I've been a fan of podcasts (or recorded audio/radio for those intimidated by the term) ever since I started picking foraminifera, a task which involves hours under the microscope. While music and audiobooks are always welcome companions, the sheer variety of podcasts have made it my go-to for laboratory work and commuting (apart from NPR).

Though I have come across many podcasts, I still don't think that the optimal way to search for podcasts of interest has been streamlined yet. This, on hindsight, might perhaps add to the lure of podcasts as they are things that you discover from a good source.

Here's a list of some of the extant podcasts that I'm listening to right now and would earnestly recommend. I've kept NPR-based podcasts out of this list. I would appreciate your thoughts on your favorites in the comments. Hover for details and click for links:

Science

60-Second Science

Scientific American's short and sweet, 1-minute podcast on the latest interesting science research and news.

Science Magazine Podcast

A break down of the features of the academic journal Science's latest issue.

Nature Podcast

Featured research and news from the latest issue of Nature.

PNAS Science Sessions

Featured research from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.

They Blinded me with Science

Self-plug: A radio show that I co-host with other UT graduate students on KVRX 91.7 where we interview researchers from UT and beyond.

Generation Anthropocene

Gen Anthro is an excellent podcast on the Anthropocene era: informative, cutting-edge, and uptodate!

Music

Song Exploder

One song per episode, dissected by the whims of the songwriters: inspiration, muses, and circumstances alike.

Metal Sucks Podcast

One way to keep up with the broader metal community.

Spektrmodule

Author Warren Ellis' quiet corner where he gets into your head with selected dark ambient, noise, and drone.

Miscellaneous

Welcome to Night Vale

NPR meets Twin Peaks and so much more. What an incredibly rich, strange, and entertaining podcast. Tune in from Episode 1 and enjoy the ride!

Philosophize This

Stephen West explains, reasons, and pontificates about the history of philosophy.

A Cast of Kings

As a Game of Thrones fan, this is an interesting back-and-forth after every episode between a person who has read all the books and a person who has read none of them.

Welcome to Macintosh

A new podcast on the history of Macintosh.

Note: If you're looking for a podcast app on an iPhone, I would highly recommend Overcast.