The Specialist, Tom Green, and 8 More Recently Launched Podcasts

There’s a podcast born every minute (or so it seems), and it doesn’t take long before all the choices can become overwhelming. With that in mind, this week I share a few new shows that stand apart from the pack. Got your own ideas? Shout via Twitter or the comments. See many more of my podcast recs in the archive.

Hidden Brain
NPR’s new podcast hasn’t even launched, but buzz is already building. Hosted by Shankar Vedantam, episodes will examine “life’s unseen patterns” and delve into the science of the brain. A 5-minute preview is available from iTunes—it references Louis C.K. and explores the concept of “switchtracking”—and the first episode drops Sept. 22. 

Question of the Day
This new show from James Altucher and Stephen Dubner (Freakonomics) boasts a smart and simple concept: In each episode, the pair poses a question (How do you strike up a conversation with a stranger? What’s the best advice you could give someone in 10 minutes?) and attempts to offer succinct, useful answers.

The Specialist
In every industry, you can find a specialist. This podcast focuses on specialized workers we rarely hear about, like the “noise police” and a man in the hockey industry who knows every dang thing about ice. 

Sickboy Podcast
“The podcast you’re about to listen to deals with some pretty intense subject matter,” we’re warned in the first episode. While that’s true, hosts Jeremie Saunders, Brian Stever, and Taylor MacGillivary are able to blend frank talk about Saunders’s struggles with cystic fibrosis with a healthy dose of humor. 

Go Time
There’s a story behind every crowd-funding campaign, and Indiegogo’s first podcast tells us about some of the site’s most interesting projects.

Future Is
Each week, Future Is takes an of-the-moment topic (like coding or cord-cutting) and tries to predict how it may impact our future. I’ve learned something new from all of the episodes, though they also make me a bit nervous about the decades to come.

This is Your Brain on Sports
This summer, Sports Illustrated unleashed a pile of new podcasts including this one, which you don’t have to be a sports fan to enjoy. (Interestingly, it’s co-hosted by a psychology professor.) Episodes feature interviews and insight about subjects like creative athletes and “the art of trash talk.” 

Sole Nation: For Women Runners
You should already know if you’re the target listener for this new podcast, which features tips and in-depth interviews with accomplished runners. 

Game is a 4-Letter Word 
Hosted by journalist and lifelong gamer Ryan Stevens, this new show about video games approaches a big subject from unique angles. (For instance, this week’s “Cult” episode delves into what makes a game a cult classic.) 

The Tom Green Radio Show 
The comedian reinvents his long-running podcast with this new show, a likable and sideways mix of chatter, phone calls from fans, and conversations with confused strangers on the street.