The Five Best Podcasts For Men Right Now
Never mind podcasts, how about that haircut.
Image: Young Christian Slater as a pirate radio host with a lot to say in 1990’s Pump Up The Volume, New Line Cinema
For the humble podcast, it’s never looked this good.
With at least 1.9 million shows registered worldwide and counting, and more than 550,000 podcasts on Apple’s platform alone (all spanning 100 languages), there’s no stopping it — we’re looking at the next apex medium.
How, right? Believe it or not, we’ve been listening to people talk in digital form for over 17 years now.
And like the humbler blog, podcasts went from that thing to whom no one gave a chance to that thing you now need to stay relevant (at least digitally). The difference now lies in the aforesaid numbers, the likes of which can’t be ignored. And bear mind in Spotify’s podcast “consumption doubled” as of last summer, not in the least a pandemic byproduct.
Simply put, people want to listen to what’s interesting, and where radio falls short in scope and choice, the podcast dominates (not that live reports can’t help when you’re in a jam). As we blitz through our task-laden days, podcasts serve as our pocket-size beacons of knowledge, the Q’s to our 007’s, and we’re in control of when we want it and when we don’t… and there’s no topic uncovered.
Then again, like anything else that proliferates fast, sorting out what’s worth listening to gets harder the more podcasts sprout. So whether you’re new to this world or need a reset post-digital detox, a refresher couldn’t hurt.
In no particular order, here are five podcasts all men must have right now.
The Joe Rogan Experience
One of the first to leave the sea breeze of Cali for the grandeur of big Texas, Mr. Rogan reigns in the podcast arena. Why? Again, numbers speak loudest; For one, JRE is one of the top syndicated podcasts on the planet, not to mention he’s been doing it for over 12 years. And that was before Spotify swooned Rogan into signing an exclusive, $100 million dollar deal with the app. Not even half bad for a guy who made couples eat slugs on TV in the early ‘2000s.
People love Rogan for his deftness as a debater, a generalist of the modern age. The former UFC analyst listens, asks questions when he’s ignorant to a subject, questions when he feels it’s right, asserts facts when it’s needed, and as anyone who’s followed Rogan since his start, he’ll call you out if you’re being a douche, too.
All that, and he’ll tackle the stuff you’d dodge at the in-laws during dinner, a noble, if dangerous trait in a time of thou shall not offend.
Then again, not even 100 million smackers can keep controversy out; since Rogan went mainstream, he’s caught plenty of heat for his blunt style and choice of guests; Rogan’s smoked joints and sipped whiskey with conspiracy baron, Alex Jones, for instance, and much to the chagrin of liberals who listen.
According to several articles online, X amount of Spotify’s staff pressed the company’s top brass to delete Rogan’s past “offensive” and “problematic” material. But that doesn’t make him as right-wing as Mr. Jones — or even political, for that matter.
Rogan will have almost anyone on, so long as they can back up their words. He’s a neutral facilitator of open discussion and debate, and that’s what makes him untouchable. He sets his guests loose then sits back.
For that reason, Rogan’s best episode is the one in which he plays ref in a battle between former Vice reporter-turned-cultural critic and YouTube persona, Tim Pool, and Twitter’s top two hierarchal heavyweights, and the Wizard of Silicon Valley himself, Jeff Dorsey. For those who dare to peak into a future where privacy (or what little remains) wars with censorship on the reg, they’d do worse than listen to this.
Anything From The Athletic
Of everyone reaping the boons of podcasting’s renaissance, sports journalism’s won the most. Long gone are the days of sports being the toy department of news. Today, sports is as demanding of high-end editorial content as ever before, and a standard set by the Bill Simmonses of yesterday has forged a high demand for personalized, premium analyses that pierce deeper than ever (that, and everyone’s bottomless appetite for all things stats). The Athletic saw this coming way before we did, and that’s why their subscription-based model’s been a smash hit since its 2016 launch.
No matter what you like, it’s here. Hockey’s best show is arguably Puck Soup (TSN’s Greg Wyshynski helps host this one) and for some baseball talk with the odd bit of NFL, The PosCast can’t be beat. But if it’s the Premier League that has your heart, The Ornstein & Chapman Podcast goes beyond what’s on the pitch and peers into the culture of soccer (or football for your purists).
Got a favourite team, or a produce list’s worth of them? These guys have a podcast for every single one, each with enough info to sate those who can’t get enough. The writing and breadth of research are top shelf, as is the production quality. Five bucks a month is as nominal as it gets for the best sports writing in the world, so a subscription’s worth every penny.
But those who’d rather listen to their sports can get The Athletic via Apple Podcasts, too.
The Lex Fridman Podcast
If you want to know when robots start driving your kids to school (no one said you’re lazy, the robot’s just safer) then look no further.
Sure, a show this heady in content could lose the layman by intro’s end. But MIT-based AI researcher and Phd, Lex Fridman (he pronounces it as “Freedman”), repackages mind-melting concepts about artificial intelligence, physics, aliens and tech into fun talks anyone can appreciate. Black holes, parallel universes, and cryptocurrency trends are among the myriad of curious subjects covered (and with thorough regard, seeing as some shows run well over three hours-long).
Fridman’s past guest list boasts names like Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, Joe Rogan himself, everyone’s favourite astrophysicist, Michio Kaku, and one of the smartest guys you’ll ever hear talk, American economist, physics expert, and owner of one handsome head of curls, Eric Weinstein (a Rogan regular).
By the way, here are two respectable reasons Fridman stands apart from the rest:
I. He runs his ads pre-show, and as he always says, “never in the middle.” And you know how some casters segue into ads in the cringes of ways? Fridman never does that.
II. Speaking of never, Fridman never sways from a rather Reservoir Dogsesque combo of a black suit, white shirt, and black tie when working. He’s always clean shaven, too. That’s near-monk level commitment you can’t help but applaud.
Kermode On Film
Britain’s answer to Siskel and Ebert was and alway has been Mark Kermode. And it’ll sound as heresy to some, but this man’s miles ahead of both Americans and the rest in the critic category.
For the past 28 years, Kermode’s fed his loyal following of cinephiles volley after volley of thoughtful, if not piercing reviews on Britain’s famed BBC Radio 1 (he’s partial to horror, but he’ll critique almost anything). Besides podcasting, the Barnet, Hertfordshire native co-hosts another BBC radio show called Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review (a gold winner at the 2009 Sony Radio Academy Awards), works as chief critic for The Observer and on top of all that, somehow finds time to co-host BBC Two’s The Culture Show, in which he appears as resident film reviewer.
This man’s entire life is film, so he’s consigliere material when it comes to conveying what’s good and what’s brutal. Not that his opinions are always agreeable, but few in his field will speak with such transparency.
When Kermode dislikes a movie, he’ll go to work on it.
If you could only listen to one film cast, this is the one.
Popcorn Finance
Not everyone was born with Midas’ touch, let alone the skill of investing. And let’s be serious — the mere mention of money sparks dread for more people than you’d know.
Popcorn Finance knows this and takes what can be an intimidating topic, then partitions it into a series of lessons even the newest of neophytes can digest.
Show host and L.A.-based financial analyst, Chris Browning, guides listeners through what’s de rigueur of money matters via bite-size episodes. His catalogue boasts shows like how to invest in homes and why your savings account isn’t really saving shit. But he won’t elude what’s outlying either; Is an engagement ring worth the hype, is bartering a route to better saving, and how much can your personality affect your finances (because it can damn well can)? These issues get their due, too.
Best of all, each episode’s five to 15 minutes, tops (though Browning does have one clocking in at 22 minutes, but to be fair it was a 200th episode special), and they’re uploaded once a week, so there’s no way you can’t fit it in.
A special notice: Just because our brand is for men, and just because “men” is in the title of this piece, doesn’t mean women can’t enjoy these casts, too.
Just saying.