Incredible Storytelling Podcasts

I love an audiobook. I love a podcast series. But every once in a while I just need a single episode, one incredible story that holds my attention and entertains or informs me about something.

I have a few of these single-episode story podcasts but I also asked the audience on Instagram for their recommendations on “epic storytelling podcasts”. There were hundreds and hundreds of submissions, but after selecting a handful of the ones I saw that were recommended a few times, and listening to them myself, here is a list of incredible storytelling podcasts.

This American Life 634: Human Error in Volatile Situations — This is a personal submission to this list because it’s one of the episodes I cannot stop thinking about. I listened to it for the first time a few years ago, over a holiday vacation at my parent’s house in Wisconsin. I couldn’t do anything else until I completed the episode. I was fully invested in both stories and found myself with wide eyes and heart palpitations when listening to them. 

Armchair Expert: Anonymous Prank Gone Wrong — Justin used to listen to this podcast a long time ago, and I tried it for a bit but it wasn’t really my cup of tea. This episode, however, was an easy and fun listen. I’m not much of a prankster but some of these pranks that were shared by listeners to this podcast that called in to tell their stories were shocking! The chaos! The fallout! I gasped many times during the story that happened in Utah. 

Heavyweight #18: Sven, Jury Duty — this was emotional and portrayed the long-term effects of what serving on a jury during a murder trial (specifically one with capital punishment as a potential outcome) can do to you. It’s a heavy listen, but very thought-provoking. I’ve never served on a jury but this certainly opened my eyes to a new perspective.

Reply All #158 The case of the missing hit — I have listened to this one before, but I listened again when it was submitted to the list I’m compiling. It is truly a journey that explores one guy’s memory of a song that he cannot find any evidence of on the internet. Stick with the entire episode, trust me.

This American Life 613: Okay I’ll do it – the prologue alone of this episode was SHOCKING. I mean, truly hard to believe. This is a heavier podcast, the stories are heartbreaking and dangerous. It was still a very interesting listen, but certainly not an easy and fun podcast.