Listen to the podcast on Slate: Slowburn: David Duke

Over the past year much of the developed world has been taking a long, hard look at itself through the lens of ethnicity. The Slowburn podcasts are a hymn to the importance of remembering and learning from our past. This year Slowburn told the story of Klu Klux Klan leader David Duke and his attempt during the 80s and 90s to infiltrate the mainstream of American politics with his all-too familiar brand of Southern bigotry. It’s a lesson in what seeds racism can sow and what it took to stop him. Yep, plenty of echoes for today.

Listen to the podcast on the New York Times: Nice White Parents

In the podcast world, one of the big moves this year was the New York Times’ $25m purchase of Serial Productions, which made the landmark podcast Serial. A few weeks later came the first new show launched via the Times and it sure got people talking. Given it’s a piece on public schools, that’s a surprising thing to write. I mean... snore! But again it’s an investigation driven by this year’s focus on ethnicity. By exploring culture clashes in New York public schools, the podcast shows how complex, nuanced ethnic inequality can be and how even the best intentions can flounder. Get others to listen, then discuss.

Listen to the podcast on Crooked: Winds of Change

Spy podcasts have been big this year. The biggest NZ podcast hit of the year was The Service, a podcast by RNZ and Bird of Paradise Productions that exposed illegal raids by NZ spies on foreign embassies in Wellington. But as we were making that podcast, Crooked Media released a spy podcast of its own. The secret that host Patrick Radden Keefe wanted to crack wasn’t about codebooks, it was about song hooks. And the people making The Service loved it! This is one of those lovely quest podcasts in which the journey is so compelling and offbeat and fun that it doesn’t really matter where you end. Hum along. You know you want to.

(And if you’re getting into this genre, another great listen is the ABC’s The Eleventh)

Listen to the podcast on NPR: Wait, Wait... Don’t tell me

It’s become something of a habit in our family, that when we hit the highway, we turn on a podcast. And one podcast we can all reliably agree on is this classic from NPR. The old news quiz format is nothing new and this show’s been going since the past century. But it keeps sounding as fresh as this week’s news and the listener guests and celebs who phone in. Host Peter Sagal is the warm, generous everyman. Our favourite panellist is the slightly barking Paula Poundstone. It’s just damned good fun. And so good for a roadtrip laugh.

(If you want another slice of podcasting comfort food - but more cerebral - dive into the BBC’s In Our Time).

Listen to the podcast on Brené Brown: Unlocking Us

Much of podcasting’s ability to draw in new fans is down to host attraction. Joe Rogan, Michelle Obama, Hamish & Andy and the like draw huge numbers of listeners. But if I had to make a recommendation based on the podcast most recommended to me this year it would be either Winds of Change or Brene Brown’s Unlocking Us. Brown (an author and academic) has become one of those magnetic hosts this year. Since launching her podcast in March she’s drawn in a huge fanbase by using the natural intimacy and introspection of the medium. Plus she gets big names such as Dolly Parton, Reese Witherspoon and Joe Biden to open up. Brown is all about finding meaning and being vulnerable in these tough times.

Listen to the podcast on Vox: Today Explained

Sure, I promised this was a list to escape into. You’re at the beach, who cares what’s going on around the world, right? Well, if you do and the local silly season news isn’t cutting it for you, look further afield to the wintry north. There’s always The Daily, officially one of the world’s biggest podcasts. But if you want a different take on the day’s events (still American, but a bit edgier), check out our friends at Vox’s Today, Explained. Top bunch. And they do some good news explainers for kids, too.

Listen to the podcast on Revisionist History: Revisionist History

To end this list here it began, memory matters. But there are so many different ways to remember or view the past. Genius author Malcolm Gladwell has a knack of finding great forgotten yarns from the near and distant past and making them vital to this moment. It’s like looking at clouds – he can always see something new in the shape. Gladwell’s line is that “sometimes the past deserves a second chance”. He’s a meticulous researcher, a gorgeous scripter and, inevitably, a thought-provoker. Where to begin? Try ‘A good walk spoiled’ or ‘In a Metal Mood’ (feat. Heavy metaller, er, Pat Boone)