Best Journalism Podcasts (2025)

1
Episode 470: Megan Baxter is Into Rewilding Her Writing 1:03:47

2d ago1:03:47

1:03:47

"I've also learned in this rewilding experiment that so much of our time as writers takes place off the page, as we're thinking about our concepts, as we're doing research, and when I actually do come to the page and have a chance to actually type out these ideas, I've done so much pre-writing over the course of the previous season that that draft …

1
The Telegraph Takeover: Power, Profit & the Press 56:52

2d ago56:52

56:52

In the season finale of Ctrl Alt Deceit, Nina dos Santos and Owen Bennett-Jones dig into the tangled web of media ownership, foreign influence and the future of free press. With a new UK government potentially greenlighting a UAE-backed bid for a stake in The Daily Telegraph, the hosts ask: does it matter who owns the news anymore? From Silicon Val…

1
‘I Try to Find the Question That People Cannot Squirm Out Of’: An Interview with Nashville’s Phil Williams 30:01

3d ago30:01

30:01

For more than thirty years, Phil Williams has been the steadying voice of investigative reporting at NewsChannel 5, in Nashville. His deep dives into toxic wastewater and lobbyist access to state politicians have earned him a slew of major journalism awards, including five Peabodys and five duPont-Columbia Awards. But in recent years, his most vira…

1
Thomas Mutch, "The Dogs of Mariupol: Russia's Invasion and the Forging of Ukraine's Iron Generation" (Biteback, 2025) 42:03

3d ago42:03

42:03

In early 2022, as Russian troops massed on Ukraine’s border, Tom Mutch, a freelance war reporter, took a trip to Mariupol to take the temperature of this (then) culturally vibrant port on the Sea of Azov. What stayed with him was the sound of the stray dogs and their "rhythmic and frantic barking, as if they were shouting a warning in unison". With…

1
Why tacos are as 'American' as apple pie 31:46

3d ago31:46

31:46

The hunger for Mexican food in the U.S. is longstanding — from the conquistadors' love affair with chocolate, to the classic San Francisco burrito. This week, we're exploring the history of Mexican food in the United States, and asking what it takes for a cuisine to become quintessentially "American." Learn more about sponsor message choices: podca…

1
Creativity, technology, and the future of artistic expression 16:08

5d ago16:08

16:08

In this episode, Ananya Bhargava interviews Lance Gharavi, an experimental artist and scholar, professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre, and Associate Director of ASU's Interplanetary Initiative. The discussion tackles the complexity of defining creativity in the age of AI, the metaphors we use to make sense of intelligent machines, and …

1
Alex Davies, "Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car" (Simon & Schuster, 2022) 1:27:49

5d ago1:27:49

1:27:49

In Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car (Simon & Schuster, 2022), Alex Davies tells the enlightening and significant story of the effort to create driverless cars and the intense competition among tech heavyweights such as Google, Uber, and Tesla to move this technology forward. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been one of the most hyped tec…

1
Nurturing the next generation of talent, with the YOJO newsroom

8d ago

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Fancy honing your skills in Athens? A bold new initiative offers on-the-job training, tools and mentorship for English-speaking university graduates. Relocation support is on offer, tooBy Journalism.co.uk

1
Episode 469: John O'Connor on the Meaning of Bigfoot 1:06:12

9d ago1:06:12

1:06:12

"I don't feel envy. I don't think. Maybe in some deeper and maybe even more troubling psychological level. I do feel competition with with people, competition over resources, trying to claim certain ideas, stake a claim to certain ideas before other people can, especially when you're working with the subject that's in the public sphere. You don't h…

1
Subsidizing Crypto in the Climate Crisis / Candice Bernd 1:44:09

11d ago1:44:09

1:44:09

Candice Bernd returns to This Is Hell! to discuss her recent writing at The American Prospect, "The Crypto Racket." After the interview, we hear a classic "Moment of Truth" from Jeff Dorchen.Check out Candice's article here: https://prospect.org/power/2025-05-09-crypto-racket-texas-bitcoin-mining/By This Is Hell!

1
AI’s evolving role in art, storytelling, and marketing 28:51

11d ago28:51

28:51

In this episode, Ananya Bhargava interviews Ed Finn, founding director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. The discussion explores imagination in the context of technology, the potential for AI-generated marketing to connect with audiences, and the complex issues of copyright and ownership.…

1
How race science shows up at the doctor's office 35:17

11d ago35:17

35:17

We've probably said it a hundred times on Code Switch — biological race is not a real thing. So why is race still used to help diagnose certain conditions, like keloids or cystic fibrosis? On this episode, Dr. Andrea Deyrup breaks it down for us, and unpacks the problems she sees with practicing race-based medicine, from delayed diagnoses to ignori…

1
Overbroad Antisemitism Definitions Discipline the Jewish Diaspora / Lihi Yona & Itamar Mann 1:43:35

12d ago1:43:35

1:43:35

Lihi Yona and Itamar Mann join us to discuss their recent UCLA Law Review piece, "Defending Jews From the Definition of Antisemitism." A special 10th anniversary installment of "This Week in Rotten History" from Renaldo Migaldi follows the interview.Check out Lihi and Itamar's piece here: https://www.uclalawreview.org/defending-jews-from-the-defini…

1
Andrew Holter, ed., "Going Around: Selected Journalism / Murray Kempton" (Seven Stories Press, 2025) 1:02:49

14d ago1:02:49

1:02:49

From 1949 until his death in 1997, Murray Kempton was a distinct presence in New York City journalism. Peddling around town on a three-speed bicycle wearing a three-piece suit, he wrote about everything from politics to jazz to the Mafia. His writing was eloquent, his perspective unique, and his moral judgements driven by a profound sympathy for lo…

1
Episode 468: Local Journalism and the Folly of Fame with Maggie Messitt 1:20:28

16d ago1:20:28

1:20:28

"I genuinely feel that those of us writing books need to remember that we are writing them simply because we feel the desperate need to write that particular thing. And unless I feel that way, I shouldn't be writing it because it's not for the financial benefit. It is not because it gives me more time to do things with other people. It doesn't matt…

1
SLAPPs, Assange and the Trump effect: Fiona O'Brien of Reporters Without Borders on UK press freedom

17d ago

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The annual World Press Freedom Index ranks the UK as 20th out of 180 countries. We reflect on the big trends and turning points from the last 12 monthsBy Journalism.co.uk

1
Noel Rubinton, "Looking for a Story: A Complete Guide to the Writings of John McPhee" (Princeton UP, 2025) 46:51

17d ago46:51

46:51

John McPhee has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1965 and has written more than thirty acclaimed books that began on the magazine's pages. But few readers know or fully appreciate the true breadth of his writing. Looking for a Story: A Complete Guide to the Writings of John McPhee (Princeton University Press, 2025) leads readers through…

1
Interracial Labor Solidarity in the United States / Cedric de Leon 1:50:42

18d ago1:50:42

1:50:42

Sociologist Cedric de Leon joins us to discuss his new book, "Freedom Train: Black Politics and the Story of Interracial Labor Solidarity" from University of California Press. "The Moment of Truth" with Jeff Dorchen follows the interview.Check out Cedric's book here: https://www.ucpress.edu/books/freedom-train/paperHelp keep This Is Hell! completel…

1
The internet made me do it: Branding in the age of virality 17:22

18d ago17:22

17:22

In this episode, Ananya Bhargava interviews Chris Peña, a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University with 10 years of experience in social media. Focusing on the rise of meme marketing, the discussion explores how internet culture and social media platforms have evolved, what makes certai…

1
Arab and Black communities are trying to reconcile after Trump's election 28:18

18d ago28:18

28:18

Trump's win exposed political tensions between Arab-American voters — who were critical of Democratic support of Israel's war in Gaza, and Black voters — who remain the Democrats' most loyal supporters. That friction is especially pronounced in the majority Arab city of Dearborn, Michigan, and its majority Black neighbor, Detroit. This week, we go …

1
Enemy Feminisms / Sophie Lewis 1:42:02

21d ago1:42:02

1:42:02

Sophie Lewis returns to This Is Hell! to discuss her new book, "Enemy Feminisms: TERFs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation" from Haymarket Books. "This Week in Rotten History" from Renaldo Migaldi follows the interview.Check out Sophie's book here: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2440-enemy-feminismsHelp keep This Is Hell! complete…

1
Episode 467: How to Bounce Back from 'Viscerally Negative' Feedback with Will Bardenwerper 1:22:38

23d ago1:22:38

1:22:38

Will Bardenwerper grew up playing baseball and even was a member of his college team at Princeton. As a result, he has a great perspective to write about baseball as he does in Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America (Doubleday). That soul, in this book, is partially under attack from private equity firms gobbling up an…

1
Episode 466: Katie Goh on Issues of Identity and the Trappings of Mythology 1:13:24

23d ago1:13:24

1:13:24

"Mythology can be really a dangerous thing, because mythology feels like it can't be changed, or it's always been something," says Katie Goh, author of Foreign Fruit: A Personal History of the Orange (Tin House Books). Katie Goh is a writer and editor based out of Edinburgh, Scotland. She’s also the author of the slim book “The End: Surviving the W…

1
‘The Threat Is Very Real’: NPR’s Katherine Maher on the Fight to Save Public Media 32:10

23d ago32:10

32:10

Last week, Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the end of funding for NPR and PBS. It’s the latest attempt by conservatives to cut back on support for public media, and in particular target NPR, which they view as having a liberal bias. Katherine Maher, NPR’s CEO, says that perception is deeply unfair—and notes that the vast majority…

1
Mark Fallon, "Unjustifiable Means: The Inside Story of How the CIA, Pentagon, and US Government Conspired to Torture" (Regan Arts, 2017) 52:07

24d ago52:07

52:07

From busting drug lords to leading the Pentagon task force charged with bringing the 9/11 terrorists to justice, Mark Fallon has spent his career on the front lines of U.S. national security. My first guest is one of the most fascinating people I've interviewed. Former NCIS Special Agent in Charge Mark Fallon is a national security consultant, scho…

1
40 years ago, Philadelphia police bombed this Black neighborhood on live TV 36:20

25d ago36:20

36:20

We're looking back on the day a Philadelphia police department helicopter dropped a bomb on a rowhouse in a middle-class neighborhood. Even though that bombing and the fire it set off killed eleven people and left hundreds homeless, it's been largely forgotten. So how did we collectively memory-hole an event this big? And what does that tell us abo…

1
Alan Chong, "The International Politics of Communication: Representing Community in a Globalizing World" (U Michigan Press, 2025) 1:16:41

28d ago1:16:41

1:16:41

In an era of globalization, international communication constantly takes place across borders, defying sovereign control as it influences opinion. While diplomacy between states is the visible face of international relations, this “informal diplomacy” is usually less visible but no less powerful. Information politics can be found in propaganda, Int…

1
Newsrewired throwback: Sean Gourley on why technology is dictating newsroom strategy

1M ago

—

Generative AI is advancing at an unprecedented speed and newsrooms will find it harder to keep up if they completely reject the tech, says the physicist and serial entrepreneurBy Journalism.co.uk

1
Episode 465: Miranda Green Searches for the Harm 1:20:06

30d ago1:20:06

1:20:06

"You want to be able to nab the details, but then you also want to be able to tell the story of why this matters and who's harmed by this, and finding the harm is oftentimes the hardest part of investigative reporting," Miranda Green, an investigative reporter. Her latest piece is for The Atavist Magazine titled "All That Glitters" about the seedy …

1
"I have not Finished...": Rokahya Diallo on being Black, Muslim, and frequently interrupted (Emilie Diouf, JP) 48:39

1M ago48:39

48:39

Emilie Diouf of Brandeis English, whose monograph on genocide and trauma is forthcoming, joins John to speak with the celebrated French journalist and activist Rokahya Diallo. Diouf places Diallo within a transnational black intellectual tradition, founded in the interwar period in the Negritude movement; it was then that Paulette, Jeanne, and Anne…

1
Marx in America / Andrew Hartman 1:47:42

1M ago1:47:42

1:47:42

Historian Andrew Hartman returns to This Is Hell! to discuss his new book from University of Chicago Press, "Karl Marx in America." "The Moment of Truth" with Jeff Dorchen follows the interview.Check out Andrew's book here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/K/bo245100866.htmlHelp keep This Is Hell! completely listener supported and …

1
Institutional Corruption in News Media: A Conversation with William English 1:00:55

1M ago1:00:55

1:00:55

Why has trust in the news media declined? How can we combat biased reporting and the spread of misinformation? And how do these challenges compare to the media landscape during America’s founding era? Join us as we explore these pressing questions with William English, a political economist and Associate Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, an…

1
In the face of trans erasure, what can we learn from Marsha P. Johnson? 31:30

1M ago31:30

31:30

Marsha P. Johnson was a trailblazer in the fight for gay rights. But Johnson's legacy extends beyond her activism: "Marsha was a really full person who lived a vibrant life. She was a muse and model for Andy Warhol," and a performer in New York City and London. In this episode, we talk to activist and author Tourmaline about what we can all learn f…

1
The challenges of covering Russia and Syria from exile 33:29

1M ago33:29

33:29

In this episode of Fellowship Takeaways we hear from two journalists whose work and lives has been shaped by displacement. In this episode of Fellowship Takeaways we hear from two journalists whose work and lives has been shaped by displacement. They discuss the challenges of building trust, maintaining sources' anonymity, the emotional toll of the…

1
Talking Thai Politics: Reporting Thai Politics Internationally 29:53

1M ago29:53

29:53

What is it like to be a foreign correspondent in Thailand? How can someone develop sufficient understanding of this complex society to write effective news stories about Thai politics and business? In this podcast, Francesca Regalado, until recently a Bangkok correspondent for the Japanese-owned online news magazine Nikkei Asia, discusses her three…

1
Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle / Jodi Dean 1:31:07

1M ago1:31:07

1:31:07

Academic and author Jodi Dean returns to This Is Hell! to talk about her new book, "Capital's Grave: Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle" published by Verso Books.https://www.versobooks.com/products/3144-capital-s-graveWe also have a new “This Week in Rotten History”.Keep our website with a more than ten-year archive of past shows absolutely fr…

1
Episode 464: John Glionna is a Clown Who Makes Balloons That Kids Don't Like 58:09

1M ago58:09

58:09

"We're sadistic motherf*ckers," says John Glionna, @johnglionna on the Instagrams. John is a longtime journalist and author of No Friday Night Lights (Bison Books). He made a name for himself at the Los Angeles Times pursuing what would be called "Glionna stories," stories about invisible people who have rich lives all their own. In this episode we…

1
AI, ethics and editorial power: voices from the IQ Media Conference

1M ago

—

Can AI free journalists to do better work? Will it deepen inequalities? And what happens when the line between human and machine-generated content starts to blur? These questions and more answeredBy Journalism.co.uk

1
Inside El Salvador’s Dystopian Prison Network 29:44

1M ago29:44

29:44

A few years ago, El Salvador was one of the most violent nations in the world, with gang killings taking the lives of dozens of people every week. Nayib Bukele, elected president in 2019, changed all that—today, violence is way down. But his brute-force approach to the problem has involved mass arrests, secret deals, and forced disappearances into …

1
Chris Stowers, "Shoot, Ask...and Run" (Earnshaw Books Ltd, 2025) 53:53

1M ago53:53

53:53

Chris Stowers, longtime photographer, credits a fellow journalist for the title of his latest memoir, Shoot, Ask...and Run (Earnshaw, 2025). The journalist’s advice to a young Chris, just starting out, went like this. Shoot: Take the photo when the opportunity arises. Then, if someone notices that you took a photo, “ask” for permission to use the p…

1
A New History of the New World / Greg Grandin 1:44:23

1M ago1:44:23

1:44:23

Greg Grandin returns to This Is Hell! to discuss his new book, "America, América: A New History of the New World." "Rotten History" from Renaldo Migaldi follows the interview.Check out Greg's book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/747326/america-america-by-greg-grandin/By This Is Hell!

1
Why now is the time to find power in "otherness" 31:22

1M ago31:22

31:22

Viet Thanh Nguyen came to the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam when he was four years old. Growing up in San Jose, California, Nguyen remembers the moment he understood he was Asian-American. In his latest book, To Save and To Destroy: Writing as an Other, Nguyen examines the power in finding solidarity with other Others, especially in today's Americ…

1
What Paths Remain for Preventing Climate Apocalypse? / Malcolm Harris 1:37:57

1M ago1:37:57

1:37:57

Malcolm Harris Returns to This Is Hell! to discuss his new book, "What's Left: Three Paths Through the Planetary Crisis." "The Moment of Truth" with Jeff Dorchen follows the interview.Check out Malcolm's book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/malcolm-harris/whats-left/9780316577410/?lens=little-brown…

1
A Genocide Foretold / Chris Hedges 1:12:19

1M ago1:12:19

1:12:19

Chris Hedges discusses his new book, "A Genocide Foretold: Reporting on Survival and Resistance in Occupied Palestine."Check out Chris's book here: https://www.sevenstories.com/books/4716-a-genocide-foretoldHelp keep This Is Hell! completely listener supported and access bonus episodes by subscribing to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thisishe…

1
Episode 463: Leah Sottile on Building Scenes, Sagging Middles, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age 1:03:19

1M ago1:03:19

1:03:19

"It's kind of a mix of reporting to the very last minute to put off writing, and then when I have to write, having a panic attack, and then, like, booking a hotel room for a week and not leaving that room. This is the thing I have done until I figure it out," says Leah Sottile, in a live event at Gratitude Brewing. She is the author of Blazing Eye …

1
Revisiting the fight over the Lakota language as Trump targets "divisive narratives" 41:32

2M ago41:32

41:32

As the Trump administration targets the Smithsonian Institute for "divisive narratives" and "improper ideology," it got us thinking about how we preserve our history and everything that builds it, like language. So we're revisiting an episode from last year from the Lakota Nation in South Dakota over language — who preserves it, who has the right t…

1
Copaganda / Alec Karakatsanis 1:25:20

2M ago1:25:20

1:25:20

Alec Karakatsanis returns to talk about his new book, “Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News.” Alec founded the Civil Rights Corps, an organization that challenges systemic injustices in the U.S. legal system. "The Moment of Truth" with Jeff Dorchen follows the interview.Check out Alec's book here: https://thenewpress.org/books/co…

1
Neoliberalism Turning To Nature To Defend Inequality / Quinn Slobodian 1:30:24

2M ago1:30:24

1:30:24

Author Quinn Slobodian returns to “This Is Hell!” to talk about his new book, “Hayek’s Bastards: Race, Gold, IQ and the Capitalism of the Far Right”, published by Zone Books.Check out Quinn’s book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9781890951917?srsltid=AfmBOopa361sL5mow9Y4zSXDsHQXyvTQBZ0YZASHJvW-UyhbliOMShxtKeep TiH! free and comple…

1
Episode 462: On Podcasting and Gardens with Debbie Millman 57:27

2M ago57:27

57:27

"I'm much more interested in how a person achieves something than in what they specifically achieved," says Debbie Millman, the "Pod Mother" and OG podcaster, twenty years in for Design Matters. She's also the author of the new book Love Letter to a Garden (Timber Press). In this episode, we talk about: The 20 year arc of Design Matters What people…

1
Kai Ryssdal Was America’s Economic Voice of Reason This Week 24:31

2M ago24:31

24:31

Kai Ryssdal has been the host of Marketplace, a leading daily radio show and podcast about the economy, produced by American Public Media, since 2005. He delivers the news—from the bitter latest on our 401(k)s to unexpected interviews about the modern-day resurgence of train robberies—with an affable, direct tone. And when he has something he wants…

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