TOP PODCASTS OF 2022:

While Bello Collective was a treasure-trove of podcast curation, critiques, and recommendation lists for five years, that collection came to an end. But you can find a number of other ‘best of’ lists, here are some of them.

Apple Lists of Top Shows, New Shows, Followed Shows, and more.  Apple’s first-ever ‘Show of the Year Award’ for outstanding quality, innovation, and impact went to Slow Burn Roe v Wade. 

Esquire: The 30 Best Podcasts of 2022.

iHeart Radio’s Best Wellness Podcasts (self-help, inspiration, mental health).

Lauren Passell’s favorite podcasts of 2022.

Livewire: The 30 Best Podcasts of 2022.

Mashable: The 20 Best Podcasts of 2022.

Men’s Journal: Best Podcasts of 2022

Nick Quah’s Best of 2022.

NPR’s best podcasts to listen to before 2023.

Oprah: 13 of the Best Podcasts of 2022.

Podtrac offer a list of Top 25 New Podcasts of 2022 based on average downloads per episode.

Signal Awards, the best podcasts from around the world in inaugural honors – Winners Gallery. 

Schedulicity: 29 Best Wellness Podcasts of 2022.

Slate: The Best Chat Podcasts of 2022.

The Economist Best Podcasts of 2022.

The New York Times Best of 2022 (there is a paywall).

Time Magazine 10 Best Podcasts of 2022.

Tink Media offers their lists for categories that includes news to investigation to fiction and more.

The New Yorker Best Podcasts of 2022.

Toast: 20 Best Food Podcasts of 2022.

Top critics and countries of 2022, Captain Ron.

Variety offers its Best New Podcast of 2022.

Vogue: The 30 Best Podcasts of 2022.

Vulture: Most Anticipated New Podcasts of 2023

Vulture 1.5 x Speed Newsletter top podcasts survey by Nick Quak picked by podcasters.

Black History Month Podcasts

The Soul of Music, 7-part series drops every Tuesday through Feb. 28, 2023 by National Geographic in celebration of Black History month.

Black, History-Making Podcasts and Podcasters, EarBuds Podcast List.

iHeart Radio Curated Collection.

Honoring Martin Luther King Day – six podcasts to listen to (NPR)

How-To Videos/Audio:

Best Podcasting Setups (video 7:59 from Riversidefm)

How to upload a podcast to any directory (video 22:28 from The Podcast Host)

Microphone Polar Patterns (video 16:26 from The Podcast Host)

Podcasting 2022 Year in Review (video 14:00 from Buzzsprout)

How to do a podcast (podcast audio 32:17 from Latina to Latina EP Juleyk Lantigua-Williams).

Informational video series on topics from recording to marketing from The Podcast Host (more selected videos below).

The Podcast Host has short videos on a variety of topics from tech to names to interviewing; Of note are How to create attention-getting podcast artwork (video 23:24) and How to name your podcast episodes for SEO & grab eyeballs (10:20 video).

Three tips for training your voice (video 9:12 from NPR).

Podcast Promotion (video 44:48 from The Podcast Host)

Everything you need to know about music in your podcast (audio 8:00 from NPR)

Squadcast YouTube Channel has short videos on a variety of topics; as well as longer webinars on topics such as Show Notes: The simple template to match your podcast findable (59:00 from SquadCast)

Sound School Podcast (Rob Rosenthial/PRX/Transom.org) Podcast about the back story to audio storytelling.

Sound Judgment Podcast (Elaine Appleton Grant) Podcast about how hosts can bring magic to storytelling.

Making your podcast YouTube-worthy, from Podcast Bestie.

Understanding echo in remote recording and how to avoid it (7:05 video from Squadcast); See other teaching videos on Squadcast YouTube Channel.

Finding Podcasts

Podcast Guide is a community podcast directory that is episode-first so you can find new podcasts based on content, including ratings and comments.

Podcast Competitions for Students

NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge for middle and high schoolers; signup for newsletter; 2022 winner.

The College Podcast Challenge runs from September-December, 2023; the 2022 winner and honorable mentions for 2022.

Diversity, Ethnicity & Race in Podcasting new podcast network

Urban One launched a podcast network for BIPOC Audiences.

An Interview with Maria Hinojomas, a Latina powerhouse in the audio journalism world, Bello Collective.

BIPOC Podcast Creators is a paid directory for freelancers and small businesses who provide services of Black, Indigenous, and POC who provide services in audio and podcasting “all of whom have been vetted by the BIPOC Podcast Creators Team.”

Curated list of 300+ Asian American Podcasts for AAPI Heritage Month, Podnews.

Molly of Denali, an action-packed adventure for kids rooted in native storytelling.

More Banana, A Podcast Network with Women-Led Production.

Podcast Academy and BIPOC Podcast Creators 2023 Spring Mentorship Program (Jan. 20. 2023 deadline).

POC in Audio Directory, is a database of people of color who work in audio worldwide, to help employers and facilitate advice, and mentorships.

Podluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective features the Asian American community.

Sound Up is Spotify’s program operating in 12 countries to help aspiring podcasters in underrepresented communities get their feet and mics in the door.

Spotify’s Elevate for Podcasters program empowers professional podcasters with disabilities, providing the funding, mentorship, equipment, and accommodations they need to level up their careers.

Spotify’s The Creator Equity Fund showcases creators who have been historically underrepresented in the audio industry.

Spotify’s RADAR for Podcasters is a podcast-creator version of the program designed to spotlight emerging voices worldwide.

The Black Podcasters Association is for creatives and professionals redefining the podcast landscape.

The Africa Podcast Fund, is Spotify’s first-of-its-kind initiative to support burgeoning podcasters through financial grants, workshops, and networking opportunities.

There Were Very Diverse Voices At Podcast Movement by Podcast Business Journal.

Truth Be Told is an advice show made by and for people of color.

The PRX Journalism Podcast Accelerator program provides mentorship, enduring support, and podcast training to journalists in newsrooms and public radio stations in the United States.

WOC (Women of Color Podcasters) is a community to connect podcasters, audio creators, and professionals to share resources.

Articles of Interest

Advertising & Promotion:

5 Free Marking Tools from Resonate Recordings.

6 Takeaways from Podcast Movement from Medium.

7 Tips for Effective Blog/Podcast Cards, The Audacity to Podcast.

8 Easy Ways To Promote Your Show by Podcast Business Insider.

16 Ways to Promote Your Podcast, Pod Reacher.

Podcast Buying Guide by Cabana with advice for brands wanting to buy advertising on podcasts.

Advice on Talking to the Press About your Podcast from Podcast Movement.

Apple’s tools to help track podcast marketing, Pacific Content.

Creating a podcast press kit, Zengineering.

Epic Podcast Repurposing by Medium on ways to market your podcast.

How to Build A Successful Podcast, Medium.

How to Find (& Keep) Podcast Sponsors from Podcast Host.

How to Get the Most Out of your Podcast Ad from Edgy Labs.

How to Get Your Podcast on iTunes/Apple Podcasts from Podcast Host.

How to Make Money with a Podcast from Podcast Host.

How to Monetize a Podcast by BJ Keeton.

How to Promote a Podcast from The Burst’s Podcasting A-Z series.

Live podcast events with ticket sales have increased 2000% in six years, Axios.

More People Are Listening to Podcasts, but How They Listen is Changing,  Amplifi Media

Nielsen Launches Podcast Listener Buying Power Service, providing podcasters and brands with listeners.

Pandora for Podcasters, a way to have Pandora consider your show as a podcast option.

Patreon for Podcasters: Best Practices, The Podcast Host.

Podcast Advertising, Midroll.

Podcast first, writing forever: original articles and SEO matter for podcast audience growth, Radio Public.

Podcast Marketing: 50 podcasters share the tactics they used to grow their shows, Buzzsprout.

SEO for Podcast Audience Growth, Medium.

Seven Solutions for the Podcasting Brand Challenge from Coleman Insights Media Research.

Ten Agency Pros Share Their Best Podcast Advertising Tips, Forbes.

The Social Podcast Success Metrics by Jonathan Crowel.

Tips on promotion and building your audience from Lower Street.

Why Advertisers Are Starting to Open Their Wallet for Podcasters, Medium.

Business-related podcasts & unusual producing partners:

American Airlines Using Podcasts to Reach Staff and the Public, Ragan.com.

Demystifying Data from Podco Media Networks is a podcast for marketers in the “experimental and advertising space who want to get more engaged with data.

Inside Charles Schwab’s “Audio Funnel” by Dan Miesner.

Inside Trader Joe’s is a branded podcast that builds a commercial brand but also does human interest storytelling.

JAG in Detroit is a company that creates, produces, edits and syndicates podcasts for businesses and nonprofits.

Masters in Business looks at people and ideas that shape markets, investing and business.

The Case for Internal Podcasts from Pacific Content makes a case for doing podcasts within companies.

The NAB Podcast from the National Association of Broadcasters.

The Journal, a daily podcast “about money, business, and power” from The Wall Street Journal and Gimlet audio.

The Journey, a podcast from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, returns for a new season; the first season achieved a Red Dot Award, 3 x Lovies Awards and was a Webby nominee; also available on KLM aircraft. (Airborne/Simplecast).

The Slack Variety Pack, a podcast about work culture and team innovation, a branded podcast with human interest.

My First Job is a podcast hosted by Jon Chang who interviews “a prominent business figure who describes their first job.”

Private Podcast, a service by Podbean providing audio and video content for membership organizations, employee communications, training.

Spectacular Failures is a 10-episode season of the most spectacular business failures of all time.

Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential focuses on growing a nonprofit’s reach.

What’s Behind Netflix’s Podcast Ambitions? Vulture.

Wildfire, a podcast from camping equipment company REI Co-op. The six-part investigative series probes a controversial wildfire in Oregon that trapped more than 150 hikers and burned more than 50,000 acres; and a broader look at forest fires. (Simplecast).

Comedy & Entertainment:

Comedians vs. The News is a podcast hosted by two New York comedians and aired on BBC World Service Radio.

Comedy Podcast Network Forever Dog Launches 11 New Shows, Variety.

How Podcasts Give Classic TV Shows New Life, TheWrap.

Director’s Commentaries for streamed films and TV shows, The Verge.

Sources Say: A Page Six Podcast, with insider news from entertainment, culture, the media, fashion, real estate, and politics, from The New York Post launches fall 2019.

The History of Standup looks at some of standup’s most interesting moments, places and people.

The Jump with Shirley Mason, “(the lead singer of Garbage), interviewing musicians about “the moments in an artist’s career where they decide to take a leap into something new.”

The Elevate Music Podcast, talks about the well-being and health that musicians can face, from Lucy Heyman.

The MovieFilm Podcast discusses blockbusters hitting the silver screen.

The Screenster Podcast takes an industry-insider peek into film and television, Libysn.

Make It Up As We Go is a podcast with “an inside look at songwriters in Nashville, highlighting how country songs are created,” coming fall 2019.

9XM SoundcastE interviews Bollywood’s biggest music stars, IVM Podcasts, Libsyn.

Welcome to Patchwork, a nominee for Best Comedy at the Australian Podcast Awards.

Education:

Forbes 2023 Top College Admission Resources, offers podcasts about college.

8 Student-Made Podcasts That Made Us Smile by NPR; Student Podcast Challenge for grades 5-12.

10 Must-Listen Podcasts for Tweens and Teens by Common Sense Education.

18 Best Podcasts for Kids in Elementary, Middle and High School by WeAreTeachers.com

50 Of The Best Podcasts for High School Students by TeachThought Staff.

A Universe of Podcasts: A Summer Listening Guide for Elementary, Middle and High School Students by School Library Journal.

Best College & High School Podcasts by PlayerFM.

CBC Podcasts in Class: New Resources for Teachers with free teaching materials.

Educate Podcast from APM Reports.

Great Podcast Episodes for Students and Teachers by Common Sense Education.

How KPBS Met the Challenge of Taking On a Long Form Podcast from Current.

Listen and Learn The 40 Best Education Podcasts of 2019, College Info Geek.

Survival Guide for Parents Introducing Podcasts into Home Schooling from Bello Collective.

Teachers Are Turning to Podcasts as an Instructional Tool by Education Week.

Teens Discover Journalism Through Podcasting, NPR.

Employment:

The Bello Collective, a newsletter with job postings, also recommends podcasts.

Get Paid What You Deserve, Ladies Get Paid, a resource of tools, resources and community to help women negotiate equal pay and power.

Hotpod News has classifieds .

How Much Are Audio Producers Making? Medium, created by Alex Laughlin.

Our Top Negotiation Resources, Bossed Up.

POC in Audio Directory is a database of people of color who work in audio worldwide designed to help employers and facilitate advice, mentorships.

Podjobs.net, jobs in podcasting from Podnews.

The Intern Weekly has paid internships in media and resources for getting started.

The Self Promotion Gap surveys women’s fears of self-promotion.

Want To Close The Pay Gap? Pay Transparency Will Help, The New York Times.

Fiction Podcasts:

PodTales, a festival of audio drama and fiction podcasting coming as a virtual festival later this year over three weekends.

18 Fiction Debuts in March 2020, from Bello Collective.

10 Best Fiction Podcasts You Should Totally Get Sucked Into, The Manual.

Fiction Podcast Debuts: May Roundup, Bello Collective.

How to Write a Fiction Podcast, Electric Lit.

How to Make a Fiction Podcast, The Podcast Host Academy.

Indie Fiction Podcasts You Should Be Listening To, The Bello Collective.

Sound Storytelling: The Art of Making a Fiction Podcast, A Sound Effect.

Script Writing for Narrative Podcasts, Learning Solutions.

The OnWriting Guide to Crafting Scripted Podcasts by the Writers Guild of America, East.

Tricks of the Trade: Writing for Audio Fiction offers tips from writers from the Austin Film Festival.

Why Characters and Storyline Aren’t Just For Fiction Podcasts, The Podcast Host.

Finance:

Personal Finance Podcast Network has six separate shows offering expert advice.  The shows offer motivation to trends.

Gaming: 

Rooster Teeth Podcast covers the latest trends of games.

What’s Good Games, in-depth conversations about games new and old with three female friends.

The Giant Bombast, a three-hour show covering the latest games, reviews, commentaries.

Game Scoop! covers the latest video games.

The Shaf, covers tips, stories and news in Minecraft.

Gender, Sexuality:

7 must-listen podcasts for Pride month, Spreaker blog.

8 Queer-Positive Podcasts That Will Infuse Your Commute With Some Inclusivity, Well+Good.

Encyclopedia Womannica brings “the often-overlooked contributions women have made throughout history to the fore.” Each episode runs for five minutes, and the series will publish for the next year on the Wonder Media Network.

Going Through It interviews admirable women around the pivotal moments in their lives.

Here For It is a commentary on LGBT health and wellness with sex specialist @TheeSupaman and culture blogger @RonaldMatters.

iHeart Media, Pride to Co-produce Slate of LGBTQ+ Podcasts, Variety.

Locked is an investigative series about the way prisons treat some transgender inmates from Boise State Public Radio and the Mountain West News Bureau.

LGBTQ+ scripted series called The Two Princes, Podnews.

Our Life in Transition is a podcast about life as an LGBT+ family; becoming parents and transitioning from a straight couple to one with a trans partner.

Pride Month Podcast Playlist, Bello Collective.

QP-The Queer Public Podcast, Wonder Media Network.

Top 20 LGBT Podcasts, Feedspot blog.

Health: 

Allergy Today, a podcast about “allergies, asthma and eczema and everything else you’re itching to know.”

When Life Gives You Parkinson’s is a podcast that discusses life with the disease.

History:

Hope Through History explores five defining moments when America’s leaders and citizens were forced to confront crises; with bestselling author Jon Meachem.

Sidedoor is a podcast series by the Smithsonian exploring the vaults with the help of biologists, artists, historians, archaeologists, zookeepers and astrophysicists.

This American President explores the lives and legacies of the men who have occupied the White House.

Income:

AIR is the Association of Independents in Radio is a network of audio industry professionals – podcasters, journalists, story editors, audio producers, documentarians, engineers, sound designers, and media entrepreneurs across 47 states and 30 countries. They publish a Code of Fair Practices for working with audio professionals as well as AIR Rate Guides for services.

International:

Japan: A Podcasting Deep Dive, by Guang Jin YEO, appearing in Podnews.

A Study To Get To Know Podcast Audiences In Spanish by Podcaster@s.

Accentricity from Scotland is about accents and language.

Asia Podcast Summit and Asia Podcast Awards Launch from Podnews.

Arab World Develops High Interest In Podcasting, Modern Ghana.

China’s Podcast King, South China Morning Post.

China Silences Podcast And Music Apps As Online Crackdown Widens, Techcrunch.com

El Washington Post, a Spanish-language podcast by The Washington Post that will explore the top stories shaping the world.

Foreign Language Podcasts — 22 “podcasts with power” in Spanish.

Global Story Network is a home for storytelling from across the world.

How Podcasts Break Barriers at the U.S./Mexico Border, Bello Collective.

Listín Diario, a newspaper from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, has launched two new podcasts.

Most popular podcasts in South Korea (in Korean).

New Zealand community access radio stations growing podcasts.

Singapore, Local Podcasts on the Rise, from the Straights Times.

Podcasting in France, Linda Fall.

Podcasts in Peru from Ludik

Sobre Podcasting, a new Spanish language show about podcasting from a “less U.S.-centric point of view” from Libsyn.

The Chinese “Podcast” Industry Isn’t Really Podcasting As Americans Know It, Nieman Lab.

The Infinite Dial Germany To Debut In 2019, Podnews.

The Real Agenda Network is a new political podcast network in the United Kingdom.

The Rise of Arabic Podcasts: “A digital revival of a long-term tradition,” The National.

YPod is a list of podcasts in the Welsh-language, from Podnews.

Investigative:

How To! with Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with a podcast billed as “investigative service journalism,” from Slate.

The Investigative Reporting Workshop (IRW) at American University has a curated list of investigative podcasts.

Locked is an investigative series about the way prisons treat some transgender inmates from Boise State Public Radio and the Mountain West News Bureau.

Legal resources:

Center For Media & Social Impact, American University.

Fair use, Stanford University.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Mental Health:

Now For Tomorrow with Deepak Chopra offers a short prompt for reflection and contemplation rooted around actions that you can take immediately after listening.

Religion:

Faithcasts is a podcast directory for Christian podcasts.

Hebdomada Papae quod sit a Papa de podcast is a news podcast in Latin from the pope.

The Thinking Atheist features a Christian turned atheist talking about beliefs and questions in life.

Preach is a podcast about the messiness of faith from public radio station KUER (NPR Utah).

Religion Podcasts, Player FM.

Reviewers: 

Elena Fernandez Collins is a podcast reviewer that specializes in “the indie podcast community and marginalized podcasters.”

Science and Technology:

Apollo 11 podcast series from CNN.

Radio Lab from WNYC Studios makes science accessible by weaving stories and science into sound and music-rich documentaries.

To the Moon and Beyond from The Conversation brings academic knowledge to an audience with an exploration of 50 years of space science.

Special Topics:

15 Podcasters To Be Inspired By, LimeLink.

Anonymous Podcasting Using A Pseudonym, Medium.

Apple makeover 100 changes to podcast categories, Podnews.

Apple’s new service to help with podcast marketing, Pacific Content.

One Word Suggestion is a three-minute podcast that uses one-word suggestions from listeners as inspiration for each episode.

Podcasts Are Providing A New Way Into Poetry, NPR article about how podcasts can help non-poetry readers understand it.

The scary reality of artificial intelligence, a company recreated podcaster Joe Rogan’s voice.

Writing for Audio, Not Articles, Medium.

Sports:

Entercom to launch RADIO.COM Sports Digital Network,from Podnews.

New Flagship College Football Podcast from ESPN.

NFL 100 Greatest, from SiriusXM, is a 20-episode series counting down the greatest NFL memories in five categories.

Panthers launch podcast network with a full lineup of shows, Carolina Panthers.

Technical:

Audacity Tutorial for Podcasters from Buzzsprout (all text, a video tutorial is in Chapter8 in this e-book.).

Advanced Media Institute, University of California-Berkeley. Offers basic free video tutorials on digital media subjects such as audio and video editing, data visualization and public records.

Audio Mixing, NPR Training.

Best Practices for using music in audio storytelling from NPR.

Best Remote Podcast Interview Tools and Tips by Candice Howze in WOC Podcasters.

Castbox Launches Livecast, a live streaming feature inside a dedicated podcasting app.

Enhanced Apple Podcast Categories from iTunes Connect and Resources and Help.

How I Edit Podcasts on the iPad Using Ferrite by Ryan Christoffel.

How to Find Podcast Sound Effects, The Podcast Host.

How to Remove Background Noise With Audacity Noise Reduction, The Podcast Host.

Journalist’s Toolbox, presented by the Society of Professional Journalists, is a resource of “MoJo” or mobile journalism tools. There are recommendations on audio for smartphones. However, be careful they’re not out-of-date.

Step-by-step guide in using a new podcasts app on Mac, iMore.

Tech & Tools is a column to share digital tools for journalists written by Digital Tools Reporter Ren LaForme of Poynter.org.

Transom.com is an online resource created by public media to share information on tools (recorders, mics, software); techniques (interviewing, fact-checking); and HowSound (podcasts about radio storytelling) from Rob Rosenthal.