5 Pop Culture Podcasts You Need To Listen To

Written by Carina Nilma

Whether you’re a regular commuter on public transport, going on long road trips, or just enjoy getting some facts and funnies into your brain, podcasts have become the popular new way of accessing media, news and information.

Podcasts, like books or audiobooks, come in a ridiculous array of genres and cover an enormous variety of topics. You can bet that pretty much anything worth talking about will have a podcast. Here are five pop culture podcasts you might enjoy!

The Empire Film Podcast

If you love movies, then you’ll want to be tuning in to the Empire Film Podcast. From the team who bring you one of the leading film review magazines comes this often hilarious, sometimes mostly informative and occasionally loopy look into films. Regular hosts Chris Hewitt, Helen O’Hara, James Dyer and some of the other editorial team sit down to review the latest films, respond to listener questions, and interview guests from the film realm. Also keep an eye out for their “Spoiler Special” episodes where they break down all their favourite bits from a popular film, which will usually include an interview with the film’s director or leading star. You’re guaranteed at least one good tangent an episode and five consecutive weeks of Chris Hewitt dropping “Where’s the handle?” jokes.

Approximate episode duration: 1 hour 20 minutes (can vary greatly depending on guests)

Bang On

If you’re a regular listener to Double J or ABC radio, you’ll be familiar with Zan Rowe and Myf Warhurst. They’ve been on the airwaves for a long while, not to mention they’ve got to rub shoulders and interview some of the best musical talents around. What you may not know is they have a podcast called Bang On about the latest goings-on in world and entertainment news. Each week they take a look back at current hot trends to help you keep your finger on the pulse. The true highlight of any episode though is Myf’s hot takes on ridiculous “farshun” trends.

Approximate episode duration: 30 minutes

Inside Of You

Actor and recent “Supa-Star” Michael Rosenbaum has a relatively new podcast, Inside Of You. The podcast is in an interview format, where Rosenbaum sits down with his subject to talk about their work. But Rosenbaum likes to dig a little deeper, often delving into some probing and personal areas such as anxieties and struggles during their career. Rosenbaum, being an actor himself, can relate to his subjects, as well as their difficulties and is often quite candid but self-deprecating about his issues. It’s a refreshing listen, getting to hear about some of the more personal histories of Rosenbaum and his celebrity guests.

Approximate episode duration: 1 hour

The Periodic Table Of Awesome

If you’re a regular attendee of Supanova (and you probably are if you’re reading this!), and you enjoy going to our celebrity Q&A panels, you’re probably familiar with the onstage MC. Quinny has been around for almost forever, introducing, chatting to, and helping facilitate panels with film and TV stars and more. What you may not know is that he is the co-host of The Periodic Table Of Awesome. Alongside another host, Dion, and the occasional guest speakers, they chat about one specific topic each episode. Generally, it will be a brand new film or television series that’s just been released. It has a bit of a roundtable format, particularly when there are extra co-hosts, and the team will discuss what they liked and didn’t like about the film or show in question.

Approximate episode duration: 1 hour 20 minutes

Buffering The Vampire Slayer

Do you love Buffy The Vampire Slayer? Do you love original songs based around Buffy? Well, strap yourself in because Jenny Owen Youngs and Kristin Russo are delivering you an episode by episode recap of the show with Buffering The Vampire Slayer. With seven seasons and 144 episodes there is a lot of content to devour, and at the moment they’re only up to season four. With BTVS star Julie Benz attending Supanova Adelaide and Brisbane in November, it’s worth checking out for a quick refresh on the show.

Approximate episode duration: Anywhere from 80 minutes to 90 minutes

Honourable Mentions: Plumbing The Death Star, The X-Files Files, Still Untitled With Adam Savage, Happy Sad Confused