Currently, I am listening to podcasts on my commute (which is fairly long but mostly one or two buses so pretty stable) and during my lunch break, so I thought I would share some of the things I have been enjoying. This is all French, but if anyone has any Spanish or Russian recommendations, let me know.
Mostly, I have found these because they are in the suggested section of ones I am already listening to, so they are very much on themes. This is not particularly intentional and I do want to listen to a range of subjects, so I don't end up with very strong islands. But this is a pretty successful strategy in terms of finding things, whereas a general search can be pretty bit and miss. And because I'm listening to them, they're themes I like, so not all of these will work for everyone. However, I do think there are some general crowd pleasers and I have tried to roughly group them by theme, so hopefully that will help.
There are no accents because I don't have any on my laptop and it will take too long to copy and paste. So, in no particular order:
La Vieille Branche
I've mentioned this one before - it's interviews with older people of note (I think all over 75). They're a bit longer (45mins-1hr), but they're really fascinating. They have interviewed a lot of journalists, writers, editors. They are on the quieter side, because people are interviewed in their homes and sometimes I think they're a bit far from the microphone! I really enjoy them and find them really interesting. I think the woman doing the interviews has changed in the second season. I loved the first one so much that I struggled a bit with the second but it's just because the first was excellent. She was more hands off, very softly spoken, whereas this one seems younger and a bit more present. Both are good, it was just a jump.
Regard
20ish mins. I loved Regard (I think 20 mins is the ideal length) and listened to all of them. There is only one series and it doesn't seem like they're gearing up for another, so probably listen to this and then go and listen to Entre Nos Levres. It's interviews with women, but this one focuses solely on appearance and their relationship to their bodies rather than sex/sexuality like in ENL. They had a range of women on - a trans woman, a clothes designer, two models (one plus size), an older woman (who was lovely). The woman who does it is very reserved and quiet, so it was a jump then hearing her on Entre nos levres, where that is not so much the case!
Entre nos levres
30ish mins. Two women interview other women about their relationship to sex, sexuality, their bodies, their appearance... I really like these, but I am very interested in identity and how we create our identities. They're very open and no holds barred, which might not work for some people. However, the thing I really like is that there's a lot of laughter, it just feels like listening in to a group of friends. That said, all of the trigger warnings.
I listened to the most recent one at about 8am and it was a lot first thing in the morning.Amusingly, the most recent (as of today) and the first one I listened to was interviewing the journalist from Regard.
Quoir
30mins ish. This is mostly an interview with an LGBT person about their identity, their life, but they also did one on IVF where they interviewed two couples in the run up to the recent court case. I have only listened to 2.5 of these and I like them, but haven't gotten into them as much as other podcasts. Would definitely recommend though.
C'est complique
10mins. These are almost too short to bother downloading and don't count for the Super Challenge. It's basically an Agony Aunt - people ring in with their problems and she gives advice. She's very nice, very clear, the advice is sensible. She also tends to recommend a film/book/piece of music at the end, which I really like. Another benefit is that she uses little clips and extracts from films/programmes on the general theme, so you get some different voices that way.
Bouffons
40mins. All about food and the sociology of food. Generally, this has two interviewees, often an academic and then someone from the food industry but it varies. Episodes I've listened to have been on Kebabs (the title of which was Kebab, le Broche en Y, which I think must be a joke but I don't get), wines, veganism, spice... They're very interesting and you get different voices. That said, while I like the guy who does them, I find he can be a bit snobby about people who don't take food seriously/like junk food/are afraid of some foods. So occasionally, I just want to tell him to calm down a little.
Casseroles
30-50mins. Pretty similar to Bouffons. I've only listened to one or two of these, but enjoyed it. I think they used to do more recipe related episodes, whereas now it's general sociological food related topics. I haven't listened to any of the recipe ones so can't comment.
Plan Culinaire
20-40mins. I love Plan Culinaire. I think this was what got me into podcasts, as I've really not liked podcasts in the past and never really listened to them. It's done by two friends, with quite different attitudes to food (so you don't get some of the judgement that you get in Bouffons). They interview a range of people, normally on a sociology/history topic (why do we queue, why do we eat at tables, the history of cereal). They use a lot of sound effects, which I quite like, and I think they have lovely accents and voices. It just feels relaxing and fun listening to them. Sadly though, it started pretty recently - I came across the very first episode a few months ago - and it's only once a month. So currently there are only four episodes. But thoroughly recommend.
A Poele
40-50mins. Interviews with chefs. Very cheerful, respectful, very nice. If you're into food/cooking, I'd recommend. I've only listened to one, but just because I got into some of the other podcasts and I prefer things around the 20min mark. I will keep listening and have one downloaded and ready to go.
Aujourd'hui l'histoire (Radio Canada)
20mins. Interviews (normally with an academic), with extracts from different programmes or interviews, around a historical topic or theme. I've listened to ones on Rocky Horror, the band Harmonium, the first Francophone Jewish school in Canada, Maureen Forrester, Moroccan independence, the Treaty of Versailles... I find them very easy to understand and a nice way of getting used to Canadian accents.
La marche de l'histoire (France Inter)
Another history podcast, around the 20 min mark. Interestingly, this one I struggled to get into and I definitely have to pay more attention than the others. I don't really listen to it when tired because I feel like I tune out, whereas others I can get more into. Some of that is just the topic - I wouldn't be able to listen to a similar English radio programme tired without tuning out a bit. Some of it is that they don't really give you an introduction - it's the cultural knowledge problem that I was talking about in my last post. They expect you to know French history and while I know the big names, I just don't have the detailed knowledge they expect. (Interestingly, I think a similar British programme would give you much more context. We're not expected to know our history/literature in the way that the French are). I've also mostly listened to colloquial French, so this is not a register I'm as familiar with. I understand fine, but it takes more effort. So this one I am trying to focus on because I know it's good for me.
I've listened to episodes on Francois Mitterand's library, the Royal Academy of Sciences (that one I listened to twice and listening to it again realised I had been paying much more attention than I thought because it was all familiar. But I think because of the context, I find it hard to summarise what was said), Joan Miro, Giscard, the Thirty Years War.
If anyone has any more recommendations of similar podcasts - a bit more of an intellectual level, rather than the pop culture I generally listen to - I think that would be good for me.
MAGMA
My favourite podcast. I am weirdly hoarding the last two episodes because I want to save them for a special moment.
30ish mins. They pick someone who was present for a historical moment (the fall of the berlin wall, a terrorist attack, the moving of the Louvre artworks during WWII etc) and interview them. One was actually on Tignes, which I have been to (and been in the region of many times). I love the interviewer, I love the premise, it feels very relaxed, I'm just generally a big fan. If anyone knows any similar podcasts, I need them.
Ones I haven't listened to but plan to
Affaires etrangeres (France Culture)
Grand reportage (RFI)
NoCine (Binge)
Un podcast a soi (Arte)
Il Faut Qu'on Parle
Bliss Stories
Chalalove
Miroir Miroir
Kiffe ta race
Splash
Wasn't a fan of
Au coeur de l'histoire (France 1) - these are just a little bit too short. I don't have enough storage space to want to download them and I wasn't terribly interested. But that's a personal choice.
Geopolitique (France Inter) - Again, not downloading things for 3 mins and don't listen when I have wifi
Les Coulisses du pouvoir (Radio Canada) - I am really interested in this, looks great. However, it's incredibly quiet and I simply could not hear it on headphones. I could try with speakers but I don't really listen to podcasts when I'm home. But yeah, can't say anything about the content because I couldn't hear it.
When did it get to be December? I'm not ready! (Although tbh, I'm pretty ready for 2019 though).
There are a lot of scientific aspects related to these topics 
Maybe you can start with that? 
)