We're now almost halfway through 2017, and trying to make sense of the daily news has become a skill unto itself. The post-Serial transformation of podcasting from niche to mainstream is old news at this point, but in this era of uncertainty and flux, the role of online broadcasting has become more prominent than ever. Between the wave of new bite-sized morning update shows, designed to keep up with the frenetic pace of news coming out of the Trump administration, and the liberal behemoth that is Crooked Media, it's a great time to be a politically-minded podcast listener. And if you'd rather avoid reality entirely with some rich, atmospheric storytelling or true-crime thrills, you're covered.
Here are the 10 best podcasts of 2017, so far. There's no overlap from our list of The 25 Essential Podcasts of 2016, but most of those are still running and still essential.
1. Pod Save America
Following the election of Donald Trump, former Obama administration staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor shuttered their no-bullshit campaign podcast Keepin' It 1600, and relaunched with a new show, a new company, and a new purpose. Pod Save America was the first podcast released under the now-booming Crooked Media banner, billed as "A political conversation for people not quite ready to give up or go insane." In their twice-weekly episodes Favreau, Lovett and Vietor delve into the latest political news with a fitting blend of incredulous humor and righteous rage, and host compelling interviews with politicians, journalists and activists. Guests have included David Axelroad, Kara Swisher, Trevor Noah, Ana Marie Cox, Katie Couric, and President Barack Obama. Even Pod Save America's ads are unmissable, thanks to their gloriously surreal yet topical segues: "Are you looking for someone who will slow the investigation of your campaign's possible collusion with a foreign adversary? Try ZipRecruiter.com!"
2. S-Town
The strangest, saddest, most bewitchingly human story of the year so far came out of the This American Life team with their second spinoff podcast after Serial. To say too much about S-Town is to ruin the slow-burn impact of its wildly unpredictable real-life Southern Gothic story, which explores the life and locale of a chronically dissatisfied Alabama man named John B. McLemore. The team were approached by MacLemore, who asked them to investigate allegedly widespread corruption in his town, and specifically a local man who was bragging about getting away with murder. From that true-crime sounding premise, S-Town evolves into a complex and haunting character study.
3. Nancy
Six episodes in, WNYC's newest show already feels like an essential classic. Hosted by Kathy Tu and Tobin Low, Nancy offers provocative, frank, and funny conversations about the modern LGBTQ experience. Stories run the emotional gamut: there's an episode all about coming out, an episode exploring queer representation (or the lack thereof) in the Harry Potter series, and this week's stunning episode, "Here's What It's Like," which features two generations of people living with HIV.
4. Terrible, Thanks For Asking
Author and self-described "notable widow" Nora McInerny hosts this revealing talk show, which deals in honest, non-BS answers to the question "How are you?" The subject matter is often extremely dark—there are stories of irreparable brain damage and devastating career mistakes, several deep-dives into the process of dying and grieving, and one exceptionally harrowing episode about a vicious sexual assault. But every terrible story brings with it a ferocious sense of hope, thanks to the insightful honesty of TTFA's subjects and the humanity with which McInerny draws out their stories.
5. The Daily
Twenty minutes a day, Monday to Friday of every week, dropping shortly before 6 a.m., The New York Times's Michael Barbaro covers the essentials of "what you need to know today". It's a reassuringly consistent way to feel like you're at least keeping moderately on top of things, and the show offers an inside track on scoops like Emily Steele's Bill O'Reilly exposé, or Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush's consistently revelatory White House reporting.
6. Crimetown
This show had us at "from the creators of HBO's The Jinx", and went on to meet and exceed the expectations set by that tease. Each season of Crimetown focuses on the culture of crime in a different American city, with the now-complete season one focusing on Providence, Rhode Island, where "organized crime and corruption infected every aspect of public life." Zac Stuart-Pontier and Marc Smerling host this series of true-crime vignettes, which comprise an investigative deep-dive into a city populated, as the show puts it, by "crooked cops and honest mobsters," a story where the moral lines are continually blurred.
7. Missing Richard Simmons
Morally suspect? Arguably. Increasingly uncomfortable listening? Sure. Now rendered irrelevant by subsequent developments? Absolutely. But for any conversation about the most culturally impactful podcasts of 2017, Missing Richard Simmons is indispensable. Fitness guru Richard Simmons disappeared in February of 2014—he stopped teaching his regular classes, cut off all communication with his friends, and seemingly became a recluse —and nobody knew why. Filmmaker Dan Taberski, a friend of Simmons', sets out to find out what happened.
8. Up and Vanished
Ever since Serial sparked a fresh wave of interest in the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, and ultimately led to her convicted killer Adnan Syed being granted a new trial, a wave of copycat true-crime efforts have sprung up across the podcast landscape. Podcasters of varying qualification have set out to re-examine cold cases in the hopes of finding new evidence, and one of the most successful to date is the Georgia-based Up and Vanished. In 2005, high school teacher and beauty queen Tara Grinstead disappeared from her apartment in Ocilla, Georgia, a case that was never solved and became "the largest case file in Georgia history". Documentarian-turned-podcast host Payne Lindsey sets out to find answers, and without spoiling too much... he gets them.
9. Homecoming
A psychological thriller so gripping, tightly scripted and star-studded that it feels like a movie in your memory. Told largely through a nonlinear series of phone calls and taped therapy sessions, Homecoming stars Catherinre Keener as a case-worker at a mysterious government facility who is assigned to treat a soldier (Oscar Isaac) with severe PTSD, and gradually comes to suspect that her facility's treatment program—and the agenda of her boss, played by David Schwimmer—is not quite what it seems. Season two is coming, and a TV adaptation is also in the works from Mr Robot creator Sam Esmail, so now's the time to get caught up.
10. Presidential
Though this Washington Post podcast is from last year, released in the run-up to the election, it's become even more relevant now that the 45th presidency has taken its chaotic shape. Hosted by Lillian Cunningham, the show explores in chronological order each of America's 44 presidents to date, analyzing their personalities, actions, and legacies. Cunningham is joined by historians, journalists, and icons like Bob Woodward to put each POTUS under the microscope and reflect on how the presidency has changed over time.
