Podcasts & Books

21 Podcasts Worth Listening To Right Now

By Jessica Best
3rd May 2023

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Welcome to our dedicated list of the best new podcasts worth listening to right now.

So, our love affair with podcasts runs deep, and this month is no different. Whether you’re keen for a new listen to get you through your workout or if you’ve just burned through your latest Netflix binge, we’ve found this month’s best new podcasts to plug into. 

As per usual, we’ve got you covered with a generous serving of true crime and inspiring stories. You know the drill.

Fire up the playlist, here are all best new podcasts worth listening to this month.

Ouss Hits

It's time to treat your ears to the bliss that is Ouss Hits. A monthly music and talk show guaranteed to school you on all things Indigenous music, this podcast is hosted by the legendary Alethea Beetson. The Kabi Kabi and Wiradjuri artist and programmer works with Spotify as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander program lead and in Ouss Hits, is joined by various special guests as co-hosts for each episode.

We Were Three

The New York Times and Serial Productions team are back at it with another killer podcast. We Were Three is a new limited podcast series hosted by the legendary This American Life producer Nancy Updike that looks at a family in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. When Rachel McKibbens’s father and brother died suddenly, two weeks apart, from Covid, she had no idea her father was sick, and no idea her brother was dying. They were unvaccinated, but the story of what happened started long before that. Listen to it here.

Not So PG

If you’re looking for a deadly new podcast series to binge, this one is for you. Not So PG is the brand new series hosted by Matty Mills and Brooke Blurton—each week, you’ll get an unfiltered version of their experiences and how they navigate the crazy world of media (cue lots of helpful career tips). The two are not only major media personalities but also two First Nations queer icons who’ll be dishing the dirt and diving into the realness of finding love and forging relationships. Listen to it here.

 

New Home

If you’re looking for a brand new podcast that will absolutely change the way you think, you’ll want to plug into this one. New Home is a fresh listen from SBS that looks at how sensational headlines, fear campaigns and dehumanising language can be all that we hear about migrant and refugee communities settling in Australia. And too often migrant women are framed only as the mother of the children or the wife of the male refugee. But each one has her own story and reasons for travelling across the world. On New Home, you’ll get to hear from migrant and refugee women who are quietly building new lives in regional Australia, making friends, and finding community.

My First Year On Aussie Soil

This new podcast is another goodie from SBS you can’t afford to miss. My First Year On Aussie Soil is hosted by comedian and actor Suraj Kolarkar. As a youngster he moved Down Under from India and has been obsessed with immigrant stories ever since. You’ll hear tales from people who have found their feet in Australia, sharing their hilarious first impressions, the highs and lows of life in a new country, and the perils of the Aussie accent.

HeidiWorld: The Heidi Fleiss Story

If you’ve never heard of Heidi Fleiss, you’re in for a treat. HeidiWorld: The Heidi Fleiss Story is a new podcast that dives into ​​how ambitious LA girl Heidi Fleiss rose to become a “Hollywood Madam” in the early 90s, and how she fell at the hands of American sexual hypocrisy. Episodes span sex, drugs, glamour and corruption in Los Angeles as well as how Heidi went from making millions a week (let that sink in for a hot minute) running an elite escort servive to her very dramatic and very public downfall.

BEING Trans

BEING Trans has been described as “reality TV for your ears” so cancel your plans, grab your headphones and get comfy because you’ll definitely be bingeing this one in a day. Over the course of the season, you’ll meet Jeffery, a transgender man and standup comic navigating a relationship with his partner, Emma. You’ll meet Marina, a trans woman from Guatemala who is tackling tough issues at a local LGBT centre and Chloe, new to LA and dating a trans woman. The idea is you’ll get real-life stories of what it’s like ‘being’ trans.

Look At Moi

TV Host, writer and podcaster Rowdie Walden has launched a new weekly podcast, Look at Moi – celebrating twenty years of the iconic, cult-classic Australian series Kath & Kim. Each week, Rowdie is joined by a new celebrity guest to journey back to Fountain Lakes and unpack the most iconic Australian series of all time. Each episode will cover a season of the show and will feature other Aussie legends like Abbie Chatfield, Em Rusciano, and Art Simone. Listen to Look At Moi here.

Sympathy Pains

Look, if you loved Dr. Death, you’ll absolutely love the new podcast from its host, Laura Biel. This time around, Biel is diving into another absurd real-life story that’s truly hard to believe. In this six-part series, you’ll hear the tale of a woman, known as Sarah Delashmit, who faked a number of illness for nearly two whole decades—think Anna Delvy-style but instead of flashing around in fancy hotels, Delashmit was rolling in wheelchairs and taking selfies from hospital beds. She basically told mates and coworkers she was trapped in abusive relationships or even that she was the mother of children who had died. Insane. Listen to Sympathy Pains here.

Food Crime

In the glorious mash-up we never knew we needed, Food Crime brings together a comedian and a die hard true crime fan to dig up all the hilarious stories where food gets a little caught up in the world's underbelly. Unsurprisingly, it will absolutely hit the spot for any podcast fanatics out there. Brought to you by Nat and Julia Gee (from Nat's What I Reckon), this listen is overflowing with piss-taking and taste-testing as the two venture into history where people posioned themselves for the good of humanity and Roman Empires fell thanks to lead-laced wine and dangerous sauces. Listen to Food Crime here.

Startup Diaries

Startup Diaries, hosted by Pivotal Conversations and Kyle Traynor, shares the stories of successful founders and all the valuable lessons they learned along the way. The crew have interviewed founders from the likes of HoMie, Elite Eleven and Front Runner too. Episodes span about an hour so plug into this one on your morning walk or run for the ultimate inspiration. Listen to Startup Diaries here.

You're In Good Company

Ok people, there's an array of geopolitical events happening in the world right now and sure, you've invested a few bits here and there but what does it all mean in today's current climate? It can be hard to know who to ask when it comes to geopolitical events and how they affect your portfolio. Enter Maddy and Sophie, two legends who chat through how both governments and corporations are responding to the Russian-Ukraine conflict and what impact this has on the stock market. Listen to You're In Good Company here.

 

Left Right Out

With a looming election, Left Right Out is just the kind of podcast your ears are in need of right now. It's politics, without the politics—to help you get some clarification around this chaotic world of, well, politics. Hosted by Shameless podcast researcher and journo Justine Landis-Handely, and legendary podcast producer/journo Elfy Scott, the two break down local politics with epic storytelling, hilarious anecdotes and all the pop culture references you need to make sense of the crazy. Listen to Left Right Out here.

The Greatest Menace

It’s the latest podcast tearing up an absolute storm and spoiler alert, it’s not the lighthearted kind. Revealing a pretty gruesome part of  LGBTQI+ history in Australia, The Greatest Menace investigates the story behind NSW’s Cooma Prison, also known as the world’s only “gay prison”. The podcast is led by journo Patrick Abboud who reveals that this prison specifically incarcerated gay men, a covert government operation to eradicate ‘the greatest menace to society’—homosexuality. The podcast is explosive and has kind of been heralded as “queer true crime” as it takes you from underground nightclubs and hidden sex haunts to remote parts of New Zealand and England. This one is an Audible Original, listen to it here.

The Trojan Horse Affair 

From Serial Productions and The New York Times comes The Trojan Horse Affair—a whodunnit divided into eight epic episodes. If you know anything about the podcast world you’ll know that when the team behind cult podcasts like Serial and S-Town throw down a new investigative journey, it’s bound to be the holy grail of the audio world. 

In 2013, a letter appeared on a city councillor’s desk in Birmingham, England, laying out an elaborate plot by Islamic extremists to infiltrate the city’s schools. The plot has a code name: Operation Trojan Horse. The story soon explodes in the news and kicks off a national panic. By the time it all dies down, the government has launched multiple investigations, beefed up the country’s counterterrorism policy, revamped schools and banned people from education for the rest of their lives. Huge. However, the whole thing seemed off—because through all the official inquiries and heated speeches in parliament, no one has ever bothered to answer a basic question: who wrote the letter? And why? Listen to it here.

How To Save A Planet

Should you have already watched Netflix’s Don’t Look Up, this podcast rec should really come as no surprise. How To Save A Planet is the non-overwhelming podcast about climate change filled with certified climate nerds, inspiring stories and environmental smarts. The result? You’re not going to feel completely swamped with information overload, rather excited by the prospects of weird energy alternatives and completely across how the Yurok Tribe is reversing centuries of ecological damage to their land. Listen to it here.

Up And Vanished: Season Three

When it comes to true crime podcasts you’re often left hanging at the end of the series, with no resolution. That’s not the case with Up And Vanished and its host Payne Lindsey who’s first season helped to solve the 12-year-old cold case of Tara Grinstead. In season three, Lindsey digs deep into the disappearance of Ashley Loring HeavyRunner, a 20-year-old indigenous woman who went missing from the Blackfeet Nation Indian Reservation in 2017. Lindsey and his team interview her family and people of interest in the case in the hopes of finding out what happened to HeavyRunner. Listen to it here.

Tanya Henessy Mediocre

Our favourite funny gal Tanya Hennessy is back with her newest podcast series Mediocre (which is a word we would never associate with that queen). Teaming up with her equally hilarious mate Adam Cubito, the duo will have you laughing so hard you’ll feel like you’ve just done some crunches at the gym. Each week they’ll drop a new ep, where they’ll talk about everything from philosophical questions and existential crises to LOLs about IBS. Listen to it here. 

Over My Dead Body 

Podcast legends, Wondery (Dr. Death and Dirty John), are back with the latest installment of their anthology series Over My Dead Body which chronicles people who are pushed beyond their limits and do unspeakable things. In Fox Lake, the series will follow the 2015 murder of a small town cop who was gunned down in a swamp. He quickly became a martyr in the national media, until an investigator uncovered the officer's bizarre and dark past. When the truth comes out, the townspeople must reconcile betrayal, corruption and the secrets of an American hero. Listen to it here. 

Bondi Badlands

This new podcast series from The Age and Sydney Morning Herald explore a series of murders and mysterious disappearances of gay men that happened on the southern headland at Sydney's Bondi Beach in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hosted by Good Weekend deputy editor Greg Callaghan and based on his acclaimed 2007 book of the same name, this five part series is one for all the true crime lovers out there. Listen to it here.

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Fallen Angel

This new documentary podcast is all about lingerie brand Victoria's Secret...and its many, many secrets. The series investigates the origin story of one of the world’s most iconic brands and its effect on American culture, all told by women who witnessed what really happened behind the curtain. Fallen Angel goes back to the beginning of the lingerie megabrand to confront the many ways the brand influenced how a generation of women think about sex, desire, and beauty. Listen to it here. 

Need more podcast goodness? Scare yourself silly with these chilling true crime podcasts.

Image Credit: Spotify

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