The best podcasts of 2025

27 December 2025, 18:21

Looking to find your next favourite podcast? Radio X has some top choices from the past year: comedy, true crime, news and more.

• Podcasting has grown even bigger in the past few years with hundreds more new titles added every month that cover diverse interests and lifestyles.
• So many, in fact that, it's often difficult to know where to start - or find your next favourite. From self-improvement to niche hobbies, to true crime and news updates there's something for everyone.
• Radio X takes a look at the best of this year's podcasts, from comedy and movies to true life stories that will amaze you.
• Each of the podcasts listed below are available on Global Player

How to listen to podcasts: a beginner's guide to podcasting

1. My Therapist Ghosted Me

   Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally attempt to give give 100% unqualified, unsubstantiated but up front and honest advice on the plethora of issues they and many others continue to grapple with.

   Listen now on Global Player: My Therapist Ghosted Me

   

2. The News Agents

   2025 will see Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall take their daily news podcast out on tour with a series of exclusive live performances in Birmingham, Manchester, and Edinburgh. Expect astute analysis and explanation of the day's news – and a healthy dose of scepticism and the ability to laugh at it all when needed.

   Listen now on Global Player: The News Agents

   

3. Coining It

   Broke and stuck in Blackpool, James Parker finds a Bitcoin glitch pouring millions into his account. Most would stay quiet. James doesn’t. A true crime tale you won’t forget.

   Listen now on Global Player: Coining It

   

4. Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files

   World-renowned journalist Christiane Amanpour and ex-husband Jamie Rubin, a former US State Department official, unpack today’s defining global crises. Drawing on decades of insider experience in global affairs, reporting from conflict zones, and grilling world leaders, they explain how we ended up where we are – and where we might be going.

   Listen to Global Player: The Ex Files

   

5. The Fellas

   Join Calfreezy and Chip on The Fellas, broadcast straight from the iconic 1990's basement set. Dive deep into their world as we recount hilarious life experiences, often delving into TMI territory about our private lives. Nothing is off the table, we promise a rollercoaster of emotions, laughter, and raw, unfiltered conversations.

   Listen on Global Player: The Fellas

   

6. Vine: Six Seconds That Changed The World

   This is the story of the social media app that changed the face of the internet before it crashed and burned in just three short years. Vine was the future - until it wasn’t. How did a platform so popular and beloved just disappear? Like any self-respecting chronically-online person, Benedict Townsend needed answers. In this 8-part series he tracks down Vine’s founders, social media power players and some of the most famous Vine creators to find out what really happened. What he found? A bizarre story of genius, chaos, and betrayal—and the blueprint for everything that came next. If you want to understand TikTok, or the modern internet itself, you need to understand Vine.

   Listen on Global Player: Vine: Six Seconds That Changed The World

   

7. Bloomin' Legends with Johnny Vaughan & Gavin Woods

   Join mates Johnny Vaughan and Gavin Woods as they uncover the jaw-dropping stories of history’s boldest icons and unsung heroes. From outrageous escapades to ingenious breakthroughs, every episode is packed with legendary tales you didn’t learn in school (but wish you had).

   Listen on Global Player: Bloomin' Legends with Johnny Vaughan & Gavin Woods

   

8. Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer

   In the wake of 9/11, anthrax-laced letters unleashed a new wave of terror across the nation. But who was behind the attacks — and why has America nearly forgotten this story? As government buildings shut down and law enforcement scrambled to track the perpetrator, the FBI launched one of the largest and most complex investigations in its history. Untangling a web of scientific evidence and false leads, the case took unexpected turns with lasting consequences.

   Listen on Global Player: Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer

   

9. Shouldn't Laugh But...

   Each week, best mates Laura Smyth and Carmen Butcher dive into the daft, ridiculous, and gloriously dumb - from personal disasters to the wildest things the internet throws at us.

   Listen on Global Player: Shouldn't Laugh But...

   

10. Good Hang with Amy Poehler

    Come hang with Amy Poehler. Each week on her podcast, she'll welcome celebrities and fun people to her studio. They'll share stories about their careers, mutual friends, shared enthusiasms, and most importantly, what's been making them laugh. This podcast is not about trying to make you better or giving advice. Amy just wants to have a good time.

    Listen on Global Player: Good Hang with Amy Poehler

    

11. The Crime Agents

    The Crime Agents, the new podcast from the makers of The News Agents, goes beyond the headlines to uncover the truth behind crime that affects all of us. Why is violence rising? Why is public trust in the police collapsing? And what’s really driving young people to kill each other?

    Hosted by two insiders who have spent their lives chasing the answers, this is your front-row seat to the realities of crime today. Neil Basu, the former Head of UK Counter-Terrorism Policing, brings unparalleled experience from the front lines of law enforcement. Andy Hughes, LBC’s Crime Correspondent, has spent two decades exposing the criminal underworld as an award-winning investigative journalist.

    Listen on Global Player: The Crime Agents

    

12. Pitch Side

    Theo, Reev & Tom bring you the UK's Number 1 Football podcast. Full of outrageous takes, heated debate and more.

    Listen on Global Player: Pitch Side

    

13. Unlikely Friends

    A brand new podcast from BAFTA winning comedian Leigh Francis, Spice Girl turned radio host Emma Bunton, Damage frontman Jade Jones, and Jill Francis - where anything can (and probably will) happen! Unlikely Friends is all about laid-back chats that are funny, honest, insightful, and sometimes surprisingly deep - with a few shocking revelations and celebrity guests along the way.

    Listen on Global Player: Unlikely Friends

    

14. Strangers on a Bench

    Have you ever walked past a mysterious stranger on a park bench and wondered about their lives? Tom Rosenthal (singer-songwriter by trade) has spent the past year walking through various parks across the UK and Ireland, approaching random bench-dwellers and asking if he can sit next to them and record their conversation. Every stranger remains anonymous, neither name or place of work is ever revealed (even to Tom himself), leading to greater openness, intimacy, and surprising revelations from the participants.

    Listen on Global Player: Strangers on a Bench

    

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