20 best podcasts: true crime, entertainment, lifestyle and sport

Looking for something new to add to your podcast queue? Here are 20 top shows across all your favourite genres.

About a quarter of Aussies are now weekly podcast listeners, thanks to a surge in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

There was a 53 per cent increase in listeners from 2020 to 2021, according to the Infinite Dial Australia study, released by Edison Research and Commercial Radio Australia.

“The uptake of podcasts has accelerated rapidly, positioning the industry well for continued growth and innovation in this area,” Commercial Radio Australia chief executive Joan Warner says.

If you are looking to start or expand your podcast listening, here are 20 great podcasts for summer:

LIFESTYLE

Mamamia Out Loud

A thrice weekly podcast that’s smart, sometimes silly and often surprising. Absolutely everything is up for discussion: from pop culture to politics, body image to motherhood, feminism to fashion. It’s a wonder Mamamia senior writers and editors Mia Freedman, Holly Wainwright and Jessie Stephens manage to stay friends at times with heated disagreements and discussions. Always a great listen.

MamaMia Outloud podcast for Smart

Chat 10 Looks 3

Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales talk about books, television, radio, movies, food, politics and whatever else they feel like. Even show tunes. Sales loves them, Crabb hates them. It has been consistently named as one of the most popular podcasts. The name comes from the Dance: 10, Looks: 3 song from the musical A Chorus Line. The tone is informal and fun, a casual chat between girlfriends.

The Junkees

Most of us are looking for a little sweet relief from the grim news cycle. And it’s the very definition of this hilarious podcast with comedians Dave O’Neill and Kitty Flanagan. Each week they discuss the best – and worst – of junk foods. From which are the best cheese biscuits to chocolate chip cookies and whether KitKat is better than Breakaway. It’s time to get on board as they definitively rate.

the Junkies podcast for smart

Kinda Sorta Dating

The dating world can be pretty tough, let alone keeping a relationship. Each week news.com.au’s dating columnist, Jana Hocking, together with guests, gives frank and relatable advice on all kinds of things from threesomes, dating apps, sexual health, even what your star signs say about your chances for love in 2022.

The Juggling Act

Are you a parent feeling the struggle of the work-life juggle? Every week hosts Jules Robinson and Melissa Wilson speak with expert guests as well as hosting plenty of fabulous celebrity parent interviews. Such as actor Christie Whelan-Browne, who shared her three-year journey to motherhood. I’m a Celebrity host Julia Morris has shared her four-step system for her work-life balance.

ENTERTAINMENT

The Good Chat: Anita Anabel

Entertainment editor Anita Anabel has spent her career interviewing interesting people. Now, she’s started her own podcast. There’s episodes with actor Hugh Sheridan, SAS Australia DS Mark “Billy” Birmingham and Zoe Terakes, to name but a few. It’s not all celebs though – her good chat with Associate Professor Simon Rosenbaum on mental health is an amazing listen.

Emsolation

Em Rusciano and her best friend Michael Lucas (Offspring, The Newsreader writer) catch up and break down the week in news and pop culture. Always poised to go deep, or swim shallow, these two can swing from Harry’s Styles’ hair to US politics. Recent episodes feature fabulous in-depth chats with actors Steve Peacocke of Five Bedrooms and MasterChef’s Melissa Leong.

And Just Like That … They’re Back

Hosted by Sami Lukis, this podcast recaps and discusses each episode of the highly anticipated Binge series And Just Like That. Lukis and her guests analyse the storylines, critique the men, the fashions and the characters. Most importantly, they rejoice in the enduring power of female friendships.

And Just like that ... they;re back podcast

Wilosophy

Each week comedian Wil Anderson drops an episode featuring an in-depth interview. It’s not just comedians (although there’s a real kinship there). Anderson has had everyone from money guru Scott Pape to sports stars Bianca Chatfield and Wayne Schwass. But even when it is a comedian, it often takes twisty turns – such as when Luke McGregor of Rosehaven fame, showed off his impressive economics knowledge.

Something to Talk About

Years of interviewing and her own experiences (good and bad) in the public eye make Sam Armytage easy listening and great company on her post-Sunrise passion project. Guests have included the never-dull Kyle Sandilands, fashion guru Camilla Franks, former politician Julie Bishop and author Trent Dalton.

TRUE CRIME

Shandee’s Story – The Australian

Award-winning Australian journalist Hedley Thomas – the man behind the hit Teacher’s Pet and The Night Driver podcasts – turns his forensic mind and sleuthing skills towards the cold case of Mackay woman Shandee Blackburn, who was stabbed to death in a frenzied knife attack in 2013. Her former partner John Peros was found not guilty of her murder in 2017, but forensic failures, CCTV footage and other evidence have left plenty of questions unanswered.

I Catch Killers With Gary Jubelin – True Crime Australia

Retired Detective Inspector Gary Jubelin brings 34 years of police experience (25 in homicide) to his well-regarded glimpse into a world that most of us would try to avoid at all costs. At almost 100 episodes so far, he’s chatted with fellow cops, criminals, lawyers and criminologists to see what makes them do the things they do. Recent episodes have featured Bra Boy, Richie Vaculik, as well as actor Bryan Brown and the real-life Donny Brasco, Joe Pistone.

Unravel: Juanita – ABC Radio

Season five of the ABC’s excellent Unravel series focuses on journalist, model, socialite and anti-gentrification activist Juanita Nielson, who disappeared in 1975. With an insider perspective courtesy of Juanita’s niece Keiran McGee and cousin Pip Rey, plus fresh and sometimes startling and revealing interviews with witnesses, this trawl through the grubby world of crime, corruption and Sydney’s Kings Cross at its seediest poses confronting questions on who killed her and why.

Crimes of the Centuries – Obsessed Network

Crime has obviously existed for a lot longer than podcasts have, but this clever series hosted by US journalist Amber Hunt wonders which famous historical crimes might have attracted podcasts had the technology existed at the time. From the theft of the Mona Lisa to the kidnappings of Patty Hearst and the Lindbergh Baby, it’s a fascinating reminder of the dastardly and devious deeds that would go viral in 2022.

Crimes of the Century podcast

My Name Is Cleo – The West Australian

In the dumpster fire of a year that was 2021, four words brought joy to hearts all around Australia – “my name is Cleo” – which meant that four-year-old Cleo Smith, who disappeared from her family tent in WA, had been found safely. This nine-part series traces the dedicated – but increasingly desperate – police search that led up to those words.

SPORT

The Howie Games – LiSTNR

Versatile journalist Mark Howard provides easygoing, but often revealing, interviews with luminaries from the sporting world. Being Ashes time, his recent guests including Mitchell Johnson, David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd, Jimmy Anderson and Alan Border have been cricket-heavy, but dive back into the archive for chats with Jamie Whincup, Cate Campbell, and many more.

Cricket, Et Cetera – The Australian

With cricket being a game for sports nerds and statisticians, there are so many excellent options for those who love the sound of leather on willow. Cricket, Et Cetera from two of the best cricket writers in Australia, great mates Peter Lalor and Gideon Haigh, is an excellent listen as they dissect all things Ashes-related and ponder life more generally. Also worth checking out are the Brett Lee Podcast, Tailenders and The Grade Cricketer.

The Official A-League Podcast – A-Leagues

With the men’s and women’s A-League season still in full swing, this weekly roundup/preview of all the on-field action hosted by Daniel Garb, and former international players Robbie Cornthwaite and Amy Chapman is attracting some of the biggest names in the local competition. And for those whose footballing tastes extend to the English Premier League, The Times’ The Game provides expert serious analysis while the Football Book Club provides a surreal, comedic touch.

The Bill Simmons Podcast – The Ringer and Bill Simmons

This long-running series from versatile US journalist and broadcaster Bill Simmons – he also hosts the excellent Rewatchables movie podcast – is closing in on 1000 episodes and has become the most downloaded sports podcast of all time. It’s primarily concerned with US codes – NFL, NBL and baseball – and frequently ropes in sporting A-lister players, coaches and pundits to discuss the issues, trades and the results of the day, plus sports-loving celebs such as Ben Affleck, Tom Hanks and Kenny G.

Bill Simmons podcast for summer podcasts special

Roy & HG Bludging on the Blindside – ABC Radio

It’s a crying shame that sporting gurus and national treasures Rampaging Roy Slaven and H.G Nelson don’t have a regular national radio gig at the moment. But for anyone who missed their Saturday slot on Sydney radio last year – not to mention their magnificent daily roundup of the Tokyo Olympics – it’s all here to stream at your leisure and the boofheaded antics of footballers of all codes never get old when put under the microscope of these two legends.