Finding New Podcasts

How do YOU find new podcasts to listen to?

Do you…

• Ask a friend for a recommendation?
• Turn to your podcast app’s “Browse” feature?
• Search on Google for podcast topics or curated lists?
• Poll Twitter?
• Search through Apple Podcasts’ charts?
• Pick up flyers and business cards at conventions?
• Hear about them in cross-promos or ads?
• Wander out into the streets with a megaphone, chanting “Give me podcasts!” until the locals politely ask you to leave?

I get all of my favorite book recommendations through Goodreads — I’ve invested enough time in that platform (haha save me) that I can rely on its engine.

But for podcasts… it’s a bit trickier. For years, podcast listeners and industry professionals alike have bemoaned the “discoverability problem” — that is to say, the lack of a centralized database (and ranking system) for podcasts.

Honestly, when I first started listening to podcasts years ago, I scouted through the iTunes charts, looking for anything that caught my eye. I was overwhelmed by the number of shows, and heard a LOT that were not my particular cup of tea.

But this trial-and-error method is how I found Welcome To Night Vale, Limetown, Wolf 359, The Black Tapes, The Creative Penn, I Should Be Writing, MBMBAM, and other classic faves.

Now that I know a little more about the medium, and now that I follow enough creators and critics on social media, new or awesome shows pop up regularly, and enough people will be talking about them that I’ll cave in and download the first 5-8 episodes. Then I get addicted (but that’s another post for another day). 

What about you? How do YOU find new podcasts to listen to? And what are your favorite shows to recommend?

Recommendations

Here are a few of mine… with the caveat that I cannot list every show I’ve ever listened to and enjoyed — heck, I can’t even lists all of the shows I’m in. These are just the ones that come to mind when I am asked for recommendations, for whatever random reason. Enjoy!

*Note: Recommendations below are a work in progress, updated as I have time. 🙂 They are also largely for adult listeners. Please review each show before playing it for your children.

Fiction Podcasts (Audio Dramas)

Limetown — An intrepid reporter investigates the disappearance of an entire town — over 300 men, women, and children. There is a LIMETOWN TV show on Facebook Watch now and IT IS SO INCREDIBLY AMAZING. I hesitate to say this, but… I might have enjoyed it more than the podcast. 

Rose Drive — Seven friends are interviewed after a 10-year high school reunion tragedy occurs… and a slow-burn (and possibly supernatural) mystery unfolds. Written, edited, and produced by master sound designer Raul Vega.

SPINES — One day, Wren wakes up covered in blood, suffering from memory loss, and surrounded by the remnants of some strange cult ritual. This single-narrator horror podcast is created by author Jamie Killen (who also voices the intern Dani on Girl In Space).

Point Mystic — A family investigates the unexplained in a mist-shrouded small town. This scripted show sounds unscripted with realistic dialogue and great acting. Start with the 4-part “White Rabbit” miniseries!

Mabel — Mabel is a fiction podcast about ghosts, family secrets, strange houses, and missed connections. Told through a series of dreamlike voicemails, this gentle horror show will draw you in with poetry and a haunting ambience.

The Infinite Now — Transmissions from beyond time, hosted by the Timescanner. This sporadic sci-fi missive balances humor, absurdity, and existential philosophy in a delightfully weird puzzle-box.

2298 — The year is 2298, and The Network makes sure Profiles eat right & stay focused. But Profile 24 — thanks to a mysterious bird — is finding that difficult. Creator A.R. Olivieri is a master at balancing lively narrative and tension in this 20-episode piece of microfiction. 

Janus Descending — Sci-fi horror about  two xenoarcheologists, with a unique twist. Told from two alternating perspectives, Janus Descending is an experience of crossing timelines, as one character describes the nightmare from end to beginning, and the other, from beginning to the end. 

Wolf 359 — Take one part space-faring adventure, add one part character drama, and mix in one part absurdist sitcom… and you get Wolf 359. You’ll find yourself engrossed in the adventure as you fall in love with the characters. 

Marsfall — The fearless Commander Jacki O’Rania leads a colony of settlers on Mars in the year 2047 in this tale of survival on the Red Planet. Featuring an all-original soundtrack by show composer Sam Boase-Miller.

Palimpsest — I was originally drawn in by this single-narrator fantasy/horror show’s tagline: “Embrace what haunts you.” Each 10-episode season is a separate story that explores themes of memory, identity, and the things that haunt us. Season 1 might be my favorite.

Civilized — Civilized is a unique breed of dark comedy set in space. Created by Alba Salix producer Sean Howard, this sci-fi improv show will whisk you away to an alien world of mishap and misadventure.

The Magnus Archives — This weekly horror anthology explores the depths of the Magnus Institute, a London-based institute dedicated to researching the paranormal, and the horrors that lurk in its archives. It starts off as a single-narrator show and gradually expands to a full cast and a larger mythos.

The White Vault — A tale of survival and horror in the Arctic, The White Vault follows the tradition of John Carpenter’s “The Thing” as members of an expedition are picked off one by one by a seriously creepy creature.

Return Home — Jonathan, Buddy, and Ami unravel paranormal mysteries in Melancholy Falls. This horror-comedy gives off serious Buffy vibes and enough silliness to balance out the scares.

Six Cold Feet — [link & description coming soon]

Exoplanetary — [link & description coming soon]

What’s the Frequency? — [link & description coming soon]

We Fix Space Junk — [link & description coming soon]

Rabbits — [link & description coming soon]

Girl In Space — Yeah, this is my own show. [link & description coming soon]

Nonfiction Podcasts

Akimbo — [link & description coming soon]

Magic Lessons — [link & description coming soon]

My Brother, My Brother, And Me — [link & description coming soon]

The Dropout — [link & description coming soon]

On Being — [link & description coming soon]

Up & Vanished — [link & description coming soon]

Sleep With Me — [link & description coming soon]

Make It Happen — [link & description coming soon]

Write Now with Sarah Werner — This is my own show, but I’m including it anyway. Link & description coming soon.

Words & warmth,

Sarah