Top Society & Culture Podcasts

Welcome to A Couple of Swanns where we're sharing stories from our own lives and having open conversations about the challenges and joys of blended families, relationships, parenting, business and personal growth.  Whether it's discussing the unpredictability of life or offering advice without a superior stance, we aim to create an engaging and relatable space for you to come each week. Connect with us: https://www.instagram.com/acoupleofswanns/

We saw it on the news. The images still haunt us.

Two years ago this month, a desperate sea of humanity rushed the Kabul airport as the American military started mass evacuations in Afghanistan. Many were left behind to face the Taliban, while some escaped to countries like Iran and Pakistan. 

For over 80,000 refugees, America is now home. Their lives continue, but our news feeds have moved on, blasting stories about today’s crisis-du-jour. Now these evacuees live beside us, trying to make ends meet, find housing, gain acceptance, adapt to a new culture, and become valued members of our communities.

In Stranger Becomes Neighbor, we follow them. And we meet the Americans who have chosen to help their new neighbors. Like the stay-at-home mom who convinces a neighbor to rent out their basement to a pregnant Afghan woman, then finds herself helping to deliver the baby. Like a young widow who served in a secret pro-American unit of the Afghan military and now struggles to find childcare so she can work at Walmart.

Their stories – and the heartbreaking stories of loved ones left behind – inspire us to discover the hope and triumph of the human spirit.

What can one person do to help a stranger? 

We find out on a new podcast from KSL Podcasts, the people who brought you Cold and The Letter.

Coming soon, Stranger Becomes Neighbor

The witch has held a place firmly in our imagination for centuries - from whispered warnings in folklore to pop-culture driven heights. But what does it mean to be a witch now?

Presenter India Rakusen, creator of the podcast 28ish Days Later, is on a journey to find out.

The untold tale of the woman who broke one of the biggest scandals in U.S. history.

The true story of Courtney “Cookie” Hood, former model and ex-wife of a Colombian drug cartel kingpin, hired to manage the CBS/60 Minutes field office in Managua, Nicaragua during the civil war in the ‘80s.  What starts as another big party for her, ends up being the history making adventure of a lifetime, blowing the lid off the Iran-Contra scandal and almost taking down the Reagan presidency.

Award winning filmmaker, Steven Esteb, takes us into the dangerous and improbable lives of Cookie and her team of courageous wartime journalists covering the civil wars, revolutions, and US missteps in Central America.  

JOURNALISTA is dangerous, irreverent, insatiable, and hilarious.  An inside look at the insane world of combat journalism.  They worked hard, and they partied harder.

Stephen Kinzer (former bureau chief of the New York Times) writes: “During the 1980s and 1990s, Cookie Hood was the driving force behind the most successful television coverage of Central America that appeared anywhere in the United States.”

Cookie uses her unique mix of charm, balls, and passion for social justice, to get through checkpoints, into jungle military camps, and the highest levels of government.  She's also a clear and present danger to the shadow U.S. government that is using Central America as a right-wing terror experiment in their fight against communism.

Cookie and her cohorts are brilliant trainwrecks speeding down a path to self- destruction. At the same time, they might just change the world.

Hosted and Created by Steven Esteb

Produced by Sean J. Donnelly  

Executive Producers: Jason Waggenspack, Ellen K & Roy Laughlin

This is Shattering The System, a podcast hosted by pioneering audio journalist Sonari Glinton. Drawing from his decades covering politics and the economy, Sonari exposes the systems making it possible for criminals of all kinds to get away with the unthinkable. Though it’s a podcast about crime, this is more than just another true crime podcast. Using expert interviews, evidence, and innovative sound, Sonari unveils the ugly truths baked into our society. This season, he tells the story of what happens in gay Hollywood when gay black men turn up dead. He’ll delve deep into the strange, twisted world of convicted criminal Ed Buck. It’s a case with implications reaching far beyond Hollywood. This is a story not to be missed. Join Sonari as he takes a hard look at what happens when the system isn’t just broken, but shattered.

Kristin Cavallari is back behind the microphone and more f*cking honest than ever. Let's Be Honest sets the record straight on everything from dating and relationships, nutrition and wellness, to what’s really going on behind those headlines. In her new lifestyle podcast, Cavallari dives into what connects people (and breaks them up), what makes people feel physically and spiritually healthy, and how to love yourself along the way. New episodes drop every Tuesday!

Tales of a bipedal ape-like creature persist in the myth and legend of the Himalayas. But does the yeti really exist? Two enthusiasts are determined to find out. Andrew Benfield and Richard Horsey travel through India, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan in search of stories of yeti sightings and encounters. Over 10 episodes, they hear from villagers, yak herders, sherpas and mountaineers, who give surprisingly consistent descriptions of a mysterious, large, hairy creature. This series takes us on a journey deep into Himalayan culture as the presenters grapple with their own inner demons to try to make sense of the yeti myth.

this is my FIRST EVER podcast where I talk about a lil bit of everything? i wanna to use this space for sharing my thoughts and experiences as a  content creator/streamer and maybe some book discussions? who knows LOL

but either way thank you for listening <3

twitch.tv/quarterjade

Love a good, juicy story that goes beyond what we already know? We're talking scandalous presidential family members, a mass murder at a world-famous architect's home, stolen inventions, nude athletes at the first Olympics, compulsive liars, the arrival of the bikini, and so much more. History fanatic Patty Steele tells you the inside backstories you didn’t know you needed to know.

Host Simon Kent Fung explores the life of Alana Chen, a 24-year-old woman who disappeared from Boulder, Colorado in 2019. Alana left behind two dozen journals chronicling a deep faith, love of fashion, and dream of becoming a nun. She also harbored a secret. At 14, she confessed to her priest that she was attracted to women and was instructed not to tell her parents. Over the next seven years, Alana covertly received conversion therapy which her family believes played a role in her fate. Simon, who sought to change his sexual orientation through conversion therapy for nearly a decade in his efforts to become a priest, is compelled to understand the truth of what happened to Alana—and finally face what happened to him. "Dear Alana," is an unraveling mystery and a poignant spiritual memoir about teenage rebellion and spiritual manipulation, the price we pay to belong and the systems that pay no price at all.

Explore more at www.dearalana.com

From Executive Producer Wilmer Valderrama comes a dating show that proves abuelita knows best!

Host Vico Ortiz alongside our resident abuelita, Liliana are ready to meet their match!

Three single contestants will compete for a date with one lucky guest. Through speed-dating rounds, hilarious games, wildly silly and genuinely heartfelt introspections, and grandmotherly love, one contestant will either be a step closer to love or be sent back to the apps. Abuelita holds all the cupid power, so let the chispas fly!

Hi, we are Nick & Kat :) We have been thrown our fair share of curveballs during our 5 years together. All of these experiences forced us to deconstruct and rebuild our beliefs over and over, and what we've learned through these experiences is that we don't know much at all. We live in a state of constant Pond.ering. We are always questioning and wondering "why?" We are trying to find new perspectives and experiences to help us understand this life of ours, but we don't think we'll ever find the answers and that's okay. We are good with the Pond.ering. Come hang out with us every week while we Pond.er into the mic about the big and small life questions, discuss interesting topics & hear stories of others who are in a state of Pond.ering as well. Let's all try to figure this life out together, or at least build a community of people who are good with being in the Pond.ering state of life.

Wouldn’t you love to be a famous? Money. Red carpets. Adoring fans. Did we mention the money? But you’re also on a tightrope. Because when everyone’s watching, you’re only one misstep away from it all going terribly wrong. It’s like Rihanna said: there's a long way to fall when you're so far from earth. Join hosts Anna Leong Brophy and Emily Lloyd-Saini on Wondery’s Terribly Famous, as they tell the stories of our most iconic stars. After all, it’s fun to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes – especially when they’re Manolos.

New episodes come out on Tuesdays for free. Listen to new episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app.

It’s March 2012 in a region of Afghanistan known as the birthplace of the Taliban. Staff Sergeant Robert Bales leaves his base–in the dead of the night–and lays siege to two villages, killing a reported sixteen innocent Afghan civilians. The reaction from the American government is swift and severe; provoking universal condemnation and a life sentence in Fort Leavenworth military prison.

Over a decade later, the lingering question about what became known as the Kandahar Massacre remains. Why did it happen? Anchored by 18 hours of exclusive interviews from America's most notorious war criminal and complemented by a chorus of people central to this polarizing case, THE WAR WITHIN: THE ROBERT BALES STORY is a 12-episode investigative podcast that will shed new light on the inner sanctum of the military. Throughout, the series will contain explosive revelations that run the gamut, from brain injuries, to potentially toxic drugs, to possible cover-ups by the nation Robert Bales swore to protect.

Episodes drop every Thursday, starting on June 29th.

Love reality dating shows but tired of the obsession with marriage? Welcome to Hang Up, a reality dating show with no rings attached.

In each season, one person is matched with six prospective love interests. They go on dates over the phone and never see each other. After the dates, the Star chooses one person to “hang up” on and eliminate from the show.

And there’s a twist— in the end, the winning caller makes their own choice: to either choose the Star back and take an all-expenses-paid vacation together or hang up on the Star and take a cash prize instead.