Congratulations! You’ve decided to better yourself. Maybe you got tired of staring at the ceiling during your commute, or perhaps you finally ran out of patience with your doomscrolling, or ran out of true crime podcasts to fuel your paranoia. Either way, you’ve arrived at the noble conclusion that your brain, that dusty little organ you’ve been using mostly to memorize song lyrics and replay embarrassing moments from 2009, could probably stand to learn a thing or two.
Lucky for you, a bunch of extremely passionate people have taken it upon themselves to record hours upon hours of knowledge and beam it directly into your brain, completely free of charge. The audacity. So whether you’re folding laundry, pretending to exercise, or just sitting in a parking lot avoiding going inside, here are the best podcasts for actually learning something, no textbooks, tuition fees, or soul-crushing homework required.
Part-Time Genius
Are you the kind of person who gets lost in Wikipedia for hours and calls it a productive evening? Do you have a soft spot for bizarre facts, weird history, and questions nobody thought to ask? Then you already belong here. Join Will, Mango, and the rest of the crew as they dig up the world’s strangest stories, most overlooked places, and quirkiest truths, all in the name of keeping curiosity alive. Welcome to Part-Time Genius.
Sean Carroll’s Mindscape
Every week, Sean Carroll sits down with some of the sharpest minds on the planet, scientists, philosophers, engineers, artists, and everything in between, to dig into the biggest, most fascinating questions humans have managed to come up with. If you’ve ever wondered how the universe actually works, why your brain does what it does, or how culture and creativity shape the world around you, you’re in exactly the right place.
Womanica
History classes have always had a glaring blind spot, and Womanica is here to fill it. Every day in just five minutes, Wonder Media Network’s award-winning podcast shines a spotlight on extraordinary women from throughout history, telling the stories of the remarkable figures that textbooks somehow kept leaving out. Some names listeners will recognize, others they won’t, but all of them are women they absolutely should know.
Do Go On
Each week, Melbourne comedians Matt Stewart, Jess Perkins, and Dave Warneke take turns diving deep into a topic of their choosing and bringing their findings back to the group, all wrapped up in the kind of fact-based comedy that makes learning feel a lot more fun than it has any right to be.
The Economics of Everyday Things
In each bite-sized episode, journalist Zachary Crockett takes the most ordinary, overlooked corners of everyday life, the vending machine nobody thinks about, the tree in someone’s front yard, the cookie sold by children, and uncovers the surprisingly fascinating stories hiding just beneath the surface.
Teach Me A Lesson with Greg James and Bella Mackie
Greg James and Bella Mackie weren’t exactly model students, so they’ve recruited Britain’s most inspiring teachers to fill in the gaps. Every week brings a brand new lesson on something genuinely fascinating, brilliantly taught, and completely homework-free.
Short Wave
In just under 15 minutes, hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber break down new discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines with a healthy dose of creativity and humor. It’s science made accessible and entertaining for absolutely everyone.
The Atlas Obscura Podcast
Four days a week, Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras and a rotating cast of the publication’s reporters take listeners somewhere truly extraordinary. Each episode clocks in at under 15 minutes and uncovers a different hidden wonder of the world, complete with the fascinating people and stories that make each place unforgettable
CrowdScience
Curiosity Questions tracks down the researchers working at the cutting edge of human knowledge and puts listener questions about life, Earth, and the universe directly to the people best equipped to answer them.
This Podcast Will Kill You
Hosted by disease ecologist and epidemiologist Erin Welsh and physician-epidemiologist Erin Allmann Updyke, This Podcast Will Kill You breaks down the biology, history, and epidemiology of a different disease or medical mystery each episode. From plague and Zika to lupus and COVID-19, the two Erins do all the scientific heavy lifting so listeners don’t have to, and somehow make it all wildly entertaining in the process. Discover the best episodes of This Podcast Will Kill You.
Nature Guys
Hosted by longtime nature enthusiast Bob, Nature Guys brings the exciting natural world right to listeners’ own backyards. Each episode helps people slow down, tune into their surroundings, and build the kind of connection with nature that inspires them to make a positive difference in the world.
Life Kit
Hosted by Marielle Segarra, Life Kit tackles the everyday challenges of being a human being, from sleep and finances to parenting and beyond. Each episode brings in the right experts to deliver practical, actionable advice for anyone trying to get their life a little more together.
Grammar Girl
A five-time winner of Best Education Podcast at the Podcast Awards, Grammar Girl delivers short, friendly tips designed to sharpen listeners’ writing and deepen their appreciation for the English language. Whether someone is a native speaker or learning English as a second language, each episode covers grammar, punctuation, style, and business writing in a way that makes every listener a more confident and capable writer.
Our Fake History
This podcast explores the blurry line between ancient mythology and actual history, digging into the stories that might be more fact than fiction and the historical events that sound almost too wild to be true.
Spacepod
Every week, scientist Dr. Carrie Nugent sits down with an expert guest to explore a different corner of the universe, from alien moons and cold stars to the future of space exploration. Spacepod pulls back the curtain on what it’s really like to study and explore the cosmos.
You’re Wrong About
Every week, journalist Sarah takes a closer look at the people and events that history has gotten wrong, challenging the popular narratives and setting the record straight.
No Stupid Questions
Research psychologist Angela Duckworth, author of “Grit,” and tech and sports executive Mike Maughan share a deep conviction that no question is too stupid to ask. So naturally, they started a podcast where they can ask each other as many of those questions as they want.
The Dollop
Each episode, comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds pick a moment or subject from history and dig into it together. Discover the best episodes of The Dollop,
Stuff You Should Know
From champagne and chaos theory to the Stonewall Uprising and Rosa Parks, Josh and Chuck have tackled just about every fascinating corner of human knowledge and history imaginable. Whatever the topic, they’ve got it covered.
Carry the Two
Carry the Two pulls back the curtain on the mathematical and statistical forces quietly shaping the world around us. Each episode tackles a different topic, using storytelling to reveal how math and statistics show up in the most unexpected places imaginable.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Humorist and science correspondent Alie Ward sits down with the world’s leading experts and asks them the questions nobody else thinks to ask, uncovering the bizarre, charming, and genuinely life-changing stories behind their obsessions. From volcanoes and Mars missions to bee drama and beer science, every episode sends listeners away with a pocket full of surprising science knowledge they never knew they needed. Discover the best episodes of Ologies.
You Are Not So Smart
You Are Not So Smart is a psychology podcast that dives into the science of self-delusion, exploring what researchers have uncovered about the way humans reason, make decisions, and fall victim to their own biases and blind spots. Discover the best episodes of You Are Not So Smart.
Myths and Legends
Jason Weiser and Carissa Weiser retell myths, legends, and folklore from cultures around the world, breathing new life into old stories for modern listeners. Some you think you already know, others you’ve never heard, but all of them are well worth your time. Discover the best episodes of Myths and Legends.
Science Vs
Science Vs, from Spotify Studios, cuts through the noise of fads, hot takes, and internet opinions to find out what the actual science says. From 5G and ADHD to fluoride and fasting diets, the show does the hard work of sifting through the research so listeners don’t have to. Discover the best episodes of Science Vs.
Fall of Civilizations
Each episode, Tides of History examines the collapse of a different civilization, exploring what these fallen societies had in common, what ultimately brought them down, and what it must have felt like to live through the end of a world.
The Why Factor
Each episode uncovers the surprising and often hidden histories lurking behind the everyday objects and actions most people never think twice about.
The Rest Is History
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook bring history’s biggest, most dramatic moments to life with expert analysis and gripping storytelling. From the rise and fall of Rome to the French Revolution and beyond, no moment in history is too monumental for them to unpack. Discover the best episodes of The Rest is History.
Song Exploder
In each episode of Song Exploder, a musician walks listeners through the creation of one of their songs, breaking down every layer of sound, every creative decision, and every story behind the writing and recording process.
Everything Everywhere Daily
Hosted by world traveler and polymath Gary Arndt, Everything Everywhere Daily is a podcast for the intellectually curious, covering history, science, geography, culture, and everything in between. Each episode tells the story of a fascinating person, place, or thing, proving that there is genuinely no shortage of incredible things to learn about the world.
Moment Of Um
Moment of Um tackles the random, out-of-nowhere questions that suddenly pop into people’s heads and refuse to leave until someone answers them.
Revisionist History
Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell’s ongoing journey through the overlooked, the misunderstood, and the misremembered. Each episode takes a fresh look at a person, event, idea, or cultural moment from the past and asks whether the popular understanding of it actually holds up. From Pushkin Industries.
The Common Descent
David and Will dig into the world of paleontology every two weeks, covering listener-requested topics ranging from fossils and evolution to deep time and earth history, all in a lighthearted and accessible conversation format.
Hidden Brain
Hosted by veteran science journalist Shankar Vedantam, Hidden Brain uses psychology and behavioral science to help listeners make sense of their own minds and the people around them. Routinely rated the number one science podcast in the United States, the show tackles the big questions about human behavior that so many people find themselves asking. Discover the best episodes of Hidden Brain.
Unexplainable
Unexplainable takes listeners to the very edge of human knowledge and then pushes past it. Noam Hassenfeld, Julia Longoria, Byrd Pinkerton, and Meradith Hoddinott explore the scientific mysteries and unanswered questions that remind us just how much the world still has left to reveal.
Overheard at National Geographic
Hosted by Peter Gwin and Amy Briggs, Overheard at National Geographic brings listeners into the kinds of conversations that happen when explorers, photographers, and scientists get together to talk about the big, weird, and beautiful world they spend their lives investigating.
Science Quickly
Host Rachel Feltman teams up with leading science and technology journalists to explore the world of scientific discovery in a fun, bite-sized format.
In Our Time
Hosted by Misha Glenny, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 brings together expert guests to explore the ideas, events, and discoveries that have shaped human history across science, philosophy, religion, culture, and the arts. Whether the topic is Napoleon, black holes, Shakespeare, or Plato, every episode is essential listening for the intellectually curious.
Omnibus
Every week, Ken Jennings and John Roderick add another entry to the Omnibus, an ever-growing encyclopedic time capsule of strange but true stories preserved for the benefit of future generations.
A Way with Words
A Way with Words features lively conversations with callers from around the world, covering everything from new words and old sayings to slang, linguistics, dialects, word histories, and the art of writing.
The Last Archive
The Last Archive explores the history of truth and the deeper roots behind today’s fake news and post-truth era. The show examines how knowledge has been created, trusted, and challenged over time, and investigates why, in the present moment, certainty can feel so elusive.
The Lazy Genius Podcast
Part systems expert and part permission giver, Kendra Adachi, known as The Lazy Genius, helps people focus their energy where it truly matters and let go of the rest without guilt.
Philosophize This!
Designed to be beginner-friendly when followed in sequence, this podcast is ideal for anyone curious about philosophy without needing an academic background. By moving chronologically, it clearly explains the thinkers and ideas that shaped the modern world in an accessible, easy-to-understand way.
People I (Mostly) Admire
Steve Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics, interviews high achievers in sharp, unexpected conversations about their lives, obsessions, and unconventional paths.
Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
Join Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin McElroy as they explore the bizarre, misguided, and downright wrong ways people have tried to treat illness throughout history. Discover the best episodes of Sawbones.
Astronomy Cast
This show takes listeners on a fact-driven tour of the universe, with weekly conversations covering everything from planets to cosmology. Hosted by Fraser Cain of Universe Today and Dr. Pamela L. Gay from the Planetary Science Institute, the podcast connects curious astronomy fans directly with expert insight into what’s known—and still being discovered—about the cosmos.
Do you know of another learning podcast that you think should be on this list? Let me know
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