Documentary podcasts

1Curse of: America’s Next Top ModelWhen America’s Next Top Model premiered in the early 2000s, it looked like a golden ticket: a glamorous TV show that could catapult aspiring models into fame.

2ScamfluencersWondery You never really know someone…especially online.

3The Hidden ThirdFrom Emmy and Peabody Award–winning journalist Mariana van Zeller comes THE HIDDEN THIRD, a weekly dive into the underground markets that quietly power a third of the global economy.

4The Telepathy TapesKy Dickens In a world that often dismisses the extraordinary as mere fantasy, The Telepathy Tapes dares to explore the profound abilities of non-speakers with autism—individuals who have long been misunderstood and underestimated.

5Unicorn GirlApple TV+ / Seven Hills Candace Rivera had it all: perfect hair, perfect house, perfect life.

6#1 DadBig Money PlayersAs kids, most of us look up to our Dads.

75CAST w/ Andrew CallaghanAndrew CallaghanThis is the official audio feed of Andrew Callaghan's weekly broadcast '5CAST' featuring a wide cast of illustrious guests.

8A Place of YesBright Sighted MediaGrief is messy, complicated, and deeply personal — but you don’t have to go through it alone.

9Admissible: Shreds of EvidenceiHeart13 wrongful convictions all tied to one forensic analyst.

10After Broad and MarketThe WNET GroupIn 2003, WNET journalist Jenna Flanagan reported on the murder of 15-year-old Newark native Sakia Gunn.

11Afterlives: Marsha P. JohnsoniHeartPodcastsMarsha P.

12All the Buried WomenBeth Allison Barr and Savannah LockeHosted by Beth Allison Barr and Savannah Locke, All the Buried Women uncovers stories of women that are hidden in the Southern Baptist Convention’s archives.

13America: A HistoryLiam HeffernanThe number one American history podcast for anyone with an interest in the people and events that shaped the USA. Every week, Liam Heffernan is joined by the world's foremost experts, academics and broadcasters in the only podcast that connects US past, present and future...

14American Greed PodcastCNBCCNBC's longest-running primetime original series, "American Greed" takes you inside the amazing real-life stories of how some people will do anything for money.

15American ShrapnelAlabama Media GroupThe Olympics explode on a July night in 1996.

16An Army of Normal FolksiHeartOur country’s problems will never be solved by a bunch of fancy people in nice suits talking big words on CNN and Fox, but by An Army of Normal Folks just deciding “hey, I can help.” Hosted by Coach Bill Courtney from the Oscar-winning Undefeated, this podcast is building the Army and celebrating its extraordinary members.

17Architecture of AbuseAlyssa Grenfell and Tim KosnoffThank you for listening to Season 1.

18Before We GoPodcast Nation Before We Go is a narrative podcast hosted and produced by Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider—physician, science journalist, Oscar-nominated documentary producer, host of TED Health, and founder of End Well, a nonprofit reshaping how we think about life’s final chapter.Season 1 followed Shoshana’s deeply personal journey through her father’s terminal cancer diagnosis, a path that forced her to confront her own mortality and illuminated unexpected truths about love, loss, and meaning.Now, Season 2 opens the conversation wider.

19BEING GoldenBEING Studios Audio RealityWelcome to BEING Studios Audio Reality®: reality TV for your ears.

20Big EnvelopesAudible

21Big TimeCampside Media and Piece of Work Entertainment Fake kidnappings.

22BlindspotThe HISTORY® Channel and WNYC StudiosHIV and AIDS changed the United States and the world.

23Blindspot: The Road to 9/11WNYC Studios - Ursula SommerHIV and AIDS changed the United States and the world.

24Camp ShameiHeartPodcastsCamp Shane—one of America’s longest running weight loss camps for kids—promised extraordinary results.

25Campus FilesAudacyCollege holds a mythic place in American culture—hailed as the best four years of your life and revered as a beacon of integrity and excellence.

26Cement CityCement City Productions*Named one of The New York Times Best Podcasts of 2024* Two journalists stumble into a dying town with a Smog Museum and a mayor named Piglet… and not a whole lot else.

27Chameleon: The Michigan PlotThe BingeAre you obsessed with cons, frauds, and imposters?

28Chess Piece: The Elián González StoryMy Cultura and iHeartPodcastsAt the turn of the millennium, a five-year-old boy from Cuba found off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving became the most talked about child in America.

29City of the RailsiHeartWhen journalist Danelle Morton’s daughter skips town to hop trains, she follows her into the train yard, and across America.

30Classy with Jonathan MenjivarPineapple Street Studios*** Named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by The New Yorker, Time, The Atlantic, Apple, Vogue, the CBC, and Lifehacker.

31ColdWonderyCold is a narrative podcast series focused on missing persons cases.

32Computer FreaksInc. MagazineThis is the untold history of how the internet almost didn’t happen.

33Crowded Hours: The True Story of Alice Roosevelt and America's First Political DynastyAudible

34Dark ArenasaudiochuckHave you ever thought about whose job it is to track international fugitives, hunt child abductors, conduct espionage, or pull human remains from concealed mass graves?

35Dark DowneastaudiochuckDark Downeast: Maine and New England's True Crime Podcast digs into the decades-old and modern day cases that prickle the history of Vacationland and beyond – the unsolved homicides, undetermined deaths, unexplained disappearances and other dark stories of New England.

36Dark Side of the Ring: UnheardVICEThe podcast from the creators of the hit VICE TV show Dark Side of the Ring and the The Lapsed Fan is back for an all-new season.

37Day XThe New York TimesThis story began with a mysterious gun in an airport bathroom and led to a German military officer facing trial on terrorism charges.

38Death on the LotThe BingeWe’re getting into 1950s Hollywood, ground zero for a cultural transformation that would upend every aspect of Americans’ lives.

39Debt HeadsJamie Feldman & Rachel WebsterA narrative podcast turning the concept of debt upside down.

40Decoder RingSlateDecoder Ring is the show about cracking cultural mysteries.

41Devil TownImperative Fear and hysteria grip the small town of Gilmer, Texas, when the search for missing teenager Kelly Wilson takes a series of bizarre and shocking turns.

42Digital FolkloreRealmDigital Folklore is an immersive audio adventure that takes place inside a fictional universe, but explores the real-world truths behind various expressions of internet culture and how each holds up a mirror to the society from which they emerge.

43Division Street RevisitedMary Schmich Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Schmich traces the lives of seven people in Studs Terkel’s first book of oral history: A Black public school janitor; a Lithuanian tavern owner; an Appalachian mother of 15; a closeted gay actor; a Native American activist; a Black labor leader; and a prominent white woman in Chicago high society.

44Donor 9623Audible

45Donor 9623: Part Two: One man. 36 Kids, The biggest reproductive hoax in historyAudible

46DrilledCritical FrequencyA true-crime podcast about climate change.

47Drowning CreekWavlandIn the early morning hours of November 2, 2007, Justin Gaines walked out of a popular nightclub on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia and was never seen again.

48Dumpster FyreBilly McFarland

49Ear HustleEar Hustle, Radiotopia Ear Hustle is prison slang for eavesdropping, and that’s what listening to the show feels like: a raw, often funny, and always surprising peek into the reality of life inside prison. Hosts Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods co-created the show that launched in 2017 while Earlonne was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, where Nigel was a volunteer teaching photography.

50Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi StoryApple TV+ / AT WILL MEDIA In 1920, a broke immigrant in Boston became one of America’s richest, most infamous men—practically overnight.