Spring is nearly here, which means it’s time to start thinking about the great American road trip. Whether you’re planning to venture from coast to coast or just a few towns over, you’re going to want some quality content to listen to. Enter the podcast, the road trip’s best friend.
This is not to say you shouldn’t embrace the sounds of the road. Nor should you avoid your fellow passengers or overlook that special quiet you get when you’re driving an empty road during the wee hours. But at some point along the way, you might want a little sonic pick me up. That’s where the road trip podcast really comes in handy, an audio copilot that will keep your brain running while the odometer ticks away.
We’ve made a roundup of the best podcasts to add to your road trip essentials list, and boy, was there a podcast for everything. So whether you’re a fan of history or horror, you just might find yourself taking the long way to squeeze in a little extra listening time. Whatever you’re into, these are the best podcasts for road trips.
The Memory Palace
If you want a thorough, even meticulous history-type podcast that will, say, take you through the whole of Ancient Rome or the entire tale of the Aztec Empire, then this is not your podcast. If, on the other hand, you want to dive into unexpected places like the dining room at Thomas Jefferson’s home Monticello, the life of Shipwreck Kelly, who claimed to have survived multiple ships sinking, or the summer of 1816, the so-called Year Without a Summer due to ash sent into the air by a Pacific volcano, you’re in the right place. Host and producer Nate DiMeo digs into little-discussed but fascinating pockets of history and crafts short vignettes that bring them back to life.
Sincerely, X
As gripping as it is enlightening, Sincerely, X is a Luminary-exclusive TED podcast that plunges into the hidden stories that surround us. Each week, host Sarah Kay guides listeners through stories that are “too risky, painful, or controversial” to be shared openly, told by the anonymous people who lived them. From the woman who shares the details of her life in and after a cult to the ex-con who used the pain of his prison experience to lend a helping hand to other inmates, the stories shared on Sincerely, X are raw, powerful, and deeply personal in a way that can only be achieved through anonymity. Kay handles the series beautifully, probing deeper into the details of each story without losing the show’s deep sense of respect for its storytellers and their anonymity. The show is currently in its second season, so combine the newest episodes with the show’s 10-episode first season run, and you’ll have plenty of miles worth of listening.
The Only One in the Room
In 2018, Laura Cathcart Robbins attended a popular retreat with hundreds of other writers, only to find herself surprisingly alone when she arrived. As the only Black person at the retreat, Robbins felt unexpectedly isolated, and the experience prompted her to share her story on The Huffington Post. When people from all walks of life responded by sending her their own stories of feeling “othered,” Robbins realized the connections that can be uncovered by daring to share the stories of our loneliest moments. Episodes begin with guests completing the phrase, “I was the only one in the room who…” and delicately settle their way into stories of pain, loneliness, altered perspectives, and self-realization. On its surface, The Only One in the Room is a podcast about feeling excluded, isolated, and “othered.” What it ultimately becomes, however, is an exercise in human empathy and a beautifully aching reminder of the common ground that lies between us all. Once you start an episode, you won’t want to stop, making the show perfect for whiling away long hours on lonely roads.
Radiolab
Radiolab is almost as tough to describe as it is rewarding to listen to. Equal parts science, philosophy, politics, history, and humanity, the show is incredibly wide in scope and rich in heart, and one of the best science podcasts. Hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich employ investigative journalism and a warm narrative style to bring you all the scoop on topics that include plant intelligence, driverless cars, medical triage, the U.S. nuclear chain of command, and the history of football. The hosts’ passion for every topic they cover is palpable and infectious. Because of the sheer vastness of the show’s topic pool, you can start pretty much anywhere you like, although truth be told, it only takes a couple of episodes before you find yourself scrolling back to the beginning for complete listening. If you want a driving soundtrack that’s sure to spark conversation and will have you lost in an endless array of worlds you didn’t even know existed, Radiolab is a must-download.
Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
If you’ve ever spent more time than you’d care to admit watching those wild emergency room shows, Sawbones might be right up your alley. While it’s not filled with strange modern-day medical cases, it does take a deep dive into the annals of medical history, which is even weirder and more entertaining. Hosted by Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband, Justin, the show is addictively fascinating and bursting with personality. Every week, Dr. Sydnee lays out the strange and/or unsettling history of a medical procedure, condition, or phenomenon while Justin cracks jokes and pretends to understand science. The couple’s lighthearted ribbing of each other and early medical practitioners (who came up with ideas like drinking plague poo, you know, for science) will have you wishing you could become best friends with them, travel back in time together, and put the show’s patron saint Pliny the Elder on blast. For all its silly overtones, the show is impeccably researched and genuinely educational. Start at the first episode and before you know it, you’ll be a full addict.
Ear Hustle
Another podcast giving ear-time to hidden stories is Ear Hustle, from Radiotopia. Hosted by visual artist Nigel Poor and former inmate-turned-full-time producer, Earlonne Woods, the podcast explores the realities of daily life in prison and affords inmates in San Quentin the opportunity to share their stories themselves. The show, which is now in its tenth season, has explored everything from lockdowns, falling in love behind bars, death row, and parenting from prison, all while remaining vigilantly focused on the humanity we too often fail to acknowledge in people who are incarcerated. Ear Hustle is not a rubbernecker’s delight, but rather a poignant, haunting, inspiring, and enlightening view of a world so often ignored by those untouched by it. If you’d like to open your mind out on the open road, this show is beyond worthy of a listen.
My Brother, My Brother and Me
Sometimes the only cure for road boredom is childlike euphoria, which is why we’re including MBMBaM on this list. Hosted by your eldest brother Justin McElroy, your middlest brother Travis McElroy, and your sweet little baby brother Griffin McElroy, the show is a wild ride into the goof-filled minds of three siblings who spend “roughly five-sixths of an hour each week” doling out advice they have absolutely no business giving. The format of the show is simple: They cull questions from the existential dumpster fire that is Yahoo Answers, mix in some listener questions submitted via email, and spend the next 50 or so minutes turning it all into a sweet brew of totally unactionable advice. The real charm of the show, though, is the wild tangents the three go on as their responses inevitably morph into rants, oversharing, parody songs, and displays of pop-culture-reference one-upmanship. Starting this trip anywhere but the beginning would be a full sin, as the ever-evolving canon of characters, scenarios, and reflections on Scott Bakula are too rich to miss even one precious second of. Past episodes have included such wonders as the three brothers being completely pwned by Al Roker at the premiere of Jimmy Buffet’s musical, “The McElroy Family Fun Hour Brought to You by Totino’s,” and so many Lin-Manual Miranda-related delights to list. The show has over 600 episodes, so buckle in for a long, beautiful journey. You might not get any actual advice from this advice-cast, but we promise you’ll be a better person for listening.
The NoSleep Podcast
Another surefire cure for road boredom is the sheer terror that comes from listening to scary stories on a desolate highway in the middle of the night. The NoSleep Podcast is the perfect elixir of spookiness for anyone for whom horror stories are a guaranteed ticket to sleeplessness. The show is hosted by David Cummings, whose dulcet tones are the only source of comfort in an otherwise unsettling experience. He’s joined by a pool of voice-acting talent that turns every tale into a mini audio-drama, complete with eerie music and atmospheric sound effects. Stories are pulled from the popular subreddit of the same name, along with direct submissions from amateur and seasoned horror writers. While creepiness is a constant theme, subjects range from paranormal events to monsters to tales of stalkers and shadowy figures. The show is currently in its 18th season, so there’s plenty of content to make you regret that choice to drive through the night.
Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!
This weekly pod from radio masters NPR and WBEZ Chicago is a raucous, interactive show that mixes current events news with game-show-style trivia. The show is staged and recorded in front of a live audience and features a rotating panel of commentators and listeners who take on the role of contestants. There are a variety of trivia challenges, including Bluff the Listener (in which contestants listen to three stories and choose which one is fake), Not My Job (in which celebrity guests are quizzed on subjects that are nowhere near their field of professional expertise), and, of course, a final Lightning Round. Woven into the trivia games are genuine (but often hilarious) discussions of the week’s news, along with panel predictions on how news stories will eventually conclude. Panelists and guests range from journalists and authors to comedians and performers, including Drew Carey, Mike Birbiglia, Salmon Rushdie, Madeleine Albright, Neko Case, Hannibal Buress, and so many more. If you’re looking for a car-friendly game to replace worn-out standards like Punch Buggy and I Spy, Wait Wait! is a perfect way to liven up a long haul.
Outside Podcast
There’s a decent trip that road trip you’re on is going to lead to some pretty places in the great outdoors. This podcast focuses on as much, dabbling in everything from where your brain goes after many consecutive hours on a ski lift to one person’s journey to visit every National Park in America in a single day. Like the publication it stems from, Outside is entertaining and inspires an even broader appreciation of the natural world. Moreover, if you have the time, it’ll nudge you away from the car for an impromptu hike or slightly different route to see something new.
How I Built This
The name says it all with this highly-listenable podcast. It’s all about the best inventions and how they came to be. From the culinary impetus to redefine and reestablish Native American cuisine to flavored kombucha, it’s all about how things came to be. There are a lot of rags to riches tales here, concepts developed in garaged or over sleepless nights that are now international brands or big-name retail affairs. Ever wonder how the Leatherman came to be? How about the Discovery Channel? This podcast will explain it all, in colorful detail that will accompany you nicely as you knock out those highway hours.
