How to Find Podcasts

There are millions of podcasts and your app keeps recommending the same ten. To find podcasts you'll want to listen to, start with recommendations from people whose taste you trust. Then try an episode before committing to a whole series. Where you should look depends on what kind of listener you are.

Podcast recommendation newsletters

Podcast recommendation newsletters are the most human way to find new shows. Pick one or two whose taste matches yours. Full disclosure: I write the first two. I've been recommending podcasts since 2017, and these are the two places I put that work.

EarBuds Podcast Collective// I write this one

The podcast recommendation newsletter I started in 2017. Every issue, a different curator shares a themed list of podcasts they love — so you get picks from real listeners, not an algorithm.

Podcast Plunge// I write this one

My weekly dispatch on podcast and media launches. If you want to know what's new before it shows up in your app's charts, start here.

Podcast The Newsletter

Lauren Passell's newsletter of podcast recommendations and podcast culture.

Find That Pod

A podcast discovery newsletter with five new podcasts every week.

Podcast Pix

A weekly guide to new, trending, and buzzworthy podcasts across genres.

Pick of the Pods

Robin Pomeroy's regular pick of one podcast you should be listening to right now, with an audio companion show.

Ear Worthy

Frank Racioppi's twice-weekly newsletter of indie podcast reviews and recommendations, plus podcast industry trends.

Podcast Delivery

Podcast recommendations delivered to your inbox.

Oh My Pod!

A newsletter of podcast picks for curious listeners.

Newsletters for a specific kind of listener

If you already know what you like, a newsletter focused on one region, genre, or cause will get you there faster.

Pod the North

Kattie Laur's biweekly newsletter for the Canadian podcast community, with indie and Indigenous podcast features.

Fiction Podcast Weekly

Lindsay Harris Friel's weekly roundup of fiction podcast and audio drama news, new shows, and listening parties.

Sounds Like Impact

A newsletter about social impact podcasts, with creator interviews and actions you can take.

Podcast review and discovery websites

Prefer browsing to an inbox? A review can help you decide whether a show's topic, format, and style are a good fit before you listen.

Podcast Review

In-depth podcast reviews, interviews, and lists — good for deciding before you commit to a 40-episode back catalog.

Great Pods

Collects professional critic reviews from publications in one place, so you can see what critics think before you press play.

Podcast Rex

Podcast news, reviews, and features, plus a search that looks through what was said in episodes, not just the show description.

The End

A directory of binge-ready fiction podcasts and audio dramas, organized into hand-curated collections by mood.

Podcast discovery inside your podcast app

Your podcast app is where most people start, and it can do more than the home screen suggests.

Search by topic, not just by title. In Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Pocket Casts, search for a subject, a guest's name, or a phrase. Episodes come up, not just shows.
Look at the similar shows. A podcast's page usually suggests related shows. If you already love one podcast, that's a quick way to find the next one.
Browse the curated lists. Editors at the big apps put together collections by topic and mood. They lean toward bigger shows, but they're a good place to start.

There are also websites that work like search engines for podcasts. Podchaser is often called the IMDb of podcasts: click a host or guest and you'll see every other show they've worked on. PodSearch lets you search by keyword and category and play short samples before you pick a show.

Ask other listeners for podcast suggestions

Some of the best podcast suggestions come from people answering one question: what should I listen to next? On Reddit, r/podcasts is full of threads where listeners trade recommendations. Facebook has groups dedicated to podcast recommendations too.

Be specific when you ask. "Any good podcasts?" gets you the same ten shows. "I love the way this host interviews people, what else does that?" gets you something new. And if you make podcasts yourself, our Slack community is full of people who listen to a lot of them.

How I find podcasts

Recommending podcasts is a big part of my work, so people ask me this a lot. Here's what I do.

I start with trailers. I host Trailer Park: The Podcast Trailer Podcast, where I hit play on a podcast trailer and break down what works. A good trailer tells you in a minute or two whether a show's tone is for you.
I trade picks with friends. Lauren Passell and I text about podcasts constantly, so we turned that thread into a newsletter, Podcasts We Text About.
I read other curators. Every EarBuds issue is put together by a different curator, so I get to borrow someone else's taste every time.

Choose where to look based on what you want to hear

You want something new every week: subscribe to Find That Pod or Podcast Pix.
You want to know what's launching: Podcast Plunge.
You want picks from real people: EarBuds Podcast Collective.
You want a critic's take before committing: Great Pods or Podcast Review.
You love audio fiction: The End and Fiction Podcast Weekly.

Try an episode and build your listening list

Once a recommendation catches your eye, read the show description and a few episode titles. For an interview or standalone show, pick an episode on a topic you already care about. For a serialized story, start with the trailer or first episode.

If you like what you hear, follow the show in your podcast app and save an episode for later. If it isn't for you, move on. Finding podcasts is about finding your taste, not finishing every show someone recommends.

Questions about how to find podcasts

What's the best way to find new podcasts?

Follow people, not charts. Podcast recommendation newsletters like EarBuds Podcast Collective are written by humans with taste, which means you get shows the algorithm would never surface. Pair one or two newsletters with a review site and you'll never run out of things to listen to.

Why not just use the Apple Podcasts or Spotify charts?

Charts mostly show you what's already big. That's fine if you want the hits, but it's a bad way to find smaller, independent shows that might be exactly your thing.

How do I find podcasts similar to one I already love?

Ask the people who love it too: the show's community, a recommendation newsletter, or a friend. Then look at who the hosts have been guests with — podcasters tend to orbit shows like their own.

How do I find a podcast if I only remember the topic or a guest?

Search the topic or the guest's name in your podcast app, since most apps search episode titles and descriptions too. On Podchaser, look up the guest to see every show they've been on. Podcast Rex searches what was actually said in episodes, which helps when all you remember is a line.

Where can I get podcast suggestions?

Start with a podcast recommendation newsletter like EarBuds Podcast Collective. Then ask other listeners: Reddit's r/podcasts and Facebook recommendation groups are full of people trading picks. The more specific your ask, the better the suggestions.