Top Society & Culture Podcasts

10 podcasts in this category

Focus: Adults in the Room

KUOW News and Information

The production team behind the Peabody-nominated "Lost Patients" returns with a new investigative series: "Adults in the Room." Episodes will come out Tuesdays at midnight Pacific Time. Seattle, 1999. At Garfield High School, Mr. Hudson is a legend. With a thundering voice and imposing stature, Mr. Hudson — or “Tom” as select students call him — teaches biology and leads an elite outdoors program. But when teen reporters at the school paper start exploring a rumor that he sexually abused students, all hell breaks loose. Adults close ranks, and schoolmates turn on the young journalists. And then one day, a voice on the school intercom announces that Mr. Hudson is dead. Isolde Raftery is one of the students who first hears about and reports allegations against Mr. Hudson. Three decades later, she is an investigative journalist in Seattle. In "Adults in the Room," Raftery re-reports the story to understand what really happened in 1999. Was a whole school community groomed by a charismatic predator? Or was she part of a whisper campaign that cost the life of a great teacher?  "Focus" is KUOW’s home for immersive audio documentaries. Each season zooms in on a single story that challenges commonly held narratives about life in the Pacific Northwest and reveals something bigger about American society.

The Shawn Ryan Show

Shawn Ryan

#23 Overall

The "Shawn Ryan Show" is hosted by Shawn Ryan, former U.S. Navy SEAL, CIA Contractor, and Founder of Vigilance Elite. We tell REAL stories about REAL people from all walks of life. We discuss the ups and downs, wins and losses, successes and struggles, the good and bad in a respectful but candid way with our guest. We're better than entertainment, we're the REAL thing. Please enjoy the show.

The Ezra Klein Show

New York Times Opinion

#12 Overall

Ezra Klein invites you into a conversation on something that matters. How do we address climate change if the political system fails to act? Has the logic of markets infiltrated too many aspects of our lives? What is the future of the Republican Party? What do psychedelics teach us about consciousness? What does sci-fi understand about our present that we miss? Can our food system be just to humans and animals alike? Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher.

The Determined Society with Shawn French

Shawn French

#28 Overall

Step into the world of Culture Unscripted, where the bright lights meet thoughtful depth. Every episode takes you behind the headlines as we interview celebrities, renowned authors, and elite athletes—not to talk press lines, but to uncover their core truths and cultural perspectives. We dive into the stories behind the personas: What inspires a bestselling author to tug at society’s threads? How does an athlete navigate identity beyond the game? How do cultural icons harness influence to spark social change? These aren’t surface-level soundbites—they’re raw, revealing conversations that reflect who we are and where we’re headed. Expect humor. Expect heart. Expect breakthrough insights. Whether we’re unpacking a book that reshapes dialogue, exploring the impact of fame on mental health, or analyzing how sports stars challenge societal norms—Culture Unscripted brings you the human stories behind cultural icons and the societal conversations they spark. If you’re curious, driven, and ready for a show that celebrates the richness of culture through the faces shaping it—Culture Unscripted is where you belong. Tune in, and let’s explore the world through the voices that help define it.

This American Life

#20 Overall

Each week we choose a theme. Then anything can happen. This American Life is true stories that unfold like little movies for radio. Personal stories with funny moments, big feelings, and surprising plot twists. Newsy stories that try to capture what it’s like to be alive right now. It’s the most popular weekly podcast in the world, and winner of the first ever Pulitzer Prize for a radio show or podcast. Hosted by Ira Glass and produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago.

Stuff You Should Know

iHeartPodcasts

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

The Secret World of Roald Dahl

iHeartPodcasts

#17 Overall

You know Roald Dahl as the writer who thought up Willy Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG. But did you know he was also a spy? "The Secret World of Roald Dahl" is a wild journey through the hidden chapters of his extraordinary, controversial life. How did this secret agent and struggling screenwriter wind up as the most successful children’s author ever? And what darkness from his covert past seeped into the stories we read as kids? A dark, twisty, fascinating true story from creator and host Aaron Tracy.

Sword and Scale

#34 Overall

Sword and Scale is a weekly true crime podcast covering the dark underworld of crime and the criminal justice system’s response to it. The first episode launched January 1st, 2014 and feature stories of murder, abduction, rape, and even more bizarre forms of crime. It’s the purest form of true-crime where the raw uncensored audio tells the story. Everything from 911 calls to court testimony, interviews with victims and sometimes with perpetrators give listeners a 360 degree look at the seedy underbelly of human nature and so-called civilized society. Sword and scale proves that the worst monsters are real.

Behind the Bastards

Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.

I've Had It

Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan

Join Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan and their special guests on “I’ve Had It” and let this comedic, feel-good podcast expose you to all the things you didn’t know you’ve HAD IT with!