Hey hubski,
As someone who stumbled upon podcasting in a less than usual way, I'm somewhat out of the loop as to what most people look for when they want to listen to a new podcast.
It made me wonder what would be the ideal show for everyone here.
What is your ideal podcast?
The great thing about podcasts is that there is something for almost anyone. Here are some of the podcasts I listen to, sorted by how quickly I devour the episodes: - 99% Invisible: A+ podcast about all kinds of designs, from flags to buildings to submarines. Almost never fails to pique my interest. - Radiolab: Great stories, amazing audio design. Headphones recommended! I was introduced to Radiolab with the Speed episode. Perhaps the memorable episode I ever listened to is Bliss. - Song Exploder: Pulling apart songs with the composer's commentary. If you know the songs, they're great episodes. For example, Game of Thrones or House of Cards themes. - This American Life: The elephant in the room of podcasting. Has some amazing episodes. Lately they've been doing a lot of reruns and some 'meh' episodes, but they have a huge archive of great episodes, like Death and Taxes - Invisibila: only one season but off to a great start. I found How To Become Batman very intriguing. - Dan Carlin: Hardcore History episodes are basically free, small audiobooks about an aspect of a period of history. I know that doesn't sound appealing, but Carlin is good enough to make anything interesting. His Common Sense podcast discusse about current event from a geopolitical / historical point of view. - The Bugle: John Oliver and Andy Zaltzmann discuss the week's news with humour (much funnier than Last Week Tonight, if you ask me). They're currently on a break, but you can listen to the last regular episode, 291, here. - The Gist with Mike Pesca: episode every weekday, where Pesca opines on / discusses important news and good articles, often with authors or experts. I don't listen to all of what he has to say but he almost always has interesting points (if he's not being silly). Latest episode is quite representative. I also listen to Cortex and Hello Internet, but almost entirely because I like the hosts. Start from the first episodes, it doesn't get much different than that to be honest. edit: I forgot to directly address your question, whoops. My ideal podcast is either thought-provoking, emotive or funny, and preferably a combination of the three.
I would like to make the case for History on Fire with Daniele Bollelli. He's only a few episodes in but I'm impressed by the quality of the show. He just did an overview of the Roman slave wars, and it was really entertaining. I fact checked some of his more.... interesting claims and he had primary sources supporting most of them, to one degree or another. He's also from Italy and I think his first hand knowledge of the geography provides an interesting perspective. Note* there is a hint of try-harding to snag some of the Hardcore History audience.
I don't think there's an "Ideal" podcast for me. Or at least, not an ideal formula. I love the Hello Internet podcast with CGP Grey and Brady Haran, which is sort of "2 guys talking" genre, and I love the Roundtable Podcast, which is cohosted by 4 indie game youtubers. Let's call that "4 guys talking" I also love the Invisibilia Podcast, which was an NPR thing and is getting a second season. I can't recommend it enough - It's like radio lab but hosted by two girls and is all about the invisible parts of ourselves. The "Ideas" Radio show with Paul Kennedy on CBC is put out as a podcast and it's been amazing for 20 years +. "Quirks and Quarks" with Bob MacDonald (Once hosted by none other than David Suzuki) is similarly long standing and AMAZING. All of them are vaguely centred around in depth discussion of specific interests - Except for Hello Internet, which is In depth discussion of wide ranging interests, and occasionally nothing at all.
Um... #tngpodcast without a doubt! Also, radiolab.
Until they got really ad-happy, Stuff You Should Know was my number 1 favorite. I like different podcasts for different reasons. The Joe Rogan experience gets some really interesting guests and a high percentage of the time I appreciate Rogans interview style, it seems to get the best out of people. I like Star Talk with Neil Degrasse Tyson because NDT, and because you often get to see Bill Nye at his most... adult? I like Kevin Smiths podcast because of the perspective he provides of film making and I like his philosophy, more or less. I also listen to like, a lot of podcasts.
I've only listened to one or two. (I can't seem to find the time to look for good ones, so I'm thankful for this question - some good suggestions in the responses.) The ones I have listened to were focused on nutrition (I think I'm a foodie). I think I would prefer podcasts like I prefer radio or television shows - filled with information rather than banter. I don't usually think people are as witty as they think they are. LOL
Regular updates (if not weekly, then make sure you announce frequently what the expected release schedule is). A website or updated social media page with an easy to find RSS feed. And most important, a passionate host who cares about the subject matter more that how many downloads they get. Also ads at the beginning or end, I hate ads in the middle of podcasts.
Also, if a podcast has multiple hosts, it can get boring if they only agree with each other 100% of the time. Discussions and debates can really help keep a show engaging.
Something that makes me laugh, preferably with really repetitive jokes. I assume that's not really what you're aiming for here.