I gravitate toward highly produced, well-researched podcasts. No talking heads filling airtime here.

Planet Money and its sister podcast The Indicator - NPR's economics coverage. They break down news through an economics lens. For example, following a t-shirt through global supply chains, or explaining Fed policy through a single bank failure.

Articles of Interest - Fashion as anthropology. The stories behind what we wear. Why do women's clothes have fake pockets? How did plaid become punk?

Search Engine by PJ Vogt - He asks the questions you didn't know you had. Is airplane coffee safe to drink? Why was an entire generation prescribed stimulants?

This American Life - The OG. Each episode takes a theme-regret, coincidence, small-town politics and tells 2-5 stories in that theme.

Acquired.fm - Deep dives into company histories that read like biographies.

99% Invisible - Design and architecture as a lens for understanding everything. Why do Mexican restaurants all use the same red salsa cups? What's the deal with those inflatable tube men?

Two completed series that deserve mention:

Rough Translation - NPR's "cross-cultural mirror", comparing stories abroad to stories back home. How Ukraine fought disinformation before 2022. Why lunch breaks are practically sacred in France.

Wind of Change - Patrick Radden Keefe investigates whether the CIA wrote the Scorpions' power ballad to bring down communism. More plausible than it sounds, with actual spies.