This year was a whirlwind from start to finish, and what a year it was for podcasts. In 2025, podcasters explored everything from murder cases, fashion, and women's history, to the chemistry of bread and the impacts of burgeoning technology. Through interviews, excellent narration, and a determination to learn more, podcast hosts elucidated the political, the cultural, the scientific, and the silly to stirring effect. These 15 standout podcasts of 2025 are sure to give you hours and hours of informative, delightful listening.
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In a six-episode series, businesswoman and author Nova Reid tells the stories of six extraordinary women who have been in some way instrumental to the complicated history between Great Britain and the Caribbean. One episode focuses on Barbara Blake Hannah, the first Black female reporter on TV in the UK, while another covers Queen Nanny, a Jamaican resistance leader. Episode 6, which focuses on the too-often-undocumented stories of rebellious enslaved women, was particularly compelling.
Adam Friedland's show is part parody of talk shows and part classical interview podcast. While the approach is satirical, Friedland chases genuine insights. The show isn't new, but in 2025 it had quite a few breakthrough interviews with fascinating personalities, from actor Sarah Jessica Parker and rapper Logic to sociopolitical figures like activist David Hogg and influencer Harry Sisson.
The Peppa Pig podcast brings plenty of oinks and giggles! This lifesaver for parents is perfect for car rides and keeping kids off screens while they're entertained by their favourite characters from the popular show. Peppa Pig dives into everything from ant attacks to really long road trips to what exactly it is that grown-ups do all day. Each episode includes interactive elements to keep everyone entertained.
Though it launched late last year, by 2025 it seemed like everyone was listening to Fashion Neurosis. Each week, Bella Freud—renowned fashion designer, great-granddaughter of Sigmund, and daughter of Lucien—invites a guest to “lie on the couch” and explore the connection between fashion and identity. Authors Hanif Kureishi, Ocean Vuong, and Karl Ove Knausgaard all joined the show this year, as did pop superstar Rosalía, fashion icons Alexa Chung and Kate Moss, and so many more. Through sensitive, intuitive questions about clothes, memory, and culture, Freud gets her guests to open up in gorgeously layered, thoughtful conversations that conjure style and substance in equal measure.
This delightful pair of comedians have a lot of questions, some of them nonsensical, others banal, but they're setting off to figure them out for each other. How the heck does bread actually work? Is there any particular (learnable) science to parallel parking? What is kink anyway? The famous friends bring the personality and laughs they're known for into this charming podcast that ends up touching on everything from pets to Great British Bake-Off wrap parties, genially knocking wisecracks back-and-forth in their trademark style.
Suave is not new—its first season told the story of David "Suave" Gonzalez, a man who was put in prison at the age of 17 and was due to receive a second chance at freedom. But season 2, out in 2025, is revolutionary in its own way. Host Maria Hinojosa follows Suave now that he's out and discovers that the US prison system doesn't stop at the prison walls, but extends into the world, keeping him essentially jailed even after he's been ostensibly freed.
Travel the world in search of the twistiest true crime stories with the Crime Scenes podcast. Narrator Emilia Fox sets the scene for chilling tales of murder set across a variety of time periods and locations, from a beautiful Welsh island to an Australian forest to a Florida town built by Disney, all with dark secrets to hide.
British-Sri Lankan comic and bestselling Straight Outta Crawley author Romesh Ranganathan launched his star-powered podcast this year, showcasing his signature humour and heart with authentic insights as he interviews some of our favourite celebrities. Don't miss the Thursday episodes, when Ranganathan’s mum Shanthi joins the show to share stories and weigh in with her no-nonsense advice.
William Dalrymple and Anita Anand have been exploring the power struggles of various empires in history for a while now. But their most recent season is particularly connected to current events, focusing on the British Empire's role in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Informative, engaging, balanced, and well-researched, this series will help listeners add more context to the headlines.
A scandalous affair with a king who would have a total of six wives. A concubine who became emperor of China. An Indigenous woman who agreed to translate for the Spanish colonists and was dragged through history for it. Jameela Jamil and Dr. Kate Lister dig into the controversial lives and often erased histories of six rebellious, maligned, or silenced women.
If all that true crime is disrupting your sleep, Nocturne might be your perfect refuge. Recently given a shout-out from British Vogue, this podcast is designed to be informative while soothing you to sleep. Diving into insomnia, the moon, and more, the show describes itself as "essay radio" enlightening the nighttime world. It's gone through a few forms, and its most recent, magical season is available now.
Science and comedy meet on this new podcast about technological advances that might change our lives for the better—or much worse. The future is unclear. Richard Ayoade and Warwick Davis look into the digital crystal ball as expert guests explain everything from self-driving cars to VR vacations. With sci-fi vibes, big laughs, and lots of fun facts, Future Tense is an entertaining look at where technology will take us next.
Falling in love can be messy. When you fall in love with an AI companion, that mess is on a whole other level. Suruthi Bala and Hannah Maguire, hosts of the true crime podcast RedHanded, explore the fast-growing AI companion industry through the story of Travis, a married man who thought he found his digital true love in Lily Rose. When Lily Rose's responses to Travis changed abruptly, it was his first hint at the emotional manipulation being carried out by the mysterious Russian developer who created her.
Marking 50 years since the death of perhaps the greatest comic writer to ever live, this delightful podcast is as smile-inducing as the larking-about of Bertie and Jeeves. Host Alexander Armstrong, president of the PG Wodehouse Society UK, welcomes celebrity guests including Stephen Fry, Lynne Truss, and Ben Elton to meditate on all things Wodehouse, followed by life-affirming readings by the man himself—all in 15 minutes or less!
In the fourth series of this popular podcast, the ever-compelling Alan Partridge shares his latest thoughts, anecdotes, and tales in a confessional style that makes listeners laugh while also managing to bring up bigger issues of the day. The episodes are about 20 minutes long and breezy, with a delightfully intriguing monologue that, this time around, follows his dramatic, Odyssey-like quest to get a traffic violation lifted from his record.
