11 Podcasts Exposing Bullshit in Politics, Pop Culture and Science
If you feel like the world is getting crazier and crazier right now, you’re not alone. Luckily, there’s a podcast that will poke holes in your chosen topic, be it food culture, scientific journals, airport books, or Bill Maher in particular. Through research and often a sense of humor, these shows unpack some of the messages we receive online, in the news, and in all types of media, explaining why you’re not the crazy one, and why some of the systems we have now (looking at you, capitalism) are broken.
Normal curves
Normal Curves is like a science book club: each episode, statistics-savvy friends (and professors) Regina Nuzzo and Christine Sainani help make sense of the science journals that have made their way into the mainstream and pop culture. Examples include “The Sweaty T-Shirt Study,” which said you could find your ideal partner by smelling their sweat, and “The Red Dress Effect,” which said women are sexier in red. You can count on them to analyze the data, challenge claims, and equip you with the tools to evaluate scientific research yourself.
Devil’s lie
Is TikTok tradelife confusing you? Want to know why capitalism feels like an atmospheric scam? Let me introduce you to The Devil’s Lies , your new favorite rabbit hole. Hosted by Katie Gatti Tassin and Caro Claire Burke, this long-running (episodes are over three hours long) podcast is part cultural critique, part political roast, and totally addictive. Katie and Caro named their show The Devil’s Lies to poke fun at Kansas City Chiefs player Harrison Butker in a speech that “the most devilish lies are told to you by women,” suggesting that feminism is the source of our unhappiness. Instead, Katie and Caro point the finger at capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy. They contain everything from Christian nationalist propaganda to the girlboss myth, all of which comes down to the fire, making you laugh, think and maybe (probably) get a little angry.
Corporate gossip
If you think the best true crime is white collar crime, you might want to check out Corporate Gossip , which looks at the shady things that happen in boardrooms and business deals. Hosts (and siblings) Becca and Adam Platsky use a ton of research and storytelling to tell the truth about eBay, WWE and Vince McMahon, Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX, Enron and many more. The topics are serious, but the atmosphere is relaxed and often fun.
Strangely specific
Meredith Lynch (who you may recognize from TikTok) has one foot in pop culture and the other in politics, and her show represents that. OddlySpecific has a little bit of everything, from the dollar store problem to the prison industrial complex. Experts talk about the things they care about, and Meredith has a knack for explaining the basics of the topic at hand, uncovering its challenges, and helping you understand why it matters to you, your wallet, and your daily life.
Bad therapist
If you’ve ever looked askance at an Instagram carousel urging you to “cut off anyone who drains your energy,” chances are you’ve been offered some therapy. Luckily, the Bad Therapist podcast can help. Psychotherapist Ash Compton and journalist Rachel Monroe advocate for therapy, but they also support bad actors who exploit popular psychological clichés and weaponize health to make a living, usually taking advantage of people who actually need real help. Whether it’s therapeutic community analysis, conversion therapy, or life coaching, all roads lead to fraud. There’s always stories, cultural analysis, and humor along the way.
If books could kill
You know those best-selling books—the ones that often promote miracle diets, popular psychology, junk science, and updated versions of “The Secret” —sold at the airport that seem to be taking the country by storm, one book at a time? Michael Hobbs (original co-host of You’re Wrong and co-host of Maintenance Phase ) and Peter Shamshiri host If Books Could Kill , a podcast about these books and how they shape our culture and destroy our minds. (In fact, there’s an entire episode devoted to “The Secret.” ) Together, they point to the lack of quotes, vague references, and fear-based marketing that can be found on every page. The episodes range from the hefty (an episode about “Liberal Fascism” ) to the lighter and sillier (there’s a great episode called “Who Moved My Cheese? “).
Dream
The first and second seasons of The Dream focused on multi-level marketing schemes and scams in the health industry, but the show has since evolved into a weekly interview show. His episodes now cover a variety of topics, but they all tend to criticize the people, industries, and concepts that make the American Dream unmanageable. Hosted by This American Life alum Jane Marie, the episodes cover the MAHA movement, abortion bans, cults, divorce and more. Jane Marie is a first-rate storyteller and interviewer: even episodes that seem heavy seem light.
5-4
Hosted by Peter Routhier ( If Books Could Kill ), Rhiannon Brown and Michael F. Vecchione, 5-4 takes a funny, liberal look at U.S. Supreme Court decisions, often illustrating how much SCOTUS sucks. Always with a progressive perspective, each episode analyzes and discusses one Supreme Court decision, giving listeners an accessible and entertaining way to learn about the high court’s bias on hot-button issues like affirmative action, gun rights and campaign finance. It clears the fog in our judicial system and makes clear how often the Supreme Court perpetuates unfair decisions for marginalized groups.
The fight for knowledge
Dan Friesen and Jordan Holmes keep a close eye on Alex Jones, so you don’t have to. Each week on Knowledge Fight, they watch recent clips from Jones’ Infowars programs and try to make sense of it all. They go in-depth (and some of the content is dark), but Dan and Jordan are funny enough to make it a wild ride and an enjoyable listen. There’s no better way to learn about conspiracy theories than to study the people who are into them, and this show is like Cliff’s Notes: it’s the source of many of the wildest theories sweeping America.
Maintenance phase
When Michael Hobbs left You’re Wrong About , he poured his energy into Maintenance Phase , a show he co-hosts with Aubrey Gordon that examines and critiques popular health and wellness trends and products. With lots of notes and angry laughter, Michael and Aubrey review the worst diets, exercise trends, supplements and beauty products, and “nutrition” books and evaluate whether they are truly effective or based on misleading or harmful information. (It’s almost always the latter.) If you hate BMI, were confused by the ’90s food pyramid, or roll your eyes every time your friend goes on and on about their latest cleanse, you’ll appreciate their myth-busting efforts.
I hate Bill Maher
Comedian Will Weldon hates Bill Maher so much that he created an entire podcast about it. Each episode of his show I Hate Bill Maher is an episode-by-episode takedown of Bill Maher in general, but specifically his TV show Real Time and his podcast Club Random . Will is determined to point out some of the shallow, misogynistic and transphobic things Bill has said, as well as how lazy some of his comedy can be. He’ll even dive into old episodes of Real Time to prove just how much Bill’s opinion has changed over the years. (Not that much.) Some call it a small thing, others call it a public service. Listen to the episode with Emma Arnold as Will interviews her about her time accompanying Bill on his annual New Year’s trip to Hawaii.