The following are the podcasts I’ve enjoyed listening to the most consistently since this time last year. This list is also in alphabetical order because agonizing over a precise order would take out all the fun:
1. 538 – Nate Silver and team offer data-driven perspectives on politics. They were unfairly maligned (I was guilty as well) for giving Trump a much greater chance of victory than almost everyone else — not that they wanted him to win, but that the polls indicated he had a chance. Sadly, they were on the right track, confirming that their perspective remains valuable.
2. Culture Gabfest – “Slate’s critics plus their guests, discuss what’s happening in movies, books, TV, and more.”
3. Filmspotting SVU (“Streaming Video Unit”) – “a bi-weekly podcast focusing on the world of online movies.”
4. Freakonomics – a counter-intuitive, left-brained, rational perspective of economics meets culture.
5. Keepin’ It 1600 – “Four former aides to President Obama host a biweekly Ringer podcast to discuss the political world, analyze the Trump presidency, and welcome commentary from journalists and politicians.”
6. Political Gabfest: “Weekly discussion about three of the week’s high profile political developments with a trademarked banter that makes it look easy.”
7. Speaking of Jung: “Interviews with Jungian analysts to discuss the writings of C.G. Jung.”
8. Trumpcast:
A quasi-daily podcast from Slate that sets out to understand the real Donald Trump. Jacob Weisberg, chairman and editor-in-chief of Slate, will be talking to historians, psychiatrists, and other experts to help explain who this man is, and why this is happening, right now, in the United States of America.”
9. The Watch – “Every week, The Ringer’s Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan — longtime friends and pop culture addicts — break down the latest in TV, movies, and music.”
10. We the People – “The National Constitution Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan institution devoted to the U.S. Constitution and its legacy of freedom. Join the conversation.”
Previous “Best Podcasts” Lists
Other “Best of 2016″ Lists
Top 10 Best Books Read in 2016
Top 10 Best Albums Listened to in 2016
Top 10 Best Streaming TV of 2016
The Rev. Dr. Carl Gregg is a certified spiritual director, a D.Min. graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary, and the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick, Maryland. Follow him on Facebook (facebook.com/carlgregg) and Twitter (@carlgregg).
Learn more about Unitarian Universalism: http://www.uua.org/beliefs/principles