The 60 best podcasts to listen to in 2024

Serial is back, and it’s more of what the team behind it has always been good at. It’s not quite the oh-my-gosh levels of season one, but it takes a deep dive into Guantánamo Bay, with the same levels of detail that made season three fantastic. It’s well worth a listen, even for Sarah Koenig’s brilliant storytelling alone. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another six years for the next one, eh?

Film buffs, roll the f*** up. A24 is a podcast from the production team who made Midsommar, Moonlight, Euphoria and more, and it’s every bit as glitzy, achingly cool and full of celebs as you’d hope it would be. A recent episode featured Emma Stone and Julio Torres, paired up off the back of stellar performances in A24 flicks Problemista and The Curse, who talked all things weird and wonderful (namely wrinkly passports and a teenage obsession with Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette). Writer-director Coppola herself appeared on an episode with Past Lives director Celine Song to discuss their career journeys to date and what genres they’d like to explore next (here’s hoping for a girl-gaze western or sci-fi). Essentially, if you’re even a little bit of a film nerd, you’re going to want to get this one on, stat. 

This is a dilemma based podcast, meaning the segment goes whether listeners lead it (yes, it can be a ride). Hosted by author and journalist Candice Brathwaite and online personality Coco Sarel, this pod will have you in hysterics one minute and rethinking every single one of your life decisions the next. But mostly you’ll feel part of the sisterhood you never knew you needed. We love these ladies.

Look, if you (like me), have been waiting since Lockdown One for an update on the ‘Missing Cryptoqueen’, the incredible, racy story of businesswoman Dr Ruja Ignatova, a new cryptocurrency, and a never-ending chase, then this is your dream come true. The moment you’ve been waiting for. And no, I’m not going to give a single bit of it away. But if you’ve never feasted your ears on this podcast, you’re in luck: you’ve got 12 whole episodes of one of the best podcasts in the business to listen to right now, and you’ve got a 2024 update in there too. Enjoy kids. Let’s hope for more. 

If you love a deep dive, you’ll most certainly get a thrill out of ‘One Year’: a Slate podcast which spends multiple episodes kicking around the forgotten corners of a single year in the twentieth century, and seeing what lessons it can teach us about right now. So far they’ve delved into 1977, 1995, 1986, 1942, 1955 and 1990, with the latest season kicking off with a (literally) riotous tale about the opening of the Soviet Union’s first Pizza Hut. The storytelling is always on point, and the events featured range from thought-provoking to jaw-dropping: you’ll find yourself wondering why you didn’t learn this stuff in school.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is no more – Larry David faced down his last microaggression in early 2024 – but Curb fanatics’ thirst for awkward, social-nicety-defying scenarios will still need slaking. Enter co-stars Jeff Garlin (Larry’s Manager and BFF, Jeff Greene), Susie Essman (Jeff’s wife, Susie) and celebrity guests like Jon Hamm and Wanda Sykes to share stories, nostalgia and origin tales on a podcast all about the now-legendary sitcom. Did you know that HBO execs once sniffily referred to Curb as their ‘little experimental show’? Well, who’s laughing now? Okay, probably not Larry.

In 2003, two half-starved boys emerge from the Canadian wilderness, claiming to have been raised in the woods. They say they’ve never been to school, seen a dentist, watched TV or had any previous contact with the modern world. A local hockey mom, Tammy, takes the brothers under her wing. But suspicions are soon raised by their surprisingly advanced vocabulary and the names they provide for their parents: Mary and Joseph. The true story of the ‘bush boys’ unfolds, traversing the complex worlds of conspiracy theorists, eating disorders and our ability to suspend our disbelief when it comes to ‘wild’ meets Western world narratives. 

After going viral on Instagram for documenting every outfit on Sex and the City (and reimagining all of the outdated dialogue and story arcs) the genius minds behind ‘Every Outfit on SATC’ (Chelsea Fairless and Lauren Garroni) decided to grow in the best way possible: by starting a podcast. Listen weekly to a blend of snark and fashion coverage from two people who actually know what they’re talking about, and the occasional  Kardasian update, if you’re lucky.