Here's my playlist. First the good ones that are actively in my queue (in general order of recommendation):
- The Memory Palace: http://thememorypalace.us/ (these are stunningly good historical stories)
- On the Media: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/otm/
- Reply All: https://gimletmedia.com/reply-all/ (this is the one I expected to see on every list at hackernews, and don't)
- The Gist: http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/gist.html
- The Daily: https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily
- 99% Invisible: http://99percentinvisible.org/
- Economist Radio: https://radio.economist.com/
- New Yorker Radio Hour: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/tnyradiohour/
- Planet Money: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/ (not the juggernaut of content they once were)
- This American Life: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/
Shorter series (or just defunct or really rarely updated) that I can recommend to this crowd:
- Zachtronics Podcast: http://www.zachtronics.com/podcast/
- Revisionist History: http://revisionisthistory.com/ (should be starting a new season soon)
- Mystery Show: https://gimletmedia.com/mystery-show/
- A Life Well Wasted: http://alifewellwasted.com/ (great videogamey series)
- Containers: https://www.flexport.com/blog/alexis-madrigal-containers-pod...
- S-Town: https://stownpodcast.org/
Listening at 1.8x for most of these shows forces me to pay attention, and let's me consume more content. The exception is for The Memory Palace which deserves to be heard exactly as Nate makes it (1x).