5 Addictive Podcasts to Indulge in on Your Next Road Trip

Summer means countless road trips for many, but music isn’t the only thing you can listen to on long drives – and neither are audiobooks. Podcasts have increased in popularity. Here are five addictive podcasts to indulge in on your next road trip:

99% Invisible

Image via Stitcher

Category: Art & Design
Average Rating: 5 stars
Most Popular Episode: 262 – In the Same Ballpark

What it’s about: This podcast is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture. It focuses on design details that people don’t think about every day, including everything from athletic events to the placement of missing kids’ pictures on milk cartons. Each episode of this podcast leaves to small and large discoveries that ultimately shape the listeners’ perceptions of the world around them.

Unconcluded

Image via Unconcluded

Category: News & Politics
Average Rating: 5 stars
Most Popular Episode: Episode One: Past, Present, Future

What it’s about: This podcast is interesting in that it is a real-time investigation into the disappearance of Jennifer Kesse. Kesse was a 24 year-old financial analyst, when she disappeared from Orlando, Florida on January 24th, 2006. Unconcluded is a true investigative podcast, where details of the young woman’s disappearance are discussed, as little progress has been made within the past eleven years of the official investigation. Provided increadibly little evidence, this podcast explores the various possibilities of Kessler’s disappearance and seeks to draw awareness and therefore help fill in some of these missing puzzle pieces.

Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People

Image via Earwolf

Category: Comedy
Average Rating: 5 stars
Most Popular Episode: Ron Paul’s Baby

What it’s about: This is one of the most genuine podcasts available, where there is one phone call in one hour with no names and no holds barred. Chris Gethard opens the phone line for one hour to an anonymous caller and he cannot hang up first no matter what. While the technical category for this podcast is “comedy”, these stories are truly beautiful – some are inspirational or philosophical, others are hilarious or terribly sad. What makes the show is how these stories come from your “average, everyday people”. They are unique and nothing like you have ever heard before. Many of these stories are personal, and you feel as though you are listening in on a special conversation in every episode.

The Hilarious World of Depression

Image via APM Podcasts

Category: Comedy
Average Rating: 5 stars
Most Popular Episode: Peter Sagal Opens Up

What it’s about: In this podcast, John Moe interviews a variety of comedians about their mental health issues to help break the stigma that surrounds them. It’s a show about clinical depression, but with laughs. This show strives to create some form of reassurance to listeners, whether they struggle with depression similarly or just want a good listen. Through being able to listen to some of the most positive and hysterical people in the comedy world talk about how their past and current struggles with mental illness, it proves that experiencing a mental health condition is not a sign of failure.

Myths and Legends

Image via Stitcher

Category: Art & Literature
Average Rating: 5 stars
Most Popular Episode: 71C-Sinbad: There and Back and There and Back Again

What it’s about: Literature and history buff Jason Weiser tells stories about myths, legends, and folklore that have been passed down over time. Many of these stories are some you may have heard of before – such as Aladdin and Hercules. However, their origins are what may surprise you. Other stories are some that you may have never heard of before. This is a great listen if you want to be pulled into another world entirely.

All in all, podcasts are a great way to pass the time in your car, whether it’s a mere thirty-minute drive, an eighteen-hour struggle, or a two-week road trip. These are just some of the many podcasts available on iTunes, Spotify, and on all kinds of podcast websites. Be sure to browse by category to find what may interest you the most!