Are you self-isolating and looking for some new podcasts to listen to? 

Whether you want to distract yourself from the scary world or keep up to date with what’s going on, here are 5 great podcasts to check out.

1. Just the Gist (PodcastOne Australia)

Just the Gist is a podcast hosted by Aussie comedian and writer Rosie Waterland, and her best friend Jacob Stanley. As the name suggests, the podcast covers the gist of what you need to know about a range of random topics. The podcast started just last year and has covered the most recent season of the Australian Bachelor and Bachelorette reality series, the wives of Henry VIII, the CATS plot, the Titanic and many other random topics of Rosie’s choosing. Rosie and Jacob have a hilarious dynamic that will leave you in stitches and you’ll probably learn something new.

This podcast is a great one to distract you from the C-word… just avoid the recent episode on the Spanish flu.

Recommended episode: Episode 24 – “Titanic”. Rosie is a bit of a Titanic super-nerd and gives an insightful recap of the unsinkable ship that sunk.

2. Full Story (The Guardian)

 Full Story is a news podcast from Guardian Australia and recent episodes have largely focused on coronavirus, so it’s a great source to get updates on the situation from an Australian perspective. The episodes are around 20 minutes each, making it an easy podcast to listen to when you’d rather be doing something else but still want to be updated. ABC’s Coronacast is another good Australian podcast focusing on coronavirus.

Recommended episode: “Coronavirus: what is social distancing and how can it save lives?” (16 March 2020). This episode explains what social distancing looks like in practice and its importance in limiting the spread of COVID-19.

3. Scrolling with Harry & Austin

Scrolling is a light-hearted pop culture podcast hosted by niche meme-maker Harry Hill (@veryharryhill on Instagram) and artist Austin Blake Mays (@austinblakemays). The two are Americans in their mid-twenties and they cover the things that made them slow their scroll on social media each week. It’s a new podcast so there have only been a few episodes but if you have opinions on Taylor Swift’s music videos, conspiracy theories about Jameela Jamil, or you want to hear some light conversation about quarantine and corona, it’s a funny and entertaining podcast to listen to while you’re isolating.

Recommended episode: Episode 4 - "Marnie the Dog To Be Buried in Britney Spears's Grandma’s $23.99 Swimsuit" (9 March 2020)

4. Conversations (ABC Radio)

Hosted by Australian journalists Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, Conversations is a podcast that explores the interesting lives and stories of people that you might not know. Guests come from very different cultural, geographical and professional backgrounds to share interesting stories from their life, or the life of another. Guests have included former members of the Westboro Baptist Church, bestselling international authors, historians, and Holocaust survivors. Richard and Sarah are experienced interviewers and know how to ask the right questions to get an interesting interview. Definitely a podcast to distract you from the state of affairs in the world.

Recommended episodes: “Mary’s Three Gurus” (23 Jan 2020) to hear a first-hand account of a young woman’s relationship with three cult leaders in the 70s, “Hannah Kent and the Good People of Ireland” (27 Sept 2016) to enjoy Hannah’s lovely voice while learning about her book and Irish folklore, and “Taking the Pulse of a Dopesick Nation” (30 April 2019) to hear from the author of a book on the American opioid crisis.

5. Unravel True Crime (ABC Radio)

This is a great true crime podcast and unique in that you get to see investigative journalism at work. Unlike many other true crime podcasts that look at a different case each episode, Unravel spends an entire season on each case and encourages listeners to try find answers for themselves. You’ll find yourself completely invested in the cases and you may be shocked out how authorities have mishandled some of these. While the first three series revolved around missing or dead persons, the fourth season focuses on a case that didn’t end in death, but was still incredible fascinating – a great option for those who are interested in true crime but want a break from all the murder-y stuff.

Recommended season: Season 2 – “Barrenjoey Road”. This season looks at the disappearance of Trudie Adams, who went missing on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in 1978 and has never been found.

Don't forget to check out some of Blitz's own Podcasts on our Listen page!