Released five days a week from NPR, shorter episodes each discussing a single topic, rotating panel of hosts who also do great pop culture work in other corners of the internet
Some I like are more produced and less indie but they're still more than people just sitting around and yapping about whatever people online are currently arguing about, so I feel like they fit the bill!
Lateral with Tom Scott -- combo of trivia and riddles, nerdiest thing i've ever been into and that's saying something
Escape This Podcast -- second nerdiest thing i've ever been into, listening to people do a table top game (think D&D) and their goal is to accomplish an escape room
Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week -- bunch of short science stories
Ologies -- long form, thoughtful interviews with experts in a variety of fields, many of which are quite timely
You Are Good -- Diving into movies that are culturally well known and/or just favorites of the hosts, and getting into why those stories are compelling and what the creators of the movie are saying/trying to say with it
You're Wrong About -- Getting into things that most people think they know about but there's way more to the story and there's often a fundamental misunderstanding in how most people think of the things (stanford prison experiment, donner party, stonewall uprising, and satanic panic are classic eps I recommend to everyone)
Decoder Ring -- Answers why random pop culture things of the present or past became things in the first place
American Hysteria -- Insights into pop culture and society (sounds boring with that description but I promise it's good)
I originally made this database of theater to see in NYC for myself but friends have asked me to share so I made this shareable document! I try to update it as often as I can, and it includes both Broadway and off-broadway shows.
