Top Society & Culture Podcasts

The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. 

Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions. 

Tough Cookie: The Wally “Famous” Amos Story, named the Tribeca Festival’s 2025 Nonfiction Audio Storytelling Award winner, tells the story of a Black pop-culture icon and cookie mogul, through his booms and busts spanning the American century, from the perspective of his daughter, Sarah Amos. 
 
Famous Amos was an overnight hit, leading to a life of glamour, prestige, and cookies for Wally and his family—for a while. But all the charisma and fame in the world couldn’t save Wally from a string of bad business decisions and a family fractured by his choices.  

From Vanity Fair, this six-part series unravels decades of family drama—alternately hilarious and heartbreaking—against a backdrop of ’70s and ’80s pop-culture nostalgia while asking the question: Can you ever really escape your family’s past?

It’s the early 1970s, and a young British family is attempting to sail around the world when catastrophe strikes.p>

The Robertsons have sold everything they own to embark on this trip. But their epic odyssey soon turns into a desperate fight for their lives in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 

Dougal and Lyn, their teenage son Douglas, 12-year-old twins Sandy and Neil, and young hitchhiker Robin find themselves hundreds of miles from land, with few supplies, no radio contact, and surrounded by sharks. 

Drifting in the vast emptiness, they must rely on their instincts and harness the elements to survive. Yet even with deadly predators circling, they discover that sometimes their worst enemy is...themselves. 

Adrift is an Apple Original podcast, produced by Blanchard House. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.

apple.co/Adrift

In a world that’s on fire, what is the role of art? What can music actually…do?

Can a song save a life? Change a law? Topple a president? Get you killed?

In Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, Jad Abumrad—creator of Radiolab, More Perfect, and Dolly Parton's America—tells the story of one of the great political awakenings in music: how a classically trained 'colonial boy' traveled to America, in search of Africa, only to return to Nigeria and transform his sound into a battering ram against the state—creating a new musical language of resistance called Afrobeat.

For years, the world’s biggest stars made pilgrimages to Nigeria to experience Fela’s Shrine, the epicenter of his musical revolution. But when the mix of art and activism got too hot, the state pulled out its guns, and literally opened fire.

Fela Kuti: Fear No Man is an uncategorizable mix of oral history, musicology, deep dive journalism, and cutting edge sound design that takes listeners deep inside Fela’s life, music, and legacy.

Drawing from over 200 interviews with Fela Kuti’s family, friends, as well as scholars, activists, and luminaries like Burna Boy, Paul McCartney, Questlove, Santigold, and former President Barack Obama (just to name a few), Fela Kuti: Fear No Man journeys deep into the soul of Afrobeat to explore the transformative power of art and the role artists can play in this current moment of global unrest.

An Audible Original presented by Audible and Higher Ground. Produced by Western Sound and Talkhouse.

©2025 Higher Ground, LLC (P)2025 Audible Originals, LLC.

Don’t Listen to Us is an advice show for advice-skeptics and wisdom-lovers, hosted by Mandy Patinkin, Kathryn Grody, and their son Gideon. Legendary actor Mandy (The Princess Bride, Homeland, Criminal Minds) is the consummate entertainer who shoots from the hip, stage actress Kathryn is the thoughtful connector who sees all the nuance, and Gideon is the brave soul keeping them on track (or at least trying). Together, Mandy and Kathryn have 40+ years of marriage, 140+ years of life experience, and a series of viral social media posts where Gideon interviews them and watches both chaos and wisdom ensue.

They don’t always agree on what advice to give—in fact, they rarely do. But they draw from their highs and lows as artists, parents, lovers, and humans, to give their unique take on real dilemmas submitted by you -- the listeners. Hang out with this family and you’ll walk away with insights you didn’t expect, stories you’ll want to repeat, and comfort knowing that you’re not alone in figuring out how to survive this fakakta world.

When America’s Next Top Model premiered in the early 2000s, it looked like a golden ticket: a glamorous TV show that could catapult aspiring models into fame. But two decades later, many contestants describe its aftermath as a curse. Hosted by pop-culture journalist Bridget Armstrong, Curse of: America’s Next Top Model is a deep investigation into the hidden costs of reality television, and what the show’s legacy reveals about beauty, power, and the culture that cheered it on. 

Through conversations with dozens of former contestants, producers and crew members, Curse of: America’s Next Top Model explores what happened behind the scenes on one of the most iconic and problematic reality shows of our generation.  

The series starts off by exploring how ANTM almost didn’t get made. You’ll get the real story behind the show’s most infamous controversies. Then, the models and producers pull back the curtain and talk about how the most outrageous photoshoots and runaways came together. You’ll hear from contestants who say ANTM saved their lives and from those who say it ruined theirs. The contestants also talk about how the body shaming they experienced on the show caused lifelong scars. Finally, we try to answer the question, is Tyra Banks the ultimate reality television villain?  

Curse of: America’s Next Top Model takes you on an investigative journey to figure out if the so-called curse is real? And if so, what was the toll on the models, and us, the audience?  

“It only takes one moment to change the trajectory of your life.”

Some moments change everything. They ignite transformation, spark momentum, and define who we become.

Hosted by Brant Menswar, best-selling author, acclaimed keynote speaker, and personal development coach, Just a Moment is a 30-minute podcast that uncovers the extraordinary, life-changing moments that shape who we are. Every episode brings you into the lives of world-class guests—entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, actors, entertainers, and high-achievers—as they share two pivotal stories from their incredible journeys:

1. The breakthrough moment that changed everything and catapulted them forward in their career or life.

2. The missed moment—a failure, regret, or challenge they wish they could revisit, and the lessons that came with it.

These raw, honest stories are brought to life through masterful storytelling, captivating sound design, and thoughtful narration to create an unforgettable listening experience that immerses listeners in the gravity of each moment.

Who doesn’t need advice—and who doesn’t love giving advice? Since you asked, we’re happy to answer. Each week, two friends—Gretchen Rubin, a happiness researcher, and Lori Gottlieb, a therapist—tackle the daily problems of living with all of you. Whether it’s the pet peeve that’s annoyed you for years, the question you’re too embarrassed to ask, or the dilemma you can’t solve, we’ll address it all.  We’ll also shake things up with a rotating mix with special segments that offer a fresh approach to tackling the problems of everyday life.

We invite you to weigh in yourself, so get ready to bring your best advice. Whether this podcast changes your life or just makes you laugh, we’re glad you’re here.

Since You Asked is for entertainment purposes only. It’s not a substitute for medical, mental health, or other professional advice. Always consult a qualified professional with questions about your own situation. By sending us your question, you agree we may use it on the show and edit it for length or clarity.

There are a thousand podcasts you can listen to. This one listens back.

Alive with Steve Burns continues the conversation you began all those years ago. Back then it was letters and numbers and graham crackers. Now it’s death, sex, taxes, and all the big, messy questions of being alive. Why does money stress us out? Is the American dream dead? What’s the future of truth?

Each week, a new guest drops by Steve’s window for a genuine and respectful dialogue between two people just trying to figure it out, together.

Funny, tender, and just a little weird, this show invites you to sit down and think with Steve once again and wonder… what it really means to be Alive.

Alive with Steve Burns premieres September 17. New episodes every Wednesday wherever you get podcasts, and full video at www.youtube.com/@AlivewithSteveBurns

Real voices. True journeys. Humanity without borders

Migrant Odyssey tells the stories of people who’ve crossed borders and kept going — individuals whose intelligence, determination and generosity of spirit enrich any country or community they reach . These are stories of  true worth — proof that migration is not a problem, but part of what makes us human.

This is the official audio feed of Andrew Callaghan's weekly broadcast '5CAST' featuring a wide cast of illustrious guests.

How did a Black man in 1940s Jim Crow South open a club where Black and white people danced together?

Charlie’s Place was revolutionary, and that meant it was dangerous. 

In this 5-part series, host Rhym Guissé explores the unbelievable true story of Charlie Fitzgerald, a mysterious Black businessman whose nightclub became an unlikely site of integration in 1940s Myrtle Beach. 

Charlie broke down racial barriers through the power of music and dance, hosting some of the greatest musicians of our time: Little Richard, Count Basie, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, and many more.

But who was Charlie? How did he rise to power? And what price did he pay for achieving the impossible—an integrated club in the Jim Crow South? This is a story of joy and passion that erupted into violence and changed a community forever. 

Subscribe to Pushkin+ to binge the entire season early & ad-free in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus.

Alan Berg was starting over as a divorcee, disbarred lawyer and recovering alcoholic when he found his true calling on the radio. His brash and bold on-air persona made him one of the true renegades in a “shock jock” revolution that took over broadcast media in the 1980s. Despite the numerous enemies the brash Berg made through his radio show, the world was stunned when he was assassinated outside his Denver home. The case would languish for months before uncovering the shocking truth about the white-supremacist militia that marked Alan Berg for death.