From Australia and around the world, here are the podcast gems of 2025.
- Honorary Associate Professor, Journalism, University of Wollongong
From United States war crimes and a reframing of White Australia to the vexed question of Gauguin, 2024 showcased some compelling listens.
Had enough political analysis? These podcasts offer fun and diversion.
Podcasts again this year proved to be a powerful medium for new voices and previously overlooked stories.
The best podcasts of 2022 handle sensitive content with care and flair.
Joe Rogan’s show has become a flashpoint for discussions on what should be allowed on podcasts – here’s who he is, and why he is so talked about.
With some three million podcasts out there, how to know which ones to choose? Here are our expert picks for summer listening.
The best podcasts take you inside another person’s head and heart. Here are some summer listens to get you started.
Podcasts were once a niche hobby of the internet. Now (thanks to Spotify), Michelle Obama is joining the fray.
White people hugely influence the Aboriginal art world – but that can be a good thing, according to the artists.
Marrying across Australia’s Catholic-Protestant divide
Trust Me, I'm An Expert, CC BY-ND44.1 MB (download)
Until 1970s the Catholic-Protestant divide was deeply entrenched in Australia. On this episode of Trust Me, I'm An Expert, journalism academic Siobhan McHugh shares stories of those who married across it.
Everything from the curious to the serious
The Conversation, CC BY-ND4.16 MB (download)
A new monthly podcast from The Conversation, where we bring you the most fascinating, surprising stories from the academic world.
Podcasts like The Messenger, about refugees, and Listen To Love, about same-sex marriage, are bringing new voices to major issues. But as podcasts get political, it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to cut through complex debates.
The podcast S-Town has been both rapturously reviewed and described as ‘morally indefensible’ for its intrusion into the life of a mentally ill man. But it validates, rather than violates, a fierce, flawed life.
The Conversation asked eight authors from across its sections to tell us about their favourite podcasts – and why you should tune in.
The University of Wollongong's Dr Siobhan McHugh (consulting producer on Fairfax's Phoebe's Fall podcast) speaks with Julie Snyder, Executive Producer of Serial, about making serial audio and the impact of podcasting.
Sweeping changes proposed at Radio National undermine the network’s specialist knowledge and documentary-making savvy. Yet amid the echo chambers of social media, we need RN more than ever.
Ira Glass’ trademark intensely personal storytelling takes on a new life in his dance/radio hybrid, Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host.
The mobile-first delivery of podcasts has created a powerful relationship between listeners and host that bypasses traditional broadcast gatekeepers. Could this format trigger new narrative genres and promote social engagement?
Its increasingly corporate model aligns with mainstream media organisations, but SBS Radio needs to retain its community advocacy role – in the current climate more than ever.
This month, ABC Radio National (RN) launched a pilot digital magazine, White Paper, which presents “the distilled wisdom of RN” in a monthly interactive offering delivered free to your tablet. Newspapers…
In a cultural milieu dominated by long-form television dramas such as Breaking Bad and Madmen, how has the apparently simple activity of audio storytelling gained such clout? In the US, documentary radio…
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