Best Short-Form Podcasts

NPR's Up First is the news you need to start your day. The three biggest stories of the day, with reporting and analysis from NPR News — in 10 minutes. Available weekdays by 6 a.m. ET, with hosts Rachel Martin, Noel King, David Greene and Steve Inskeep. Now available on Saturdays by 8 a.m. ET, with hosts Lulu Garcia-Navarro and Scott Simon. Subscribe and listen, then support your local NPR station at donate.npr.org.

Leading science journalists provide a daily minute commentary on some of the most interesting developments in the world of science. For a full-length, weekly podcast you can subscribe to Science Talk: The Podcast of Scientific American . To view all of our archived podcasts please go to www.scientificamerican.com/podcast

The Network makes sure Profiles eat right & stay focused — but Profile 24 — thanks to a mysterious bird — is finding that difficult.

Questions to spark conversations. 2-3 minutes every weekday and the occasional weekend deep dive.

Love and Luck is a queer slice of life romance story, with a touch of magic. An audio drama told mostly via voicemails, we publish short episodes once a week on Tuesday evenings (AEST). Made for people who like healthy relationships and happy endings, Love and Luck is set in Melbourne, Australia in the present day, and is populated with many real life queer Melbourne people, events and places, alongside its fictional characters.

Kind World is a show about how a single act of kindness can change someone's life. In each episode, hosts and reporters Yasmin Amer and Andrea Asuaje search the world for good news stories that will restore your faith in humanity. A production of WBUR.

Eleven-year-old Holiday is pulled from the icy waters of Alaska with no memory of who she is or where she came from. Are her mom and dad really who they say they are? And when she begins to develop incredible abilities, she’ll soon discover she’s not alone in the world. From the award-winning creators of The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel and The Ghost of Jessica Majors, comes Six Minutes, a new mystery adventure for the whole family. Starting on March 1st, new six minute episodes, twice a week, all year long…and beyond. Produced by Gen-Z Media in partnership with PRX. For more great Gen-Z shows visit http://bestrobotever.com

Your audio guide to thought-provoking arguments on a variety of topics, from perspectives left, right, and center. These smart, concise podcasts pack big ideas into a short amount of time and promise to challenge, inspire, and get you thinking about a range of points of view that you may or may not agree with.

Escape the world every week – listen now for 10 minutes of sci-fi and fantasy. Every kind of science fiction and fantasy from epic fantasy, space opera, hilarious aliens, surreal moments, time travel romances, political espionage, and so much more! Flash fiction that fits your life and lets you explore a new world weekly. Find more including submissions on 600secondsaga.com

A daily fiction podcast from Atlanta Radio Theatre Company. A different kind of zombie story... Take care of each other. Episodes expire after 24 hours, but a new one is published every day! Want to catch up on past episodes? Pledge as little as $1/month at patreon.com/mercuryradio and get the entire back catalog!

Named a best new podcast of 2016 by The New York Times, NPR, Huffington Post and iTunes. Andrea Silenzi speaks with friends, experts, and guys in bars about where love, dating and sex meets technology. The show tells the stories about relationships often blurring the lines between memoir, documentary, and fiction.

The United States of America stretches from sea to shining sea. It is a civilized and cultivated land of modern convenience, state of the art medical care, and abundant food. Yet, when the first English settlers landed in the 1500s the land was wild and dangerous and the population sparse. America appeared to the white men to be "a forest standing in water." This is the story of the brave men and women who carved out a nation from the untamed wilderness. Those who risked everything they had to give you and I the opportunities we have today!

A monthly radio drama wherein the actor James Urbaniak navigates the darkly comedic recesses of his troubled yet charming mind. Different writer each episode. Contradictions abound!

The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, "Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy." Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.

The dunk that launched a sneaker war. The first woman to throw down. These and more are the stories of ESPN's podcast mini-series.

A truck driver searches across America for the wife she had long assumed was dead. In the course of her search, she will encounter not-quite-human serial murderers, towns literally lost in time, and a conspiracy that goes way beyond one missing woman.

Slate's The Gist with Mike Pesca. A daily afternoon show about news, culture, and whatever else you'll be discussing with friends and family tonight.

First Day Back is a documentary podcast series about people facing and trying to overcome life’s most challenging moments.  Each season, host and creator Tally Abecassis tells the story of someone attempting their own personal comeback. In 2019, First Day Back is back.  On May 3rd 2017, comedian Jason Weems collapsed on stage from an asthma attack. His heart stopped beating for a full 5 minutes. Jason was lucky enough to be revived by a member of the audience.    Now the Baltimore comedian is dealing with his death the only way he knows how: by making jokes about it. Jason wants to turn these jokes into a 1 hour special that he hopes will make him a household name.   For the past year, Tally Abecassis and the First Day back team have been following the life and career of Jason Weems, a man who lives and died for comedy.

Design is everywhere in our lives, perhaps most importantly in the places where we've just stopped noticing. 99% Invisible is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture. From award winning producer Roman Mars. Learn more at 99percentinvisible.org. A proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX. Learn more at radiotopia.fm.

Song Exploder is a podcast where musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made. Each episode features an artist discussing a song of theirs, breaking down the sounds and ideas that went into the writing and recording. Hosted and produced by Hrishikesh Hirway.

Real stories by New York City teenagers take listeners inside their lives and their communities in this Peabody Award-winning youth journalism initiative. For teens, by teens and about the challenges of teen life, Radio Rookies gives students the tools and the training to share their own stories through the medium of audio. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts including Radiolab, Death, Sex & Money, Snap Judgment, Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin, Nancy and many others. Find these and more great shows at wnyc.org © WNYC Studios

From public radio producer, Nate DiMeo, comes The Memory Palace, a finalist for the 2016 Peabody Award and one of iTunes Best Podcast of 2015. Short, surprising stories of the past, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hysterical, often a little bit of both. "The most potent pieces of audio being produced today." - The AvClub thememorypalace.us The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm

A quasi-daily podcast from Slate chronicling Donald Trump's rise to the presidency and his current administration. Journalists Virginia Heffernan and León Krauze talk to reporters, historians, psychiatrists, and other experts to help explain who this man is and why this is happening, right now, in the United States of America.

The Heart is an audio art project about power and love. From Mermaid Palace and Radiotopia.

How to Be a Girl is an audio podcast I produce about life with my six-year-old transgender daughter. It stars the two of us -- a single mom and a six-year-old "girl with a penis" -- as we attempt together to sort out just what it means to be a girl.

Serendipity is radio drama for the 21st century. Presented by your hosts Ann Heppermann and Martin Johnson who have their own story to tell. Serendipity is the podcast of The Sarah Awards, celebrating and rewarding the best audio fiction from around the world. Join the revolution at thesarahawards.com.

We're half advice show, half survival guide. We answer all your questions, from how to find a date, to how to find water in the desert.

Ask questions, vote and discover answers about Chicago, the region and its people. From WBEZ.

The Message is a podcast hosted by Hip-Hop artist, Angel aiming to give hope, inspiration, encouragement, and motivation. It is also created to help clear up some confusion that people may have on the Christian faith. New episodes every month on the 7th.