NPR's Pod Club: Handpicked recommendations from the folks who live for this stuff

In 2025, we laughed, we cried and we learned about ourselves and the world… all with a little help from a podcast.

Celebrate this year by revisiting some of our stand-out episodes, curated by the writers of NPR’s Pod Club newsletter.

And you can click here to subscribe to Pod Club for handpicked podcast recommendations every Friday.

But for now, we’re kicking things off with the pod that listeners like you chose as the best of the year:

🏆 The Pod Club People’s Choice Award: Throughline 🏆

The author William Faulkner wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Over the last six years, the team behind Throughline has made this idea their mission, and this year was no exception.

Throughline hosts connect the dots between today’s headlines and the historical moments that shaped them. This year, they focused on some of the leading stories of our time, diving deep into the origins of ICE and the rise of the anti-vaccine movement.

Listeners tune into Throughline to travel through time. And travel they did…to Central America! To the bottom of the sea! Along the way, they discovered the hidden story of Captain America and hidden figures like the Queen of Tupperware.

Throughline proves that even the most timely stories are timeless. And listeners agree– it’s the people’s pick!

The full list of the Pod Club Awards is available here, but here’s a sneak peek. 👀

The Dream Guest Award
for Host We Want to Invite to Our Dinner Party 🎉

Rachel Martin | Wild Card

If your idea of a good dinner party involves zero small talk, then you’re going to want to make Rachel Martin your guest of honor. On Wild Card, Rachel gets people to open up about things that don’t usually come up in polite conversation. Whether it’s Harrison Ford on embracing death or Brandi Carlile on growing older, Rachel has an uncanny ability to make the biggest voices of our time share their most vulnerable sides.

The Roadtrip Detour Award
for the Podcast That Made Me Want to Visit This Place 📍

Off the Path | WSHU

This podcast is a fascinating, often joyful look at untold New England origin stories. No matter where you’re from, Davis Dunavin is captivating, and no story is too big or too small. Start with episodes about the etymology of “podunk”, a mysterious piece of roadside graffiti in New Hampshire, and Teddy Roosevelt’s childhood in New York City.

The Instant Replay Award
for the Episode So Nice We Played It Twice 🔁

Why now is the time to find power in "otherness" | Code Switch

This conversation with Viet Thanh Nguyen practically begs to be listened to twice. It’s chock-full of poignant observations about otherness, solidarity, activism, and literature. At one point Nguyen says, “I became a writer because I believed in the power of literature and art to save me. But I also realized that if something has the power to save you, it also has the power to destroy you.” Woah.

The Honorary Ph.D. Award
for the Episode that Boosted My IQ 🤓

How much for that egg | Planet Money

Remember the Great Egg Shortage of 2025? At a time when a dozen eggs cost a whopping $12, an NPR staffer with a hen farm found himself with plenty of eggs to spare. But what’s the best way to sell scarce goods fairly? Leave it to Planet Money to give him (and us!) a master-class on price-setting.

The Earbuddy Award
for the Episode that Made Me Feel Less Alone 🫂

A strange bet | Embedded’s Alternate Realities

After years spent fighting over politics, reporter Zach Mack decides the only way to get through to his father is to put his conspiracy theories to the test. But what starts off as a friendly wager between father and son turns into a yearlong journey back to each other. It’s not always easy to connect across differences, but this series shows it’s always worth a try.

The Pod Club Awards were curated and written by Lauren Gonzalez and Julia Carney, and edited by Luis Trelles. Special thanks to Isabella Romeu.

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