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With only a few days left until January, it's time to talk about the best podcasts of 2018.
This year, I got a little help in selecting the best podcasts in 2018. In addition to my own listening from the year, blog readers and followers on social media nominated podcasts for me to listen to. Each nomination was taken into consideration while compiling this list.
I had to enlist help and recommendations, because 2018 was another year of incredible growth for both podcast creation and podcast listening.
Two or three years ago, I would rarely meet another podcast fan in real life. Most of the time, when I said, "So I heard on a podcast..." I would have to explain what a podcast was.
My, how times have changed. Now, I have friends in multiple countries who listen to podcasts, my 60-year-old father-in-law has just started getting into them, and I even had an Uber driver casually mention to me that he is a podcaster! (Shout out to Lucas of the Ride with me, Drive with me podcast.)
Because there are so many podcasts to choose from for the Best of 2018 post, here's some insight into my selection process.
Podcast Maniac’s Picks for Best Podcasts of 2018
In addition to listening to the nominations from readers and other podcast fans, here's how I selected the list of podcasts and episodes for the best podcasts list:
Like last year's Best of 2017 list, I limited my choices to podcasts that fall into the main categories/genres that I already write about on the blog. It's not right or fair of me to select podcasts from genres that I don't often listen to/have experience with. I don't listen to a lot of sports or wrestling podcasts (there are SOOO many wrestling podcasts), so those genres won't be covered here.
This year's standout podcasts fall into the following categories: Life & Love, Money & Career (aka, business podcasts), Stories, and Educational.
My selections have nothing to do with podcast rankings, be those from iTunes or any other industry standard or publication. I have listened to every podcast on this list, and recommend them as some of the best around.
To all those readers who nominated their faves: Thank you for your recommendations! There are many shows that were nominated that didn't make this list, but those shows will get recognition in future posts here on the blog.
Best Podcasts of 2018 - Life & Love Category
Terrible, Thanks for Asking - Episode #57
The title of this episode is, "Don't Should Yourself". It's one of host Nora McInerny solo episodes, in which she unpacks her emotions and experiences surrounding the death of her first husband and her father, and life after those events.
But this episode is very different from the podcast's intro episodes, which introduce you to Nora and her backstory. This episode goes beyond the usual way that she crafts her story, pivoting to situations you don't see coming, and all of it is beautifully pulled together.
This episode was an emotional roller coaster, and as it got close to the end, I couldn't help but think how lucky and grateful I was to have heard it. Whether or not you've been through the same type of loss that Nora has experienced doesn't matter; this episode will remind you that it's okay to be whoever you need to be, whenever you need to be.
Listen to Episode #57: Don't Should Yourself
[Related Post] The Best Podcasts for Women, Made by Women
RISE Together
RISE Together is a spinoff of Rachel Hollis' super-popular RISE podcast. In RISE Together, Hollis' husband, Dave, joins her to talk about overcoming life's challenges, both as an individual and as a couple.
I don't really follow Rachel Hollis online; her name was only vaguely familiar to me when a friend mentioned her to me this summer. This was right around the time that RISE Together had launched, and I quickly discovered that I prefer this podcast to Rachel's solo project.
Most episodes of RISE Together are co-hosted by both Rachel and Dave, but some feature just one or the other. It would be easy to say that this podcast is just about sex and love, but the episodes go deeper into what can make or break a committed, romantic relationship, including external factors and each individual's internal struggles.
RISE Together is incredibly refreshing. As someone who has a very open and honest relationship with my spouse, I really respect the honesty that Dave and Rachel share with one another, and with their listeners. As a woman, I appreciate how Dave digs deep to explain his insecurities, many of which are based in his being male. This is one of the few podcasts out there that allows women to get a raw take on the male psyche.
[Update mid-2019: I've actually come to love Rachel Hollis' RISE podcast, especially the episodes that are just her (no interview format). I actually love it when she "yells" at me through my earbuds; the advice and perspective she doles out seems to have a great affect on me!]
22 True Crime Podcasts You've Got to Check Out
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Best Podcasts of 2018 - Money & Career Category
ZigZag
If I had a category for Tech Podcasts, ZigZag would be the obvious winner. For a while, I thought this podcast belonged in the Educational category, because I've learned so much from it.
But really, ZigZag belongs in the Money & Career podcasts category because it's really a podcast about businesses - big and small - and building and maintaining a career.
Hosts Manoush Zomorodi & Jen Poyant left their jobs at WNYC early in 2018 to start their own podcast company. ZigZag, an on-the-fly account of this leap of faith, is their first production.
I personally love ZigZag, and the show's rapid audience growth proves that I'm not alone. Zomorodi has a proven ability to be authentic and connect with listeners. I'm currently re-reading her book, Bored & Brilliant, and I can't help but read it in her voice.
Poyant deserves recognition, too. She's the yin to Zomorodi's yang, and she brings a grounding, brutally honest tone to the duo's conversations about the direction of their business.
ZigZag is more than just the female version of Gimlet's Startup podcast; it's a deep dive into a totally different type of business financing (cryptocurrency), as well as an unpacking of the personal and ethical reasons Zomarodi and Poyant quit their jobs to strike out on their own. It's relatable to those of us who have taken similar leaps, and will intrigue the rest of listeners.
The Dream
Here's another show that I had trouble categorizing (so did many readers who nominated it). The Dream is an investigative podcast, which technically falls into this blog's Story category. But the podcast is ultimately all about business, and it's VERY much about money.
The Dream investigates multi-level marketing companies, also known as MLMs. These are the companies that your friends and family (and maybe even you) sell products for as a side hustle. Think: cosmetics, kitchen supplies, essential oils, and leggings that you can only buy from your friend, or at a party that you're invited to.
The Dream is one of two podcasts about MLMs that launched in 2018, and it's definitely the one to listen to. You'll learn the history behind the companies, the successes and failures of the people who have signed up to sell the products, and just where the law falls on all of it.
Whether you think MLMs are totally legit or totally pyramid schemes, this podcast is a fascinating view of how and why these companies continue to exist and expand all over the world.
Best Podcasts of 2018 - Story Category
In The Dark, Season 2
A huge Thank You to all the readers who nominated Season 2 of In The Dark. This show had been on my list for months, but I hadn't gotten around to listening. Better late than never.
In the Dark Season 2 is an investigative report of a quadruple murder and the resulting trials and convictions of one man. This is no ordinary case; Curtis Flowers has been tried and convicted for the murders 6 times, by the same prosecutor.
I put that last statement in bold because I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around it. It's one of many things in this podcast that I grapple to understand. Host Madeleine Baran and the In the Dark team do an exceptional job of uncovering the untold and under-investigated parts of this case (20 years later, no less).
Baran's voice is so crisp and clear, I could listen to her read the phone book. In addition to the gripping audio that is presented, the In the Dark team has crafted detailed visual aids for each episode, all of which are available on the show's website.
If you were hooked by Netflix's Making a Murderer, then In the Dark Season 2 is for you.
If you thought that Making a Murderer was an isolated incident, and that there's truth and justice to be had in the United States criminal justice system, I implore you to listen closely to this podcast.
Listen to Season 2 of In The Dark
Dr. Death
To not have heard of Dr. Death when it dropped last fall would mean you were living under a rock. The show quickly broke podcast download records and garnered a huge amount of press.
Like most listeners, I was hooked on Dr. Death from episode 1, and was waiting on pins and needles for new episodes to drop every week.
I'm still not sure that I would classify Dr. Death as a true crime podcast, although the story is based on the medical malpractice committed by a Dallas-based spinal surgeon. Where podcasts like Criminal and In the Dark uncover holes in, and failures of, the U.S. criminal justice system, Dr. Death uncovers the horrific failings of the American medical system.
I'm certain that the real draw of this podcast was the "this could totally happen to me" effect. It plays on our existing fears of falling ill and being in pain, and proves that maybe these fears aren't baseless. Dr. Death is well-reported and produced, and asks all the right questions. That said, you'll no doubt be left asking, "How the hell could this happen??"
[Related Post] The 5 True Crime Podcasts I Subscribe To (Does Your Fave Make the Cut?)
Reply All, The "Long Distance" Episodes
If you can find me someone who listened to this 2-part episode of Reply All and didn't post about it online, I tip my hat to you. These are the podcast episodes of 2018 that even my husband couldn't stop talking about.
When I first started listening to "Long Distance, Part I" of Reply All, I felt this tug to hit Pause, and to listen to it with my husband, who I knew would also find it interesting. But I just couldn't. The story was too good; I had to listen right then and there.
(I re-listened to the entire episode the next night, in the car, with Hubby.)
The two episodes titled "Long Distance" begin with a telemarketing call to the show's co-host Alex Goldman. In an era when most people refuse to pick up an "unknown" call on their land lines or cell phones, Alex not only answers his phone, but engages the caller.
This is just the start of a months-long journey that eventually takes Goldman and another Reply All staffer to India. Alex lives out the fantasy that many of us have had: he figures out the scam, calls the caller out on it, and gets the ugly truth about a whole industry that we've all wondered about.
"Long Distance" is funny, infuriating, and fascinating all at once. Your jaw will drop, you'll shake your head, and (if you're not already) you'll become a fan of Reply All.
Listen to Reply All Long Distance
Best Podcasts of 2018 - Educational Category
This podcast made the Best Podcasts of 2017 list, back when weekly episodes were 30 or more minutes, and focused on just one topic.
Curiosity was good then, but it got so much better in 2018. Hosts Cody and Ashley now release short (under 10 minute) episodes six days per week, and offer a smattering of knowledge and facts that you can easily digest.
The show still features topics based mostly in science and psychology, but the new format allows for a range of other topics to be covered, too. I listen to Curiosity much more now than I did in the past, and the shorter episodes mean that I'm able to binge-listen to several episodes once every couple of weeks.
I regularly find myself laughing when I listen to Curiosity, and I often recount facts and information from the podcast to my husband.
Listen to The Curiosity Podcast
I hope you enjoyed this Best Of 2018 list! I can't wait to see what 2019 brings us for podcasts! Leave a comment or link below with your thought about my choices!
Check out Podcast Maniac's Best Podcasts of 2018 list! #podcasts Click To Tweet
The Dream is my favorite podcast amongst all. I have heard it for more than times now and can’t get enough of it. Thanks for adding it to the list.
Hey David! I’m so glad you agree! I really love the episode about the conference/event that the producer went to. That is my favorite one so far!