The 5 Best News Podcasts To Keep You Up-To-Date

Breaking news certainly seems to be breaking a lot more often than it used to these days, and while it might be tempting to just put our fingers in our ears and hum showtunes really loudly, it has also never been more important to stay updated. Fortunately, these five podcasts are here to keep you informed as painlessly as possible, with news offered either straight-up or with a comedic twist to help the medicine go down. So whether you want quick, to-the-point updates about the pandemic or you like a fun conversation between friends about everything from politics to pop culture to parrots, there’s a perfect podcast here for you.

Cracked co-founder Jack O’Brien and his co-host Miles Gray give us the daily news with a comedic spin on The Daily Zeitgeist! Each day, they’ll put the headlines into historical context, covering sports and tech news, politics and pandemic updates, earthquakes and Emmy nominations, and everything in between with the help of hilarious comedians and whip-smart journalists providing alternative analysis to all the news ‘n views. So if you like your headlines with a dose of humor, love hidden facts, and want to know what the habits of dolphins have to do with Trump’s tweets, The Daily Zeitgeist is ready for you.

Hayes Brown and Casey Rackham host News O’Clock, getting into top headlines about coronavirus, sports news, foreign affairs, and the economy, but also diving into pop culture to chat about Taylor Swift’s new album, Martha Stewart’s too-sexy selfies, Rihanna's Met Gala memories, and where all our favorite Black sitcoms are streaming. So if you like to stay up-to-date about everything from mask mandates to Megan Thee Stallion, News O’Clock has got the goods.

When it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, the news is rapid-fire; changes happen not only daily, but sometimes minute-to-minute, making it difficult to keep up with the latest info. Reopening America is here to help. With daily, bite-size episodes, this podcast provides sharply focused information on specific pandemic-related topics, from schools reopening to what businesses are doing to stay sanitized to the latest scientific developments. Get your Covid-19 updates in seven minutes or less with Reopening America.

Oscar Ramirez hosts The Daily Dive, a perfect 20-minute podcast to start your day with the news and not the noise. Along with journalists and analysts, Oscar gets to the bottom of the headlines, going deeper without getting into the weeds. Episodes cover everything from stimulus package negotiations, the lingering effects of Covid-19, why and how federal agents are being deployed in American cities, the death of cable TV, and much more. Listen to The Daily Dive for no-nonsense reporting and a whole lot of straight talk.

You’ve heard the best of the news, but what about the rest? Strange News Daily to the rescue! This podcast dives deep into the weirdest headlines, giving us the 411 about the friendship habits of beluga whales, elephants who hate disco, a house that’s leaking honey, a Tampa man quarantining with hundreds of parrots, robots on Mars, how space travel will affect language, gambling on hot-dog-eating competitions, and a whole lot more. Strange News Daily never fails to give you the daily dose of WTF you're looking for.

If you want to be sure you're listening to the podcasts everyone else is checking out, iHeartRadio has you covered. Every Monday, iHeartRadio releases a chart showing the most popular podcasts of the week. Stay up to date on what's trending by checking out the chart here. There's even a chart just for radio podcasts here, featuring all your favorite iHeartRadio personalities like Bobby Bones, Elvis Duran, Steve Harvey and dozens of others.

Photo: Getty Images


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