Best of 2025: Favorite Podcast

Listened to a ton of podcasts this year. As I said last year, I would probably listen to less political podcasts this year, and I managed to do that. I still listen to Pod Save America, but I usually skip the interviews, and if I miss an episode, then it is no big deal. 

So what do I listen to on a weekly basis, aside from PSA? Skeptoid is always great. Offline can be great, but some weeks it can be a little meh, just depends on who Jon is interviewing. Campus Files had some fantastic episodes (the stories about UNC were great, and the story of the professors who decided to make porn). My favorite weekly podcast was Search Engine yet again. There were two episodes that really stood out this season: the All-American BBQ Grill Scrubber episode (PJ did a story about a guy who wanted to make a grill scrubber that was made entirely in America…and we learn along the way how difficult this prospect is nowadays) and then there was a sad episode called The Obituary, about the anti-COVID vaccine people who hijack obituaries and use people’s death as proof of their conspiracy (the story was mostly about a husband who kept seeing his wife pop up in these anti-vax posts). 

But, I need to mention three fantastic mini-series podcasts that I listened to this year, that I think some of you might really like.
The Alabama Murders–this was a longer series by Malcolm Gladwell that is part of his show, Revisionist History, but it took up like seven episodes. It is about an Alabama man who pays some guys to murder his wife, and the twists and turns of the case. Plus, the ending is extremely sad. 

The Preventionist–You can find this one under Serial. It was only three episodes, and it focuses on a doctor who decides that everything she sees is abuse, and then the difficulties the parents face trying to get their children back. 

The 13th Step–This series was mentioned on Last Week Tonight, and I decided to give it a listen. It is about recovering addicts, and how a guy who opened a recovery treatment center was sexually abusing his clients. The story has some wild twists as the reporter becomes the focus of the story itself.