My Favorite Long Running Podcasts

Favorite long running podcasts/how I got into podcasts 

Since my undergrad years I have been known lightly as a “podcast person”. It started with Welcome to Nightvale, but the more I explored the more I fell in love. My one roommate looked at me when I was excited about a new fact and said: “You’re listening to a new podcast, aren’t you?” 

It was This Podcast Will Kill You. I was also taking an epidemiology class for a gen-ed requirement. Serendipity? Sure. Annoying for some people? Absolutely. 

This Podcast Will Kill You has been running for a few years now. It’s not a podcast you need to closely follow for anything other than inside jokes, and maybe the COVID series. 

I find a lot of my core shows are like this. I have cycled in and out of a solid rotation since really digging into the medium. I mix in some long form deep dives, like Murder in Illinois. Yet after a couple deep dives, always come back to a select few. So here is a list of some of my favorite long running titles that you don’t need to follow in order: 

Stuff You Missed in History Class- @missedinhistory 

Hosted by Tracy V Wilson and Holly Frey since 2013, this podcast gives you a solid, mid deep dive to topics in one part or sometimes two part episodes. This show has a back catalog of nearly 2,000 episodes. They cover historical topics related to: science, authors, phenomenon, catastrophes, and well…anything. It is easy to listen to, with excellent quality. These two have a chemistry that blasted this podcast into the mainstream. Sometimes three or four episodes will go by that I’m not the most fascinated by. However, long car rides tend to make sure I grab the immediately less interesting as well. A few of my favorite episodes were: Teresa de Cartagena, The History of Gardening, and a semi two parter on Helen Taussig, Mother of Pediatric Cariology and Viven Thomas, Surgical Pathfinder.

My Favorite Murder- @myfavmurder

A little tongue in cheek with the title, Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark have taken the podcasting world by storm. Now, they own their own podcasting network, Exactly Right. A true crime podcast, each picks a story for the week and tells the other (and us). Playing off some natural comedic atmosphere- these two have created a fanbase known as murderinos. Some have found this podcast difficult, because the chit chat intros have gotten longer and longer over the years. I had a hard time with it too, until I realized I could skip forward about 30-40 minutes in and get to the stories. Now, I value those intros for some great recommendation and reminders of my humanity. This is a lighter true crime podcast which skims cases and events throughout the world, and history. Honestly, lately I’m really enjoying what the Exactly Right network comes out with regarding diversity in voice, so the value of this initial core show is more than what it seems.

This Podcast Will Kill You- @tpwky

I mentioned how I found this podcast about the same time I was taking an epidemiology class. Excellent job, world. Erin and Erin are two PhD level infectious disease podcasters with some decent comedy, and excellent drinks. They took the terms “quarantini” and “Placeberito” to pair up each infectious disease with a drink. I will admit, I’ve gotten away from this podcast since COVID (too much for me). However, their pandemic related episodes are great explanations of what has been going on. I enjoy their tone and general atmosphere for when my brain needs a different focus but nothing too heavy. I currently do not have favorite episodes but I should say: the weak of stomach be wary. It can get gross. (They also make alcohol free episodes!) 

You’re Dead to Me- hosted by @gregjenner

This is a more recent find that immediately became a core podcast. In my defense it did come out in 2019, a little later compared to some others. Produced by the BBC and hosted by Greg Jenner (the mind behind Homeschool Histories on the BBC) this is a phenomenal podcast. Greg pairs up with an expert on a topic and a comedian that may or may not know anything about what they’re talking about. The episodes have varying humor, but that might be an across-the-pond issue. The content is phenomenal and I cannot tell you how many awesome historians I now follow on Twitter because of this podcast specifically. They even release radio edits between seasons that you could listen to with some younger ears in the car. Some of my favorite episodes are Grace O’Malley and Norse Literature. 

Some honorable mentions I will talk about later: 

The Bugle- British satire. John Oliver started here

Dressed, the History of Fashion- History of fashion

No Such Thing as A Fish- weekly discoveries of odd topics

Listen to all of these shows wherever you get your podcasts.

One of my goals right now is to get more diverse in my podcasts. I tend not to gravitate towards podcasts that do not tell some type of narrative. I notice that a lot of my audio comes from the same studios. If you have any independent podcasts you think I should listen to feel free to send them my way here, on Twitter, or on Instagram where I am @iamkeelinit (also linked in the side bar of the main page)