What is your favourite episode of a podcast?

My favorite overall is probably Reply All: The Case of the Missing Hit.

I do love Darknet Diaries as well, though. Black Duck Eggs and Jeremy from Marketing are my favorites from that series.

I've been listening to My Brother, My Brother and Me for a decade now, but my favorite episode of theirs was very outside their usual fare. For the uninitiated, it's a comedy show hosted by three brothers with the pretense of an advice show, but really every question they answer is treated as a prompt for them to give terrible advice in an improvised fashion. One recurring theme in their jokes over the years was Jimmy Buffet's music, and somehow Jimmy Buffet actually got introduced to these three and even came on the podcast as a guest once or twice. This context is necessary to explain my favorite episode, #400, wherein Jimmy Buffet, either through genuine good will or as a brilliantly cruel prank, invited the three brothers to act as press at the red carpet premiere of his then-new Broadway play: Escape to Margaritaville. Now please note, none of the hosts have ever done something like red carpet press before, and there's nothing about their podcast that relates to Broadway plays, celebrity news, or current events at all. But how could they pass up such a unique opportunity?

What ensues is an hour and change of the three brothers just completely over their heads and unable to function as they desperately try to get the random celebrities walking down the red carpet to participate in their podcast. Their weird brand of humor is constantly flying over the heads of these passersby, and some of the celebrities outright roast them for it. It's the comedy equivalent of self flagellation, they continuously try to get their act together only to have to laugh at themselves for how badly their plans are falling apart.

All that being said, I don't think that episode is a good introduction to the show. The main appeal of that episode is just how much it subverts the charm of their usual antics and gags, and completely ego-checks the hosts of a show where ego is employed ironically on a constant basis. I'm sure a lot of episode #400's charm would fall flat for someone unacquainted with what their usual episodes are like, but I still think it's an all-timer.

If anyone is interested in seeing what the show is more typically like, this episode is my favorite from the last couple years. In this one, they come back from the mid-show ad break as usual, but quickly just go off the deep end riffing on a single question for the rest of the show, making their invented premise more and more absurd with each passing minute.

“Long Distance” from Reply All .

(what a shame about the ending of the show.)

The ending of “Beware the Jabberwock” from This American Life is really great at making me understand the madness of American politics.

I'm not even American, but I absolutely love NPR/WNYC/RadioLab's More Perfect, which delves into a lot of US legal/Supreme Court/Constitutional history. I've enjoyed almost all of the episodes... but if I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be The Gun Show.

For nearly 200 years of our nation’s history, the Second Amendment was an all-but-forgotten rule about the importance of militias. But in the 1960s and 70s, a movement emerged — led by Black Panthers and a recently-repositioned NRA — that insisted owning a firearm was the right of each and every American. So began a constitutional debate that only the Supreme Court could solve. That didn’t happen until 2008, when a Washington, D.C. security guard named Dick Heller made a compelling case.

I find it rather amusing how "deeply ingrained" and "inalienable" individual citizens' gun rights in America are portrayed, when the reality is that belief only really started taking shape in the 1960s/70s, and the law wasn't fully settled until a 2008 SCOTUS decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. And it's also crazy how much of the debate revolved around interpreting the intent behind James Madison's bizarre use of commas in the Second Amendment.

Mine would have to be the Friday the 13th episode of The Film Reroll, a podcast that plays through movies as RPGs and totally ruins them.

The DM had arranged the game to be based on a cult classic named 'Summer Spell,' to create the atmosphere that would allow the players to mirror the clueless teens in a Friday the 13th movie. As the teens are dancing and arguing amongst themselves, a successful perception check reveals one of the best setups in the series: "There's a man behind you with a hockey mask! Roll dodge."

In an improvisational show where very few things can be scripted to have a setup/payoff, this is the ultimate case of DM dedication to the premise of a film, and is only seconded by a moment of poor dice rolls that leads to the fate of the president of the USA in Iron Man 3 being left unrevealed unless you go listen to the podcast, it's great go check it out.

Call me a hack, but I'm a bit partial to Dan Carlin's Destroyer of Worlds..

'The Known Unknown', from 99% Invisible. About the origin & traditions of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, and one family in particular who tried to track down their relative who they believed might be interred there.
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-known-unknown/

Honorable mention - 'Lake City Quiet Pills: An Internet Mystery' from Crackpot Podcast. A fascinating conspiracy theory about a suspicious subreddit that may have been used to orchestrate political assassinations.
https://sites.libsyn.com/116596/-lake-city-quiet-pills-an-internet-mystery

This almost seems cliche at this point, but The Dollop's "Ten Cent Beer Night" is a classic for a reason. Up to this point the show hadn't really found its voice, but after Dave tells the saga of the night the Cleveland Indians decided to get asses in seats by offering beers for a dime apiece, it's like Dave and Gareth heard a cosmic bell tolling their destiny.

"Across the Street" - Episode 3 of the Magnus Archives.

I find good horror podcasts to be few and far between, they're either too try-hard and edgy or they don't find a good balance of humour but I really enjoyed the first two episodes of The Magnus Archives (especially episode 1 since I live close to Edinburgh and have walked through Fishmarket Close).

Episode 3 though is horror podcasting at its finest in my opinion, the build up, the ambience, the tension and the horror is just first class storytelling and I was hooked after that.

This American Life's episode The Show of Delights. It reminds me to focus my attention onto the little things in my day that bring me little shivers of happiness. My Pride of Madeira finally starting to bud, the first bite of a croissant, even clipping my toe nails. There are little delights everywhere and they really make life magical. The stories are by Ross Gay, Bim Adewunmi, Robyn Semien, Miki Meek, and Dana Chivvis.

I just this year got into Behind the Bastards finally- and the 2 (or 3?) episodes on the Illuminati were a joy.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/behind-the-bastards/id1373812661?i=1000600826215

I don’t want to give anything away, but it was a very real comfort that people are historically dipshits as much as they are currently.

Related, but as a whole, the eight episode podcast Wind of Change i blazed through in a day or two.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wind-of-change/id1509307460

It’s about the band The Scorpions’ “power ballad” of the same name, and the rumors that it was a Psy-Op to help bring about the fall of the Soviet Union. Crazy idea- but- also- it takes one hell of a turn toward the end with another very crazy unconfirmed-but-plausible legend about 3-letter-agency shenanigans of that era that left me mouth agape and burning my chicken in the kitchen. Highly recommend.

I don't even remember which podcast it was... But the episode was about Disco Demolition night at White Sox Stadium and how it was basically the "genesis moment" for modern conservative counterculture (i.e. Trumpism). It was something I had heard about before, but I wasn't really aware of the broader cultural meaning of it until the podcast episode. I think it was the "Stuff you Should Know" podcast or something like that.

Personal favorite from This American Life is their exposé on Jerry Springer’s past life before getting into the talk show business:

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/798/leaving-the-fold

But I’ve been a TAL listener for so many years that I’m sure I’m missing a few dozen honorable mentions; would love to know other people’s favorite episodes.

John Green’s podcast, Anthropocene Reviewed, the episode “Air Conditioning and Sycamore Trees”, specifically the Sycamore portion which happens after the mid-show ad break.

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anthropocene-reviewed/episodes/anthropocene-reviewed-air-conditioning-and-sycamore-trees

Mostly because it’s one of the best ways to communicate to others what my bouts of depression feel like. The first time I listened to it I couldn’t believe how spot on it was.

There is a wonderful podcast that started last year called My Perfect Console. The host by Simon Parkin interviews a range of guests from writers, actors and comedians to programers, game directors, and business people about their relationship to videos games in their life and the five games that have impacted them the most. It is really amazing how often a guest will choose a game created by another guest as being hugely influential in their life. For example Tetsuya Mizuguchi the producer of Rez talks about witnessing Pong for the first time which was developed by Nolan Bushnell, the cofounder of Atari and another guest. The amount of huge guests on the show is staggering but my favorite was Henk Rogers, who helped license Tetris outside the USSR. Beyond that story, Henk's history working with Nintendo is really incredible. His game Black Onyx a precursor to Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy is credited as having the first health bar in video games.

https://shows.acast.com/my-perfect-console/episodes/henk-rogers-the-man-who-bought-tetris

I listened to this episode shortly before the movie Tetris about him and Alexey Pajitnov (also highly recommended) and it was really great to get a lot more depth into his real personality and life.

Probably something from Inside the Ethics Committee.

Treating smokers - should patients be given home oxygen if they refuse to stop smoking?

I like this because it's an in-depth look at a reasonably complex healthcare situation, with no easy answers. People are trying to balance personal autonomy and right to make bad decisions against protecting vulnerable people from harm. It's pretty old now, and English law has developed since it was broadcast, but it's still a useful introduction to some of the concepts.

The "Getting Discomfortable" episode with Liv Larsson on Shame.

This episode of Do The Right Thing in which Bridget Christie is hilariously slightly too drunk (and also just hilarious). Overall it's a great podcast but sadly not being made right now. The format was turned into a BBC Radio show, Dilemma, but that's far less sweary and the guests are generally not so tipsy.

The Cine Files redo of Its a Wonderful Life of a favorite of mine. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6P8CnvSGzVfPX7F8Lzl7eI?si=3mhoXi18Rr6kRzq3odTEgg

The old tree rings episode of Radiolab from like 15 years ago. Such a boring topic, but I fucking loved it.
https://radiolab.org/podcast/91722-be-careful-what-you-plan-for

One I’ve recommended to people is Among The Oak Trees from This is Love.

A lot of terrible things happened during the early days of AIDS, and it’s hard hearing about them as a queer person who grew up in the 80s. But this episode follows someone who stepped up and made a difference to people who had nothing and no one.

https://thisislovepodcast.com/episode-32-among-the-oak-trees/

A couple friends did a podcast reviewing every N64 game. I think my favorite episode of theirs is the 4 hour finale where they go over all of their reviews from worst to best.

https://ultra64podcast.podbean.com/e/goodbye-nintendo-64/

I never did finish the series, but episode 11 of Wolf 359: Am I Alone Now? There's something I really loved about the writing and acting, especially HERA and Dr. Hilbert's monologues. I should relisten to it, and actually finish it this time.

Runner up: The Adventure Zone's MaxFunCon East live show is probably my most relistened to episode of any podcast. I desperately want to try that kind of one-shot with my party at some point. The shenaniganery they get up to as soon as the thing happens in the middle of the episode is exactly what would happen at my table if I ran it. Highest laughs per minute out of every episode, by far, and I don't think it would spoil too much about the show to a first-time listener.

This episode of Tox and the Hound about cases of bleeding associated with synthetic marijuana as a result of rodenticide contamination.

It's informative and very engaging!

Join Dan (@drusyniak) &Howard (@heshiegreshie) as they chat with Dr. Steve Aks as they talk about one of the more concerning toxicologic outbreaks in recent memory - the exposure to brodifacoum through synthetic cannabinoid use. Although still ongoing, this crisis highlights the importance of teamwork and collaboration.

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9kYW50YXN0aWN0b3gubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M/episode/ZjE3YjU2ZTYxMWM2NDE3MGE0OTNiMGM0MDRjNTFiNzU?ep=14

It’s been Animal Out of Context for a long while. It’s mostly a standalone story (though: I have no idea how much sense it’ll make out of context) run in the middle of Friends at the Table’s “Counter/WEIGHT” season. It features the DM and one of the main characters running a game they wrote, playing out part of the character’s backstory in the distant past and how it intertwined with the main villain of the season.

It was eye opening at the time to what level of storytelling could be achieved in a TTRPG, and has aged wonderfully

Nazi Summer Camp by Radiolab. Makes me tear up every time I listen to it. What a strange story of humanity in the middle of WWII.