From Rogan to Raz, these handpicked podcasts will fill your listening hours with insight and entertainment.
Slipping into a good podcast is a bit like putting on an old pair of jeans—it just feels right. And if you, like us, get a certain master-of-your-universe zen high from listening to a particularly good podcast, then I have good news: there’s a whole damn list of great options a scroll away. Whether you’re feeling a bit burnt out on your current podcast rotation or you’re looking to get back into podcast listening, we’ve got you covered. Here are 15 of the best podcasts for men in 2023.
Host and Stanford University neuroscientist Andrew Huberman dives deep—like, two-hours-plus deep—into anything and everything that has to do with the body. Huberman’s podcast is unabashedly nerdy, but if you’re interested in how ketamine might be used to help with depression, how to stay focused on your goals long term like Tony Hawk, and how to live forever, there really isn’t a podcast better than The Huberman Lab.
Chris Williamson interviews the people who are best at what they do—bodybuilder Chris Bumstead, motivator David Goggins, thinker Sam Harris, and even fellow podcaster Andrew Huberman. Williamson thoughtfully listens as often as he cuts in and challenges guests with questions. This interview podcast is unlike others in that it’s more organic discussion than scripted conversation.
What is probably the best podcast for any would-be entrepreneurs and business types is also just downright entertaining for those of us with different ambitions. Guy Raz interviews the people that built the companies we all know, whether they’re famous themselves or not. Henk Rogers’ Tetris, French Laundry chef Thomas Keller, Hinge creator Justin McLeod, and a mountain of the most influential people in business dish on what it took to make the thing they’re famous for.
One of the most contentious podcasts in the world also happens to be its most popular. The longrunning Joe Rogan Experience offers deep-dive interviews with comedians, athletes, business luminaries, spiritual leaders, academics, politicians, and virtually anyone else with host Rogan can spar with for a few hours. The format is loose, the guests are varied, and no two episodes are the same. Love him or hate him, Rogan’s podcast is a bit like social currency these days—it’s weirder if you don’t listen.
I’d venture a guess and say no one tells a better story than Dan Carlin—especially if that story is well-documented and took place decades, centuries, or millennia ago. Carlin’s Hardcore History is for anyone with an interest in history and a lot of listening time to work with. Episodes range from two-and-a-half to five-plus hours long, on subjects as popular as the Samurai and Imperial Japan and as underrepresented as Cyrus’s reign over Persia.
The suit-and-tie-wearing Lex Fridman’s eponymous podcast is a bit like if The Joe Rogan Experience put on a suit and tie. Fridman’s calm interviews with thought leaders in science, tech, art, philosophy, and history are similar in subject matter to Rogan, but present in a more formal fashion. If you’re more interested in substance over personality, Fridman’s podcasts may suit you well.
As necessary and engaging as six hour long interview podcasts with microbiologists are, sometimes you just want a good ghost story. For that, National Park After Dark is your source. The podcast for those who have a passion for the outdoors and a certain morbid streak details the tragedy, death, and exceedingly spooky events that have transpired in America’s national parks.
Download National Park After Dark
National Park After Dark on Spotify
The fact that Ryan Holiday, host of The Daily Stoic, has created what a daily podcast on stoicism and achieved widespread popularity is fairly incredible in its own right, and should probably pique your interest itself. But it turns out the teachings of Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius hold as much power today as they did in an Athens, Greece coffee shop more than 2,000 years ago. You wouldn’t be the first to wonder “why stoicism?” but it turns out, in a time that feels like the wheels are falling off, developing a strong idea of what matters (and what doesn’t) is a powerful thing.
While you could probably describe Dax Shepard’s monumentally successful celebrity interview podcast in cynical terms—it is a celebrity interview podcast, after all—its essence is simple, relatable, and charming: guests of varying fame levels discuss how and when they screwed up, and what it took to dust themselves off.
Hosted by longevity doctor Peter Attia, The Drive doesn’t have much to say about operating an automobile, but it does offer guidance on the use and maintenance of another vehicle: your body. Attia dives head first into the most recent science, research, and guidance on subjects like genetic disease risk, strength training vs. cardio, fending off cognitive decline, and more. If you want to time-proof your body, Attia’s weekly podcast should be in your regular rotation. If that’s still not enough Attia, pick up his book Outlive, which is described as “an operating manual for longevity.”
Waking up with the quippy-but-focused Kai Ryssdal Monday to Friday is a surefire way to stay on top of the most pressing matters in the American economy. Every weekday offers a different episode, and they’re all timed at just under a half hour in length (what we’d call a healthy serving of economics talk). Episodes typically dive deep into one or two subjects, while touching on the latest news. If you hate feeling out of your depth discussing The Economy, Marketplace is for you.
If you’re of the very popular opinion that pop culture is in dire need of editing, Into It is probably for you. Host Sam Sanders covers what is worth (and perhaps more importantly not worth) your time in the worlds of music, movies, television, books, and more.
There isn’t really a limit or principle that guides the makers of Science Vs when it comes to podcast subject matter. You might get a half hour on orgasms one week, floss the next, and pitbulls the next. The throughline is an unwavering commitment to identifying fact from fiction and untangling how we feel about things from what things are.
If you care less about what celebrities and influencers think and more about what real expertise sounds like, consider Intelligence Squared. The four-times-a-week podcast is a combination of discussions with subject matter experts, deep dives into the context of current events, and, what the show is most known for, hotly contested debates.
Download Intelligence Squared
Intelligence Squared on Spotify
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