My Favorite Podcasts, 2016 Edition 12/14/16

My favorite podcasts of 2016, in no particular order:

	Slate’s Political Gabfest. Interesting roundtable discussion of the week's political news. I used to be addicted to cable news. This scratches the same itch, but is far less vapid and annoying.
	Accidental Tech Podcast. Programmers Marco Arment, Casey Liss, and John Siracusa discuss the latest technology news with a focus on Apple. Always thoughtful and funny. When I can, I try to catch their live broadcast on Wednesday nights.
	The Weeds. Featuring the trio of Ezra Klein, Sarah Kliff, and Matthew Yglesias from Vox.com, The Weeds is a weekly show that discusses wonky / intricate / “weedsy” political topics like whether our measurements for poverty are wrong and how effective are calorie counts on menus for fighting obesity. The Weeds is a great antidote to more strictly political discussions like you’ll hear on my other favorite political podcast, Slate’s Political Gabfest.
	The Ezra Klein Show. Ezra Klein, from the Weeds, interviews leaders in various fields. I heartily recommend his episodes on Malcom Gladwell, Joseph Stiglitz, Francis Fukuyama, and Bill Gates.
	Sound Opinions. An hour of music news, interviews, and reviews by Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis. Sound Opinions is my primary way of finding new and interesting artists and albums.

Honorable mentions

Exponent. Tech pundits James Allworth and Ben Thompson dive into the business side of technology. Who’s doing well, who’s doing poorly, and who’s poised to dominate and why. Skip if business talk puts you to sleep.

Common Sense with Dan Carlin. Dan Carlin, host of a previous favorite podcast, discusses the political and social issues of the day with an eye toward history. Agree or disagree with Carlin, his perspective is usually unique and always thought-provoking.

Past picks

This is my fourth year writing up my favorite podcasts. If you’re curious, you can read the lists from 2015, 2014 and 2013.