I meant to do an end of year list pulling together all of my favorite podcasts of 2015, or all the best episodes, or the most surprising moments. I just couldn't settle on how I wanted to put it together. More and more of my friends are getting interested in podcasts and that's awesome. But finding new things to listen to is often difficult. That may be something I can help with.
So here's how it's supposed to work. Each week this year I'll link to an episode from a podcast I love, and talk a little bit about why I love that episode specifically and the podcast more generally. The idea is to highlight shows that have really stuck with me. So this isn't exactly a best ever list, more a these-were-really-important-to-me list. Hopefully it'll help expand your feed and shed some light on shows or episodes you may have missed.
My taste leans toward narrative non-fiction. In particular, I like shows about history. I tend to steer clear of shows built around talk unless they're connected to something ongoing and changing--things like current events, culture, or sports. When I get to the talk shows I do enjoy, I'll probably talk about the show more generally rather than focusing on a specific episode. These shows are usually a bit less evergreen, so digging through the back catalogs may not be particularly rewarding.
I'll aim toward no repeats. But, since I don't listen to 52 different podcasts that's probably not going to work out. Although the focus here is on shows from the past, things tend to happen over the course of twelve months. So I'm absolutely reserving the right shift into the present as the moment demands.