as I type my reply to you and I thank you for the pointer.
* The Fizzle Show: http://fizzle.co/show
This show gets you thinking critically about what you're doing/need to do in your business, and it provides a good laugh, too. That said, it largely focuses on "content" businesses and blogging.
Kelley Dixon, an editor on the Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul, hosts this podcast with guests including actors, fellow editors and the show's writers.
The co-hosts proceed from the premise that every life event has a perfect cocktail pairing. They've got great guests (often comedians) that chat about what's going on in their lives and, of course, talk about cocktails
I submit that being a good designer (of software or hardware or 2d or 3d images) demands a well rounded education, a diverse set of interests, and a morbid sense of humor. To that end I submit these following podcasts to excite the weak connections in our brains:
The Jeff and Casey show is probably my favorite: http://mollyrocket.com/jacs/index.html. It's hosted by the owner/founder of Rad Game Tools and one of their (now ex-) programmers (who has recently had minor fame as the host of handmade hero).
Typically the episodes aren't about programming, although they do frequently discuss tech topics.
Not at all tech related, but I like to listen to The Unexplained podcast with the British radio profile Howard Hughes. It's a bit out there, but his voice, and his broadcast pedigree makes it very relaxing to listen to, at least for me.
Hell yes. Risky Business has been my favorite new podcast discovery this year, and I can't believe it's actually been running for 7 years. It's really well presented, the segments flow well and are informative & entertaining.
If you've currently got Security Now on your podcast playlist, definitely pick this one up. I think you'll feel like you've been shortchanging yourself all this time.
Dorm Room Tycoon has lots of interviews with high profile people in the field of innovation, startups and design. Compact episodes, well prepared host and guests and interesting topics make this podcast a favourite of mine. - www.drt.fm
An interesting concept but an uninspiring execution.
Who are all those people in the catalog? There is no filtering by profession, interest, etc. Every picture has only a name label. Very helpful if you have no idea (or you're not sure) who the person is.
A test search 'joel spolsky' (a celebrity that must be there) gave me this:
I've been listening to PartiallyDerivative, although it is mostly a rehash of top HackerNews articles from the week. It's also curious that the two data scientist hosts do a lot of math bashing.
Would definitely recommend "In Our Time", it's amazing the broad range of stuff they cover from science, philosophy, religion and beyond. I've been mining their back catalogue, there's some truly fascinating topics discussed.
Although they don't have a huge tech focus, for anyone even remotely interested in either a.) bootstrapped businesses, or b.) travel --- it is the best podcast I know about.
Turns out bootstrapping and travel are naturally synergistic. For bootstrapping you want to minimize burn rate. With travel, you can live (reasonably) comfortably somewhere like Thailand or Bali for 6 months to 1 year off of only ~1K per month as you get your new venture off the ground.
After listening to this podcast for a year I've lived in Shenzhen, China, Ubud, Bali (Indonesia) and Taipei, Taiwan while doing remote Rails consulting to build up a warchest.
So far its been the best experience of my life and I never would have done it without listening to this podcast to hear about all the other people who have done the same.
I'm not as familiar with dev/design podcasts but I'll mention some that I've heard good things about; I think it would make a great Product Hunt board. More generally I think podcast discovery is a huge problem b/c 1.) most of us aren't aware of the good shows that exist, 2.) there's no easy way to share the best episodes, so we don't know which ones they are, and 3.) as listeners our interests are incredibly varied so subjective relevance is almost as important as quality. I'm going to share a list of shows that I've personally enjoyed or seem interesting. I'm also going to share some of my favorite episodes, because what's even more hard to identify than a good show are the very best episodes!
#Full disclosure, I'm creating a social platform for discovering and sharing podcasts: http://www.knomad.com/
#Side plug, https://www.audiosear.ch/ is doing some cool things with podcast discovery and exposes searches against digitally transcribed audio from podcasts
------------------------------- [1. Dev / Design Podcasts] -------------------------------
--------------------------- [2. General Podcasts I Recommend ] ---------------------------
--Tech News / Startups--
• This Week in Startups | http://thisweekinstartups.com | Amazing interviews. Great tech news insight. Fast paced. Highly recommend.
• How To Start a Startup | http://startupclass.samaltman.com/ | Course taught at Stanford organized by Sam Altman; some of the best distilled startup advice and insight.
• a16z | https://soundcloud.com/a16z | Lots of very smart people having candid discussions about interesting tech topics.
• Stanford ETL | http://apple.co/1uROaKz | Quality of speakers and topics very, but there's a wealth of great insight and stories here from founders to VCs and other interesting figures. The candid Q&A is also good.
• Accidental Tech Podcast | http://atp.fm/ | Marco Arment (co-founder of Tumblr) and co-hosts Casey Liss and John Siracusa discuss tech news, Apple, podcasts, and more.
• Product Hunt | http://apple.co/1FqZlwI | Ryan Hoover and Erik Torenburg interview founders and insiders, typically assoicated with the hottest new products (eg Meerkat right now)
• From Scratch | http://www.fromscratchradio.org/show/ | Jessica Harris interviews founders and surfaces great stories you likely haven't heard in a very NPR-esque manner.
• The Jay and Farhad Show | https://soundcloud.com/jay-yarow | Farhad is one of the best tech journalists out there and they are both great to listen to.
• MVP | http://mvptheshow.com/ | Ryan Block (@ryan), former editor-in-cheif at Engagdet and Peter Rojas, co-founder of Engadget and Gizmodo, discuss tech news. Both are very smart.
• The Tim Ferriss Show | http://apple.co/QG5aka | Life hacking, startups, health, cooking, goal settings, etc. If you don't know who Tim is, google him - he's an interesting guy.
• Girl on Guy | http://girlonguy.net/ | Comedian and actress Aisha Tyler (Lana on Archer) interviews actors and comedians. Very funny, very interesting.
• WTF with Marc Maron | http://www.wtfpod.com/ | Marc is pretty funny and he brings on lots of amazing and hilarious guests.
• Harmontown | http://apple.co/1BnY0R1 | Dan Harmon (community, rick & morty) and co-hosts do live shows in LA and feature amazing guests. Usually very funny.
• Indoor Kids | http://apple.co/1Auu6vg| Kumail Nanjiani (comedian on HBO's Silicon Valley) talks video games and shoots the shit. He's hilarious.
• Cracked | http://apple.co/1ALKJBT | Cohosts Jack O'Brien and Michael Swaim analyze movies, tv shows, and pop culture. Usually very funny.
• Nerdist | http://apple.co/1h68I6j | Chris Hardwick and co-hosts. Best episodes are defined by his guests.
--Science / Space--
• Radiolab | http://www.radiolab.org/ | Basically This American Life with fascinating scientific insights baked into about 90% of the stories. It's my favorite podcast.
• StarTalk Radio | http://www.startalkradio.net/ | Neil deGrasse Tyson (need I say more?) and comedian co-host Eugene Mirman discuss space and science with a stellar line up of guests. Informative and funny.
• Invisibilia | http://apple.co/1MF54zm | Spin off from Radiolab focusing on the invisible forces that control human behavior – ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions. Merges scientific research and storytelling.
--Other--
• UpVoted by Reddit | http://apple.co/15PutIP | Alexis Ohanian interviews people associated with some of the most amazing stories from Reddit
• The Daily Show without Jon Stewart | http://apple.co/1zi10mV | Behind the scenes conversations with the writers, producers, and correspondents. Funny stories and insight into how the show is made.
• Hardcore History | http://apple.co/1zz1dgL | Very long podcasts dedicated to in depth coverage of historical periods. Sam Harris loves it. Very highly regarded.
• Savage Lovecast | http://apple.co/1uapNF9 | Dan Savage reads anonymous questions from listeners and offers sex and relationship advice. Very informative and entertaining.
• Real Time with Bill Maher | http://apple.co/1pHRinG | Audio version of the HBO show. Comedy, politics, interviews, and panel discussions.
• StartUp | http://apple.co/1K5YDt9 | Alex Blumberg creates a podcast about creating a podcast company.
• Planet Money | http://apple.co/1bbrIDO | NPR; some of the best radio reporting on financial issues. They made 30min on the European debt crisis INTERESTING. wow.
• This American Life | http://apple.co/1K5XCRI | One of the very best podcasts in existence. Various stories from American life. Can only listen to the most recent ep in most podcast apps.
• Serial | http://serialpodcast.org/ | If you haven't heard of this, welcome back to the internet ;). Amazing 12 episode story about a real murder in the 90s.
• Freakonomics | http://apple.co/1fldET0 | Authors of freakonomics explore similar issues. Interesting, insightful, and informative.
• Criminal | http://apple.co/1fmyL7k | Stories of people who've done wrong, been wronged, and/or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. Great replacement for Serial while waiting for season 2.
• Radio Free Burrito | http://apple.co/19qR5RA | Wil Wheaton presents an infrequently-updated podcast with music, stories, and other things which he finds ... interesting.
Do the right thing - UK comedy panel show hosted by Danielle Ward and team captains Michael Legge and Margaret Cabourn-Smith.
Pappy's flatshare slamdown - Comedy panel show hosted and captained by UK sketch comedy group Pappy's.
InKredulous - Skeptical comedy panel show.
News and current affairs
Citizen radio - Independent left-wing political show.
The Bugle - Satirical news podcast hosted by Andy Zaltzman and John Oliver.
Skepticism
Be reasonable - A skeptic interviews people whose ideas are "outside of the mainstream" in a polite and respectful way.
InKredulous - Skeptical comedy panel show.
Skeptics with a K - UK based skeptical podcast. Light-hearted, with a focus on scientific skepticism.
Skeptoid - US based skeptical podcast. Each episode dives into debunking a single topic.
The Skeptics Guide to the Universe - US based skeptical podcast.
Science
The Infinite Monkey Cage - Comedic panel discussion show about science hosted by Robin Ince and Brian Cox.
Factual entertainment
The Allusionist - A podcast about words and language hosted by Helen Zaltzman.
Answer me this! - The hosts Helen Zaltzman (sister of Bugle's Andy Zaltzman), Ollie Mann and Martin the Soundman answer questions submitted by the general public.
No such thing as a fish - Some of the QI Elves that research for the TV show get together to discuss their favourite facts they've discovered in the past week.
Serial - Each series is an ongoing story/documentary. Season 1 is an investigation into the murder of a young woman and whether the correct person was convicted for the crime.
The Struggle Bus - An advice show.
Programming/Technology
Hanselminutes - Scott Hanselman interviews people about programming/technical related things.
Factual Comedy
The Comedian's Comedian Podcast - UK comedian Stuart Goldsmith interviews other comedians about comedy, performing and their writing process. The majority of the guests are UK based, but with a good number of Australian, New Zealand and US comics.
Michael Legge - UK based stand-up comic Michael Legge sporadically reads out his blogs.
Richard Herring's Warming Up - UK comedian Richard Herring reads out his daily blogs.
Richard Herring
Richard Herring's Edinburgh Fringe Podcast - Richard Herring interviews comedians at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast - Richard Herring interviews various celebrities.
Richard Herring's As It Occurs to Me - UK comedian Richard Herring performs a mix of stand-up and sketch comedy based on the past week with co-performers Dan Tetsell, Emma Kennedy and Christian Reilly.
Richard Herring's Warming Up - UK comedian Richard Herring reads out his daily blogs.
Tabletop Gaming
Ludology - In depth discussions around the topic of table-top gaming. Occasional interview with board game designers.
Dudes Talking
The Collings and Herrin podcast - UK comedian Richard Herring and presenter Andrew Collins in the "two dudes talking" genre.
Harmontown - Dan Harmon (creator of Community) and Jeff Davis chat on stage in front of an audience, often get drunk, interview guests, and play Dungeons and Dragons.
Hello Internet - CGP Grey (CGP Grey YouTube channel) and Brady Haran (Numberphile, Periodic Videos, Computerphile, BackstageScience, Bibledex, BradyStuff, Deep Sky Videos, FavScientist, Foodskey, Nottingham Science, Objectivity, PsyFile, PhilosophyFile, Sixty Symbols, Words of the World + more YouTube channels) in the "two dudes talking" genre.
Matt & Mattingly's Ice Cream Social - Two Vegas based improv comics and a sound engineer in the "dudes talking" genre.
Penn's Sunday School - Magician Penn Jillette and co-hosts Matt Donnelly and Michael Goudeau in the "dudes talking" genre.
* Cooking, food, and molecular gastronomy; Cooking Issues: http://www.heritageradionetwork.org/programs/51-Cooking-Issu...
* Outdoor adventure; Dirtbag Diaries: http://dirtbagdiaries.com
* Music and poetic music breakdown (uniquely well-suited to audio as a medium); Song Exploder: http://songexploder.net
* History; the Memory Palace: http://thememorypalace.us
* Design; 99% Invisible: http://99percentinvisible.org
* Electic subjects: http://loveandradio.org
* RadioLab: http://www.radiolab.org
I'd love to find a good fiction podcast, with either short form stories or episodic long form arcs in the fashion of old-school radio shows.