Not in our directory?
Add Show Here
Podcast Equipment
Center

toppodcastlogoOur TOPPODCAST Picks

toppodcastlogoStay Connected

    View Top 200 Chart

    Top Documentary Podcasts

    1
    Throughline – NPR
    Documentary

    Throughline – NPR

    Listen
    Throughline is a time machine. Each episode, we travel beyond the headlines to answer the question, "How did we get here?" We use sound and stories to bring history to life and put you into the middle of it. From ancient civilizations to forgotten figures, we take you directly to the moments that shaped our world. Throughline is hosted by Peabody Award-winning journalists Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei.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
    Throughline is a time machine. Each episode, we travel beyond the headlines to a Read More
    Listen
    2
    American Scandal – Wondery
    Documentary

    American Scandal – Wondery

    Listen
    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. Listen to American Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/american-scandal/ now. Read More
    Every scandal begins with a lie. But the truth will come out. And then comes the Read More
    Listen
    3
    Radiolab – WNYC Studios
    Documentary

    Radiolab – WNYC Studios

    Listen
    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
    Listen
    4
    Sweet Bobby – Tortoise Media
    Documentary

    Sweet Bobby – Tortoise Media

    Listen
    How much do you know about the person you love? Sweet Bobby is the #1 chart-topping, award-winning investigative series in search of the world's most sophisticated catfisher. Listen to the full six-part series, and bonus episodes today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts. If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Read More
    How much do you know about the person you love? Sweet Bobby is the #1 chart-topp Read More
    Listen
    5
    Noble
    Documentary

    Noble

    Listen
    In the winter of 2002, police discovered more than 300 bodies on one property in the tiny town of Noble, Georgia. What followed was one of the biggest and most expensive investigations in the history of the American South. To get to the bottom of this forgotten case, journalist Shaun Raviv visits a rural community with plenty of secrets. He discovers the epic history of the well-respected family who owned the property, uncovers the fates of the bodies sent to a crematory called Tri-State, and searches for the mysterious man at the center of it all. And in the process, Shaun explores one of the most primal and vexing questions we face as human beings: What do the living owe the dead? Noble is an 8-episode series with new episodes publishing Wednesday mornings. Read More
    In the winter of 2002, police discovered more than 300 bodies on one property in Read More
    Listen
    6
    How To Destroy Everything
    Documentary

    How To Destroy Everything

    Listen
    This is the true story of Richard Jacobs – a narcissist who destroyed a childhood, a marriage, a family, and a community. He sued every sentient being on the face of the earth, got banned from restaurants, and inspired a support group composed solely of people he traumatized. He stole notary stamps, hacked emails, forged signatures… and won a U.S. Supreme Court case. He was also my dad. Join us each week as hosts Danny Jacobs and Darren Grodsky will shift between past and present to explore the lasting impact of Richard Jacobs. Subscribe to How to Destroy Everything on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Read More
    This is the true story of Richard Jacobs – a narcissist who destroyed a childh Read More
    Listen
    7
    Freakonomics Radio – Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
    Documentary

    Freakonomics Radio – Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

    Listen
    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. To get every show in our network without ads and a monthly bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio, sign up for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts at http://apple.co/SiriusXM. Read More
    Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Read More
    Listen
    8
    Sword and Scale – Sword and Scale
    Documentary

    Sword and Scale – Sword and Scale

    Listen
    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
    Listen
    9
    Criminal
    Documentary

    Criminal

    Listen
    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
    Listen
    10
    Hysterical
    Documentary

    Hysterical

    Listen

    Hysterical investigates a mysterious illness that spreads among a group of high school girls in upstate New York. What is causing their sudden, often violent symptoms? Is there something in the water or inside the school? Or is it “all in their head?” The series examines the outbreak in LeRoy, NY, believed by some to be the most severe case of mass hysteria since the Salem Witch Trials. In his search for answers, Dan Taberski (9/12, Missing Richard Simmons, Running from Cops) explores other seemingly inexplicable events of the last few years – CIA officers being crippled with nausea and vertigo; cops OD'ing from exposure to fentanyl – and discovers they’re far more connected than we realize.

    From Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios, this 7-part series forces us to grapple with the mysteries of our own minds, and reckon with a contagion that we thought was long dead, but may be the defining disorder of our time.

    Listen to Hysterical on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge all episodes of Hysterical early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/hysterical/ now. 

    Read More
    Hysterical investigates a mysterious illness that spreads among a group of Read More
    Listen
    11
    Chess Piece: The Elián González Story – My Cultura and iHeartPodcasts
    Documentary

    Chess Piece: The Elián González Story – My Cultura and iHeartPodcasts

    Listen
    At the turn of the millennium, a five-year-old boy from Cuba found off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving became the most talked about child in America. Elián González had left Cuba with his mom and a dozen other migrants, trying to make it to the U.S. but on the way, the boat capsized. Elián’s mother drowned. Before she did, she tied her child to an inner tube, saving his life. Relatives in Miami — Cuban exiles — took the boy in. His father in Cuba wanted him back. The ensuing international custody battle over Elián González became its own mini Cold War, pitting Cuban exiles in Miami against supporters of Castro’s regime on an island just 90 miles away.  The fight over Elián’s future came down to neighbor against neighbor, family against family. Now, 25 years later — we revisit his story through the voices of people who lived it firsthand. Episodes drop every Wednesday, starting 9/25/24. Read More
    At the turn of the millennium, a five-year-old boy from Cuba found off the Flori Read More
    Listen
    12
    Something Was Wrong – Broken Cycle Media | Wondery
    Documentary

    Something Was Wrong – Broken Cycle Media | Wondery

    Listen
    Something Was Wrong is an award-winning docuseries about survivors discovery, trauma, and recovery from crime and abuse. Read More
    Something Was Wrongis an award-winning docuseries about survivors discovery, t Read More
    Listen
    13
    In The Dark – The New Yorker
    Documentary

    In The Dark – The New Yorker

    Listen
    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,” a four-part series that asks why the women in Dubai’s royal family keep trying to run away, came out in January. 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 journalism. The program has also received an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University 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
    Listen
    14
    Legends of the Old West
    Documentary

    Legends of the Old West

    Listen
    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
    Listen
    15
    A Matter of Degrees – Dr. Leah Stokes, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson
    Documentary

    A Matter of Degrees – Dr. Leah Stokes, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson

    Listen
    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
    Listen
    16
    The Why Files: Operation Podcast – The Why Files: Operation Podcast
    Documentary

    The Why Files: Operation Podcast – The Why Files: Operation Podcast

    Listen
    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
    Listen
    17
    The Dating Game Killer – Wondery
    Documentary

    The Dating Game Killer – Wondery

    Listen
    In 1978, Rodney Alcala won a date on the popular TV show, The Dating Game. What no one knew was that he was a prolific serial killer in the middle of a cross-country murder spree. In this six-part series, co-hosts Tracy Pattin (Hollywood & Crime) and Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don’t Breathe) take listeners on an unbelievable journey into Alcala’s twisting secret life. He hid behind normal jobs as a typesetter at a prominent newspaper and a summer camp counselor. How did this predatory monster fool employers, prison psychiatrists, and parole boards — all while committing heinous crimes from coast to coast? And how did a one-time appearance as a game show contestant help lead to his capture? From the makers of Dirty John, Dr. Death, and Young Charlie, learn the story of the most famous serial killer you’ve never heard of - The Dating Game Killer. Listen to The Dating Game Killer ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-dating-game-killer/ now. Read More
    In 1978, Rodney Alcala won a date on the popular TV show, The Dating Game. What Read More
    Listen
    18
    Inconceivable Truth
    Documentary

    Inconceivable Truth

    Listen
    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
    Listen
    19
    Twenty Thousand Hertz
    Documentary

    Twenty Thousand Hertz

    Listen
    The stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.
    The stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds. Read More
    Listen
    20
    Sold a Story – APM Reports
    Documentary

    Sold a Story – APM Reports

    Listen
    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
    Listen
    21
    Tides of History – Wondery / Patrick Wyman
    Documentary

    Tides of History – Wondery / Patrick Wyman

    Listen
    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. Listen to Tides of History on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to bonus episodes available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/tides-of-history/ now. Read More
    Everywhere around us are echoes of the past. Those echoes define the boundaries Read More
    Listen
    22
    The Legend of SwordQuest – iHeartPodcasts
    Documentary

    The Legend of SwordQuest – iHeartPodcasts

    Listen
    What started as a promotion for a new Atari game would become one of the most controversial moments in ‘80s pop culture, with a central mystery that’s consumed fans for decades: what happened to the missing SwordQuest prizes? To unlock the biggest mystery in video game history, host Jamie Loftus is going on a treasure hunt 40 years in the making. Read More
    What started as a promotion for a new Atari game would become one of the most co Read More
    Listen
    23
    Strangers on a Bench – Tom Rosenthal
    Documentary

    Strangers on a Bench – Tom Rosenthal

    Listen
    Have you ever walked past a mysterious stranger on a park bench and wondered about their lives? Tom Rosenthal (singer-songwriter by trade) has spent the last 6 months walking the many parks of London, approaching random bench-dwellers and asking if he can sit next to them and record their conversation. Every stranger remains anonymous, neither name or place of work is ever revealed (even to Tom himself), leading to greater openness, intimacy, and surprising revelations from the participants.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Read More
    Have you ever walked past a mysterious stranger on a park bench and wondered abo Read More
    Listen
    24
    Danny Jones Podcast – Danny Jones | QCODE
    Documentary

    Danny Jones Podcast – Danny Jones | QCODE

    Listen
    Danny’s quest to get smarter.
    Danny’s quest to get smarter. Read More
    Listen
    25
    The Generation Why Podcast – Wondery
    Documentary

    The Generation Why Podcast – Wondery

    Listen
    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. Listen to Generation Why on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to all episodes ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/generation-why/ now. Read More
    The Generation Why Podcast released its first episode in 2012 and pioneered the Read More
    Listen