The Best Podcasts Of 2023

29 December 2023, 09:00 | Updated: 23 January 2024, 12:28

Looking to find your next favourite podcast? Radio X has some top choices from the past year: comedy, true crime, news and more.

• Podcasting has grown even bigger in the past 12 months with hundreds more new titles added every month that cover diverse interests and lifestyles.
• So many, in fact that, it's often difficult to know where to start - or find your next favourite. From self-improvement to niche hobbies, to true crime and news updates there's something for everyone.
• Radio X takes a look at the best of this year's podcasts, from comedy and movies to true life stories that will amaze you.
• Each of the podcasts listed below are available on Global Player

How to listen to podcasts: a beginner's guide to podcasting

1. Shaun Keaveny's Daily Grind

   The Daily Grind is a comforting accompaniment to help you through the week, as Shaun Keaveny returns to the studio in this daily podcast. It's a show of contradictions, it's about anything and everything but it's definitely also a show about nothing. It's a bit like a daily radio show but it's a podcast. It’s disorientating, but it’s also reassuring!

   Listen now on Global Player: Shaun Keaveny's Daily Grind

   

2. Alien Kidnap Club

   Radio X's very own Johnny Vaughan tries to get to the bottom of the question of extra-terrestrial life by talking to people who claim they've had close encounters. Empathetic and fascinating, this will keep you going until they reveal what really happened at Roswell.

   Listen now on Global Player: Alien Kidnap Club

   

3. Reel Talk with Honey & Jonathan Ross

   The father and daughter duo dive into everything from new cinema releases to binge-worthy TV series and movies. Honey, a writer and producer, and Jonathan, one of the biggest broadcasters in British history, come together to share their love of the big screen, peek behind the scenes and unpick everything in between.

   Listen now on Global Player: Reel Talk with Honey & Jonathan Ross

   

4. McCartney: A Life in Lyrics

   Sit in on conversations between Paul McCartney and poet Paul Muldoon dissecting the people, experiences, and art that inspired McCartney’s songwriting.

   Listen now on Global Player: McCartney: A Life in Lyrics

   

5. The News Agents

   Three of the UK's top journalists - Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall – analyse the news agenda with a daily look at the news. It'll tell you not just what's happening, but more importantly why.

   Listen now on Global Player: The News Agents

   

6. Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster

   Now past its 200th episode, this favourite continues to delight, with Radio X presenter Ed Gamble and comedian James Acaster inviting guests to choose their favourite starter, main course, side dish, dessert and drink. Recent episodes include Carol Vorderman, Blur's Graham Coxon, Tim Minchin, Arlo Parks and more.

   Listen now on Global Player: Off Menu

   

7. Filthy Ritual

   Hannah Maguire and Suruthi Bala dig into the story of one of the most prolific con women in British history in this compelling series from the makers of the hit true crime podcast Redhanded. They speak to the reporters who tracked down the perpetrator and the victims who came together in search of justice.

   Listen now on Global Player: Filthy Ritual

   

8. We Can Be Weirdos

   Professional fact-hunter Dan Schreiber speaks to some of the most fascinating people on Earth and subjects them to "The Batsh*t Survey". Recent episodes feature the editor-in-chief of the Guinness Book Of World Records, a dinosaur detective and historian Dan Snow talks weird coincidences.

   Listen now on Global Player: We Can Be Weirdos

   

9. Brydon &

   The comedian and actor talks to other comedians and actors about their craft and careers, with plenty of anecdotes. Recent guests include Inside No 9's Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, Dara Ó Briain, Julia Davis, Harry Hill, Steve Coogan and many more.

   Listen now on Global Player: Brydon &

   

10. How Did This Get Made?

    Actors and movie buffs Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzouka look at some of the worst films in cinema history. Under the microscope in recent weeks have been such cinematic masterpieces as The Meg, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret Of The Ooze, Bratz, Jaws 3-D and everyone's favourite Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.

    Listen now on Global Player: How Did This Get Made?

    

11. The Wittering Whitehalls

    Jack Whitehall's parents Michael & Hilary offer their thoughts on everything from workouts to weddings, seaside towns to social media and everything in between, offering complete access to their combined life experiences and the precious wisdom that they’ve gathered over the years. Plus, rants raves and harsh truths.

    Listen now on Global Player: The Wittering Whitehalls

    

12. Three Bean Salad

    Comedians Mike Wozniak, Henry Paker and Benjamin Partridge tackle a different theme each week, suggested by the listening audience.Recent topics include beer, pencils, time travel, whales and urban legends - they'll discuss anything.

    Listen now on Global Player: Three Bean Salad

    

13. Into The Dirt

    Rob Moore had a successful career in television until one day he ran out of ideas. One day he was offered a job in the shadowy world of corporate intelligence - he became a spy. Tasked with working undercover to extract information from an environmental campaign group, Moore eventually decided to turn on his employers and support the group he was meant to be infiltrating. What happened when he was outed?

    Listen now on Global Player: Into The Dirt

    

14. The Paul Chowdhry Pudcast

    Comedian Paul Chowdhry interviews guests with no holding back. Expect anyone and everyone from musicians to broadcasters and more. Recent guests include star chef Nadiya Hussain, comedians Eddie Izzard and Richard Herring and Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed.

    Listen now on Global Player: The Paul Chowdhry Pudcast

    

15. Restless Natives

    Broadcaster Gordon Smart & Line Of Duty actor Martin Compston recount some of their most ridiculous scrapes and adventures from the past while they plan even more ambitious, unreachable schemes for the future.

    Listen now on Global Player: Restless Natives

    

16. That Peter Crouch Podcast

    Join Crouchy, Chris Stark and big name guests for insights into life as a professional footballer.

    Listen now on Global Player: That Peter Crouch Podcast

    

17. What Would You Do with Adam Rowe

    Adam Rowe is lifting the lid on the maddest and most unbelievable stories ever to have happened to a ‘friend of a friend’. Join him and two celebrity guests each week as he tells a REAL LIFE juicy gossip story and asks them… What Would You Do?

    Listen now on Global Player: What Would You Do with Adam Rowe