We’ve all been stuck in traffic, languishing in an Uber, or bored out of our minds on the subway. Regret sets in when the Wi-Fi doesn’t work or our various devices don’t have any decent 4G/5G signal, or in our case, dead headphones. You could have downloaded your favorite show to watch, or your favorite podcast but now you’re stuck with no entertainment, or worse, a chatty driver. Let us at least help you with good podcast suggestions that are, in true form, New York City-based. These 9 Top New York City Podcasts will be your salvation.
If you love a good story, especially stories told by notable individuals, such as Ethan Hawke, Moby, Sam Shepard, and Malcolm Gladwell, we recommend The Moth podcast. These are true stories on this podcast, recorded all over the city of New York, and going to other parts of the country. These stories are unscripted, and completely heartfelt, evoking a whole gamut of emotions.
Continuing the theme of stories is the New Yorker Fiction podcast. On this podcast, someone chooses a good story by a well-known author. Previous stories showcased have included those from author Jhumpa Lahiri, Eudora Welty, Vladimir Nabokov, and Lorrie Moore. After the story is read, the reader discusses the story with Deborah Treisman, the New Yorker’s fiction editor.
If your bent is less towards fiction and more towards non-fiction, especially crime, we have some *chef’s kiss* recommendations for you. The first is the New York City Crime Report, a podcast that is dark, comical and interviews a whole cast of characters such as NYC cops, lawyers, journalists, and comedians who speak to the city’s true crime. If you like dark humor and true crime, you’ll love this suggestion!
Moving onto our next crime podcast, we have the New York Mystery Machine. Not only does this combine our deep love of Scooby Doo and unsolved crimes, but it also covers hauntings, disappearances, and other strange happenings. We cannot recommend this 1-hour snippet of spooky enough!
Are you more artistically inclined? No problem, we got you covered with our next two recs. There’s the Art Insiders New York Podcast, hosted by Anders Holst, that covers trailblazers in art, architecture, and design in the city. There have been interviews with jewelry designers, geographers, and film makers as well, and intense discussions on how these folks have shaped the city as we know it.
There’s also the Kaatscast, a podcast delivering oral guides on art, culture, travel, and sustainability as well as outdoors type happenings focused on the Hudson Valley and the Catskill mountains. Additionally, there’s local interviews also from the area. While this is a super niche podcast, we think it would give those who are looking to escape the city a good guide to do so.
As a last recommendation in the arts category, we particularly love the Gossipnista, a podcast that covers the lives of New Yorkers, and includes talks with various experts on different fields within the city. It’s a great tool for those looking to learn more about the city and potentially move to the Big Apple.
Now, to complete our list of 9 Top New York City Podcasts, let’s move onto our favorite category, food podcasts. Chef Marc Murphy, of Chopped fame, started a food podcast called Food360 where he discusses everything through the lens of food. So far, he’s had Marcus Samuelsson (also from Chopped), discussed pizza and ice cream with Scott Weiner and Brian Smith.
There’s also the Epic Table podcast, where Chef Dan Churchill views food while talking about food education, sustainability, and environmentalism as well as nutrition. He’s had different individuals on the podcast who impact the world and impact the food chain as a result.
Well, that wraps up our list of 9 Top New York City Podcasts: New York based and themed podcasts – if you love the suggestions on this list, please let us know! We would love to put together another list of podcasts that pique your interest!