Top Documentary Podcasts
1
Documentary
Investigative reporter Matt Katz has been searching for his biological father since he was a little kid. But it wasn't until his 40s that he realized he was on the wrong journey altogether. The true story is wrapped in confusion and secrecy, and in the end it upended the truth about who he is – raising questions about identity, fatherhood, medical ethics and what family really means. But will finding answers make him whole, or just make things even more complicated?
Inconceivable Truth is an 8-episode series with new episodes publishing Thursday mornings. Read More
Investigative reporter Matt Katz has been searching for his biological father si Read More
2
Documentary
Every scandal begins with a lie. But the truth will come out. And then comes the fallout and the outrage.
Scandals have shaped America since its founding. From business and politics to sports and society, we look on aghast as corruption, deceit and ambition bring down heroes and celebrities, politicians and moguls. And when the dust finally settles, we’re left to wonder: how did this happen? Where did they trip up, and who is to blame? From the creators of American History Tellers, Business Wars and Tides of History comes American Scandal, where we take you deep into the heart of America’s dark side to look at what drives someone to break the rules and what happens when they’re caught. Hosted by Lindsay Graham.
Follow American Scandal on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Read More
Every scandal begins with a lie. But the truth will come out. And then comes the Read More
3
Documentary
Radiolab is on a curiosity bender. We ask deep questions and use investigative journalism to get the answers. A given episode might whirl you through science, legal history, and into the home of someone halfway across the world. The show is known for innovative sound design, smashing information into music. It is hosted by Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser. Read More
Radiolab is on a curiosity bender. We ask deep questions and use investigative j Read More
4
Documentary
The past is never past. Every headline has a history. Join us every week as we go back in time to understand the present. These are stories you can feel and sounds you can see from the moments that shaped our world.Subscribe to Throughline+. You'll be supporting the history-reframing, perspective-shifting, time-warping stories you can't get enough of - and you'll unlock access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/throughline Read More
The past is never past. Every headline has a history. Join us every week as we g Read More
5
Documentary
Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior.
Join the Freakonomics Radio Plus membership program for weekly member-only episodes of Freakonomics Radio. You’ll also get every show in our network without ads. To sign up, visit our show page on Apple Podcasts or go to freakonomics.com/plus. Read More
Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Read More
6
Documentary
Criminal is the first of its kind. A show about people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. Hosted by Phoebe Judge. Named a Best Podcast of 2023 by the New York Times. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Read More
Criminal is the first of its kind. A show about people who’ve done wrong Read More
7
Documentary
Something Was Wrong is an award-winning docuseries about the discovery, trauma, and recovery from crime, shocking life events and abusive relationships. Read More
Something Was Wrongis an award-winning docuseries about the discovery, trauma, Read More
8
Documentary
The Why Files covers mysteries, myths and legends. We tell stories and seek the truth in a fun and lighthearted way. Our content is heavily researched; we don't release an episode unless we're sure we can bring something new to a topic. Read More
The Why Files covers mysteries, myths and legends. We tell stories and seek the Read More
9
Documentary
Sword and Scale is a true crime podcast covering the dark underworld of crime and the criminal justice system’s response to it. The first episode launched January 1st, 2014 and feature stories of murder, abduction, rape, and even more bizarre forms of crime. It’s the purest form of true-crime where the raw uncensored audio tells the story. Everything from 911 calls to court testimony, interviews with victims and sometimes with perpetrators give listeners a 360 degree look at the seedy underbelly of human nature and so-called civilized society. Told from an everyman's point of view, Sword and Scale goes beyond the news clips and the sensationalist headlines to hold up a mirror to the audience and ask, "Is it us versus them? Or are we just like 'them' too?" Sword and scale proves that the worst monsters are real. Read More
Sword and Scale is a true crime podcast covering the dark underworld of crime an Read More
10
Documentary
A lovingly crafted podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.
A lovingly crafted podcast that reveals the stories behind the world’s mos Read More
11
Documentary
In a country obsessed with gossip, the great and the good fear one thing more than any other - scandal.
British scandals change the course of history. They bring down governments, overthrow the rich and cause the mighty to fall. Some are about sex, others about money. In the end, they’re all about power.
But often at the heart of a scandal, there are ordinary human stories. Stories of those caught up in the swirl of outrage.
Who was really to blame for what happened? Why did they do it? And when all is said and done, did anything really change?
From the creators of Business Wars, American Scandal and Ghost Story, comes British Scandal. Each week, hosts Alice Levine and Matt Forde delve into the murkier side of the British elite, from Phone Hacking to Profumo to the short-lived premiership of Liz Truss. Because sometimes the truth doesn’t set everyone free…
New episodes come out every Wednesday for free, or 1-week early and ad-free for Wondery+ subscribers or on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription. Read More
In a country obsessed with gossip, the great and the good fear one thing more th Read More
12
Documentary
Give up your climate guilt. Sharpen your curiosity. Join Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson as they tell stories about the powerful forces behind climate change — and the tools we have to fix it. This show makes sense of big climate questions and critical topics. Our episodes are filled with stories of bold climate leadership, groundbreaking campaigns, and people doing their best to be part of the solution.
A Matter of Degrees is produced in partnership with FRQNCY Media, The 2035 Initiative at UC Santa Barbara, and The All We Can Save Project. Read More
Give up your climate guilt. Sharpen your curiosity. Join Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Read More
13
Documentary
Millions of kids can't read well. Scientists have known for decades how children learn to read but many schools are ignoring the research. They buy teacher training and books that are rooted in a disproven idea. Emily Hanford investigates four authors and a publishing company that have made millions selling this idea. Read More
Millions of kids can’t read well. Scientists have known for decades how ch Read More
14
Documentary
Imagine a sprawling house in which every room, doorway, and hall passage was designed by a different architect. Doorways don't connect. Staircases lead to nowhere. Rooms are cut off from each other. That's how reporter Will James describes our complicated system for treating people with severe mental illness – a system that, almost by design, loses patients with psychosis to an endless loop between the streets, jail, clinics, courts and a shrinking number of hospital beds.Lost Patients is a deeply-reported, six-part docuseries examining the difficulties of treating serious mental illness through the lens of one city's past, present and future. With real-life testimonials from patients, families, and professionals on the front lines, Lost Patients provides a real, solutions-oriented look at how we got stuck here...and what we might do to break free.Lost Patients is a joint production of KUOW and The Seattle Times. It is distributed by the NPR Network. Read More
Imagine a sprawling house in which every room, doorway, and hall passage was des Read More
15
Documentary
Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, and Butch and Sundance. Lakota, Comanche and Apache. Wars, gunfights and robberies. This show covers the toughest lawmen, the wildest outlaws, and the deadliest towns — all the people and events that shaped the American West. Read More
Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, and Butch and Sundance. Lakota, Comanche and Apache. Wa Read More
16
Documentary
Everywhere around us are echoes of the past. Those echoes define the boundaries of states and countries, how we pray and how we fight. They determine what money we spend and how we earn it at work, what language we speak and how we raise our children. From Wondery, host Patrick Wyman, PhD (“Fall Of Rome”) helps us understand our world and how it got to be the way it is.
New episodes come out Thursdays for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ or on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription. Read More
Everywhere around us are echoes of the past. Those echoes define the boundaries Read More
17
Documentary
*** Named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by The New Yorker, Time, The Atlantic, Apple, Vogue, the CBC, and Lifehacker. ***
Classy is a collection of surprising stories, juicy and uncomfortable interviews, and engaging segments that explore the ways that class infiltrates our day-to-day lives. In the host seat is Jonathan Menjivar – a working-class Latino kid who started working in media and became someone who likes oysters, wears cashmere socks, and is very conflicted about all of it. Read More
*** Named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by The New Yorker, Time, The Atlantic Read More
18
Documentary
When correctional officer Valentino Rodriguez first stepped behind prison walls, he wasn't just starting a job, he was joining a family. What he didn’t know was that he was now bound by an unwritten code that would ultimately test his loyalty to his oath and his fellow officers. Five years later, Valentino's sudden death would raise questions from the FBI, his family and his mentor in the elite investigative unit where they both worked. This season, join us as we follow in Valentino’s footsteps to uncover the secrets hidden inside the most dangerous prison in California: New Folsom.
If you have tips or feedback about this series please reach out to us at onourwatch@kqed.org. Read More
When correctional officer Valentino Rodriguez first stepped behind prison walls, Read More
19
Documentary
Kathleen Goldhar was so happy her friend Arya had finally found someone after a bad divorce. Mordechai Horowitz seemed perfect. Smart. Rich. Creative. But like so many things that seem to be perfect - it was too good to be true.
Credits:
Jessica Grimshaw- For USG Audio
Josh Bloch- For USG Audio
Jennifer Sears- For USG Audio
Kathleen Goldhar- Host, Executive Producer, Producer
Stuart Coxe- Executive Producer
Michelle Shephard- Producer
Alexis Green- Associate Producer
Abhi Rahaja- Associate Producer
Dania Ali - Associate Producers
Mitchell Stuart- Editor & Sound Design
queitype - Theme song composition Read More
Kathleen Goldhar was so happy her friend Arya had finally found someone after a Read More
20
Documentary
In the Dark, hosted by Madeleine Baran, is an award-winning investigative-journalism podcast that started in 2016. Its first season looked at the mysterious abduction of Jacob Wetterling in rural Minnesota and the lack of accountability that sheriffs face when they fail to solve cases. Season 2 examined the case of Curtis Flowers, who was tried six times for the same crime. In 2020, In the Dark released a special report on the coronavirus pandemic in the Mississippi Delta. In 2023, In the Dark joined The New Yorker and Condé Nast. “The Runaway Princesses,” In the Dark’s first collaboration with a New Yorker staff writer, is a four-part series that asks why the women in Dubai’s royal family keep trying to run away. Season 3 of In the Dark is currently in production.In the Dark is a two-time Peabody Award winner and, in 2019, became the first podcast to win a George Polk Award, one of the top honors in investigative journalism. The program has also received an Edward R. Murrow Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. Read More
In the Dark, hosted by Madeleine Baran, is an award-winning investigative-journa Read More
21
Documentary
Ear Hustle is prison slang for eavesdropping, and that’s what listening to the show feels like: a raw, often funny, and always surprising peek into the reality of life inside prison.
Hosts Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods co-created the show that launched in 2017 while Earlonne was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, where Nigel was a volunteer teaching photography. Since Earlonne’s release in 2018, the show has expanded to include stories from prisons across the state, including the California Institution for Women, as well as stories about getting out of prison and starting over, post-incarceration.
From finding romance, to grappling with a life sentence, to trying to parent via 15-minute phone calls, Ear Hustle stories deliver what This American Life host Ira Glass calls a “"very real” and “untragic” take on prison life.
Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent listener-supported podcasts. Discover audio with vision at radiotopia.fm and learn more about Ear Hustle at earhustlesq.com. Read More
Ear Hustle is prison slang for eavesdropping, and that’s what listening to the Read More
22
Documentary
This is a show about life and how money messes with it. Each week, Marketplace’s Reema Khrais digs in with stories about the unanticipated ways money affects relationships, shapes identities and often defines what it means to be an adult. How much money do you lend a friend? Who can afford to vote? Can you get your life back after being wrongfully convicted? Read More
This is a show about life and how money messes with it. Each week, Marketplace Read More
23
Documentary
She Has A Name blends elements of investigative journalism and memoir to tell the story of Anita, a sister that host Tonya Mosley learned about more than a decade after she went missing. Set against the backdrop of the drug epidemic in 1980s Detroit, She Has A Name is a story of loss and redemption, mending broken family ties, and facing the trauma experienced by countless individuals who've lost loved ones to violence. Read More
She Has A Name blends elements of investigative journalism and memoir to tell th Read More
24
Documentary
HIV and AIDS changed the United States and the world. In this series, we reveal untold stories from the defining years of the epidemic, and we’ll consider: How could some of the pain have been avoided? Most crucial of all, what lessons can we still learn from it today? Blindspot is a co-production of The HISTORYⓇ Channel and WNYC Studios. Read More
HIV and AIDS changed the United States and the world. In this series, we reveal Read More
25
Documentary
The Generation Why Podcast released its first episode in 2012 and pioneered the true crime genre in the podcasting world. Two friends, Aaron & Justin, break down theories and give their opinions on unsolved murders, controversies, mysteries and conspiracies.
All episodes are available for free, with ad-free episodes available for Wondery+ subscribers. Read More
The Generation Why Podcast released its first episode in 2012 and pioneered the Read More
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
Stay Connected
