11 Podcasts You Need To Download For The Morning Commute

While most of us spend our morning commute yawning, screeching incorrect song lyrics, or complaining, the humble podcast has been going from strength to strength in terms of making early morning dreams come true. 

They’re quite possibly the best thing you can listen to first thing (apart from your boss telling you you’ve the day off) and after tucking into some of these, you’ll wonder how you’ve gone on so far without them.

1. My Dad Wrote A Porno

My Dad Wrote A Porno is exactly what it says on the tin. Jamie Morton, James Cooper and BBC Radio 1’s Alice Levine present an 18-part series in which they talk about Morton’s Dad’s pornographic novel.

The podcast itself is achingly funny and is for sure to leave you actually excited for your next commute, as you can tuck in to this comedy genius once more. 

2. An Irishman Abroad

Famed Irish comedian and all-round good guy Jarlath Regan began An Irishman Abroad in 2013, interviewing Irish (first and second generation) people every week about their lives and insights into the Irish way of thinking. It boasts countless movers and shakers such as Dara O’Briain, Brian O’Driscoll, Deirdre O’Kane, Sonia O’Sullivan and many, many more.

The Guardian gave it high praise, and even went as far as saying: ‘‘Quite frankly, every single young person reading this should go download this podcast and listen to it every week for the rest of time.”

3. TED Radio Hour

A no brainer. For those of you not familiar with TED Talks, the nonprofit organisation is devoted to giving people platforms on which they can vocalise ideas worth spreading.

They can be deep, thought provoking and wholly inspirational, and a pleasure to listen to in every sense. They cover an unbelievably broad spectrum and can be seen as the definition for food for thought.

4. Graham Norton by BBC 2

One of Ireland’s greatest exports, Graham Norton, shows us that he isn’t just a pretty face after all as he graces the audio world with his wildly entertaining presence we’ve come to know and love so well.

In this series, Graham teams up with the effortlessly lovely Maria McErlane and explores music with a vibrant mix of celeb guests. They end each show with a Grill Graham section, an agony Aunt type scenario in which he dishes out stellar advice with a comedic twist.

5. Jamie’s Ministry Of Food Recipes

In the 2008 TV miniseries of the same name, Jamie Oliver embarked on a noble quest to encourage the production and consumption of healthy eating amongst the people of Rotherham, England. 

Leaving behind in its legacy, an excellent series of video podcasts, in which Oliver guides viewers through ten simple recipes; ranging from an omelette to meatballs to banana tarte tatin. 

The best bit? They’re all explained in the no-nonsense, easy to follow for which Jamie is famous. Perfect for quick, easy evening dishes.

6. The Football Ramble

The Football Ramble kicked things off (pun intended) in 2007, with a quartet of spirited, learned and quick-witted football fans, including the Absolute radio presenter Pete Donaldson and the stand-up comic Jim Campbell.

The series has only grown more enticing year on year, providing a weekly fix of global soccer news, paired with in-depth analysis. The podcast itself manages to be both refreshingly funny and impressively informative, no mean feat.

7. The Naked Scientists

Created and co-presented by a Cambridge-based virologist called Dr Chris Smith, The Naked Scientist is a brilliant, long-running podcast which manages to explain the most prominent scientific ideas and breakthroughs of our time with clarity, wit, and a refreshing lack of scientific jargon.

Such questions discussed have been: ‘Would you die if you were swallowed by a whale?’, ‘What causes us to see stars?’ and ‘Why do we have toenails?’ to name a few.

8. Stuff You Should Know

Another one for the knowledge lovers, Stuff You Should Know is a podcast hosted by Josh Clark and Charles W ‘Chuck’ Bryant, both writers at from HowStuffWorks.com. 

The brainy duo pose some of life’s more important questions, such as ‘Could you outrun an alligator in a zig-zag?’, ‘Why do men have nipples?’ and ‘Who gets to name continents?’ The podcast is consistently ranked in the top 10 on iTunes.

9. Song Exploder

Song Exploder is a bi-weekly music based podcast, hosted and produced by Hrishikesh Hirway. It invites successful and esteemed musicians to break down the creative process of an individual song of theirs, beat-by-beat, while deconstructing the song into its component parts.

Such songs highlighted on the program have ranged from pop to hardcore punk to even television theme songs, leaving no experimental stone unturned.

10. Buzzfeed’s Another Round

Another Round is the brainchild of two wildly intelligent BuzzFeed writers Tracy Clayton and Heben Nigatu. 

The articulate duo talk everything from race and gender, to pop culture and squirrels, and everything that means anything to them. It’s witty, thought-provoking and effortlessly powerful. They also have a ‘Drunken Debate’ segment which will cause you to fall head over heels for the two of them, due to… well, knowing exactly how they feel. 

11. The 738am Podcast

The 738am podcast is an interview based show, hosted by Andrew Mangan, featuring creatives from the world of arts, entertainment, literature and media in Ireland, and beyond. The interviews are less stuffy and formal and more like a genuine, interesting chat. 

One of the rare occasions where it’s a very pleasant listen even if you don’t know the guest.

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