The best podcasts of 2026 so far

Published 12 June 2026 · finance

View image in fullscreen Photograph: Gary Doak/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Live News “What’s going on?” Adam Hills is just one confused guest who, despite having no

View image in fullscreen Photograph: Gary Doak/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Live News “What’s going on?” Adam Hills is just one confused guest who, despite having no idea what is happening, is still having a ball in comedy great Harry Hill’s daft new series. Who else would bring out a puppet with a giant tongue that licks guests? Or a viral star called Simon from Morley’s department store in Bexleyheath? Not to mention Sarah the AI bot who likes to give celebrity profiles and dispense chocolate bars. The show is so surreal that it is even better in its video format – and rare is the podcast we say that about. This true-crime Guardian series drops one bombshell after another as it tells the story of murdered police officer Clifton Lewis and the man who was convicted. In 2011, Lewis was moonlighting as a mini-mart security guard when two men walked in and shot him. The resulting trial saw a man named Alex Villa jailed – despite always denying his guilt. Investigative journalist Melissa Segura hasn’t been able to stop thinking about the case since. In this seven-parter, she looks at the sweeping 12-year legal odyssey that follows, as Villa fights to clear his name, laying bare gaping cracks in the criminal legal system. It’s a compelling listen, delving into misconduct allegations, confessions made and recanted, and what she calls “a system determined to keep [Villa] there at all costs”. View image in fullscreen Photograph: Illuminaunty Productions From Radio 4 Woman’s Hour host Anita Rani, this is a spirited and fascinating new interview series. Rani loves a rebellious woman – just look at last year’s wonderful Sky documentary, Sisters of Disruption, where she celebrated the Brontë sisters for being punks.

In each episode, she sits down for deep chats with those who have broken boundaries and expectations, including Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh, comedian Fatiha El-Ghorri and feminist icon Gisèle Pelicot. Her opening episode with Meera Syal sets the bar high, with a flowing conversation that touches on empty-nest homes, divorce in south Asian communities and, of course, the triumph of Syal’s groundbreaking sitcom Goodness Gracious Me. View image in fullscreen Photograph: Tiana Hunter This winning North American offshoot of A History of the World in 100 Objects, from BBC Studios and SiriusXM, sees Roman Mars of feted design pod 99% Invisible take a look at the minutiae of the modern world. Everything from coins to once-forgotten civil war documents have their rich backstories explored, as a way to tell the tale of the US’s shames and triumphs. Historians such as Jill Lepore (also a Pulitzer-winning writer) give the series historical oomph, while the Avengers-esque slate of podcasters set to appear – among them Missing Richard Simmons’s Dan Taberski and Latif Nasser of Radiolab – makes it one of the year’s most star-stuffed pods. View image in fullscreen Photograph: Goalhanger/Chris Floyd What happens when an unlikely intergenerational pair team up to make a book club podcast? This lovely, open-minded series from The Rest is History co-host Dominic Sandbrook and his TRIH producer Tabitha Syrett, where brand new novels are just as welcome as the classics. So far they’ve had enlightening chats about everything from Wuthering Heights to A Court of Thorns and Roses, Mrs Dalloway and Normal People. The kind of club bookworms dream of being part of.