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What are some good ad-free podcasts? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 17 hours ago by bluelander@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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So I've run my own show for just about ten years now. We've never had ads or sponsorships of any kind other than a Patreon plug at the very end.

When I go out into the world and listen to other podcasts I'm perpetually annoyed at the lengthy, frequent ad-breaks. I don't mind being reminded to engage or click on their link or go to a show's Ko-Fi page, but a two minute dollar shave club or AG1 ad is just too much. And, honestly, the amount of advertising dollars some shows take makes me question their integrity just a bit. I know it might be a bit old-fashioned to think that, but I can't help it.

What are you favorite sponsorship-free, ad-free podcasts?

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[-] madjo@feddit.nl 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Walk The Pod is a daily-ish ramble chat on various topics. It only has a Patreon plug (https://walkthepod.com/)

Total Party Kill is a D&D actual play podcast that I have yet to hear an ad on. (https://www.theincomparable.com/tpk/)

Your Rivers Are Wrong is a podcast about storytelling. No ads here either. (https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yraw-podcast)

[-] atthecoast@feddit.nl 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

There’s a whole ecosystem of listener-supported podcasts using the “value for value” model popularized by “the Podfather” Adam Curry. You can find most of them on podcastindex.org or through a supported app like Podverse or Fountain.

[-] absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz 1 points 2 hours ago

Give "the fall off civilisations" a go

[-] AppearanceBoring9229@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Geeknights - 2 geeks talking about geeky stuff which is not just 1 but 3 different shows.

Ludology - talks about boardgame design

Self-hosted podcast - this one has a couple ads but all related to the tech and usually includes discounts

Darknet diaries- I think this has a bit of ads but can't remember right now

Hackaday - news about random stuff and cool projects

Just remembered people make games, but it's for patreon only

[-] deathbird@mander.xyz 1 points 3 hours ago

Can you give a general idea of what sort of subject matter you're interested in?

[-] lemming934@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 hours ago

A history of rock music in 500 songs is very good

[-] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 6 hours ago

I used to like kexp song of the day but they changed the format.

Now I like https://kutkutx.studio/category/song-of-the-day/feed

Also many good shows on WFMU, some music, some talk. https://wfmu.org/podcast

My favorites are:

  • Downtown Soulville with Mr. Fine Wine
  • Honky Tonk Radio Girl with Becky
  • Techtonic with Mark Hurst
  • Bucci (warning this one is weird but in a good way

Other good ad free ones:

Let me know if any of these have ads I'm pretty sure they all don't.

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 hours ago

I'll have to sit down tomorrow to go through these ones, but thanks for listing them all out in such a nice format!

[-] Hyphlosion@lemm.ee 3 points 8 hours ago

Good Morning Johto is a fun Pokémon news podcast. They sort of do ads, but it’s made up shit. It’s funny.

[-] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 hours ago

Final v3 is funny cartoon man Noodle and his game-dev friend Sam talking about the creative industry. Mostly about why you shouldn't work in the creative industry.

Well There's Your Problem is two communists an anarchist exploring awful ways architecture and infrastructure can turn people into a homogeneous paste. Notably this one has slides to accompany the audio.

Kill James Bond is a review podcast for slagging off spy movies and related films.

[-] ByteMe@lemmy.world 4 points 11 hours ago

I remember liking to "David Tennant does a podcast with". I don't remember any ads. Unfortunately it's over now

[-] Granen@lemmy.world 4 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Fall of Civilizations Podcast by Paul Cooper.

He doesn't release very often, but when he does its high quality, very long and completely ad free.

It's a fantastic podcast I would suggest anyone to listen to, Paul is a excellent storyteller and manages to breathe incredible life into history, even if you might not be interested in it.

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 3 points 11 hours ago

Sounds awesome! On the list.

[-] ganymede@lemmy.ml 2 points 7 hours ago

This is probably the pinnacle of what the modern documentary format should be.

Cannot recommend it enough.

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 14 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

Blowback is incredible, and has ads only at the beginning and end, so very skippable. I can't recommend Blowback enough. Each season covers the "behind the scenes" of different US atrocities, from the Iraq War, to Cuba, to Korea, to the Afghan War, to Cambodia. Any USian needs to listen to it especially to truly understand how and why US foreign policy acts in the manner it does.

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 3 points 16 hours ago

Oh yeah I listened to a bunch of them, it was definitely very good. Pre and post ads are probably the most bearable sort, but I'm trying to avoid them altogether if possible. But for anyone with more tolerance than me: absolutely also recommend this one.

[-] davel@lemmy.ml 9 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)
[-] Know_not_Scotty_does@lemmy.world 4 points 9 hours ago

Well, there's your problem is another one.

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 1 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

That's quite the pile of political shows! I'll dig through them and pick out the ones that hook me. Thanks for taking the time to link them all, makes it easier to use an online took to yank out the RSS feeds for subscription.

[-] davel@lemmy.ml 2 points 15 hours ago

I’m not sure those links will render RSS feeds. I just pulled them from my Apple Podcasts app. None of them are exclusive to Apple, though, so if you’re not in the Apple ecosystem you can still find them.

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 3 points 15 hours ago

Oh they will, I use a website that yanks the feeds. Having them all in one list like that makes it easier for me to parse through them though.

If you ever need to yank the RSS from a show then I have lots of success with: https://www.labnol.org/podcast. It's specifically for just this kind of thing. Weirdly a lot of shows, even on their own websites, don't make RSS feeds readily available.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 hours ago

This has just let me recover a podcast where the feed from the site I was using stopped working, thank you :D

[-] davel@lemmy.ml 2 points 14 hours ago

Interesting! You extract the ID from the link (e.g. the 1258545975 from https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/citations-needed/id1258545975) and then:

$ curl -s 'https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=1258545975' | jq -r '.results.[0].feedUrl'
https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/rss
$
[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 2 points 14 hours ago

Oh wow I didn't realize it was so simple. I couple just slap that into a bash script and save the effort of going through a website...maybe even use it for bulk processing when I get lots of recommendations.

[-] davel@lemmy.ml 2 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) 
#!/bin/sh

# Get the original RSS feed URL from an Apple Podcast show URL.

podcast="$1"
id=$(echo "$podcast" | awk '{sub(/^.*\/id/, ""); print}')
curl -s "https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=%24id" | jq -r '.results.[0].feedUrl'

There seems to be a bug in Lemmy that messes up the script’s rendering a little, but you’ll figure it out.

[-] DarkSirrush@lemmy.ca 5 points 14 hours ago

Welcome to Nightvale

Note: I don't actually listen to podcasts myself (I struggle to process voices when doing other tasks, or for long periods of time) but my spouse enjoys it.

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 3 points 13 hours ago

I've listened to this one before! Pretty interesting show, but unfortunately opens with several minutes of ads. Latest episode is about two and a half minutes of ads right off the bad, although one is their Patreon.

[-] DarkSirrush@lemmy.ca 2 points 13 hours ago

I haven't overheard them in awhile, didn't realise they open with ads now. Sorry for the suggestion that doesn't fit your criteria!

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 2 points 13 hours ago

No apology necessary! Many of these are still ending up on lists that may or may not get listened to one day :)

[-] florge@feddit.uk 4 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)
  • The Cryptid Factor
  • The Modern Mann (very few ads)
  • Darknet Diaries (very few ads)

F1 related:

  • Superlicense
  • The Midfield F1 podcast
  • For Formula 1's Sake
  • Box of Neutrals
[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 1 points 13 hours ago

I assume the first one was a typo and you meant Cryptid Factor? Seems like a really cool show, but unfortunately opens straight up with ads. First one was for 1-800-Flowers and then on to one for Rocket Money.

[-] florge@feddit.uk 2 points 13 hours ago

Yeah I did, and that's a shame they now have ads. They definitely didn't used to, been a while since I listened to one of their episodes tbf.

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 2 points 13 hours ago

Well the allure of Rhys Darby might be enough for me to stomach some of it. Time will tell though.

[-] Evotech@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago

I just skip ahead

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 2 points 13 hours ago

I'm looking to avoid doing that and avoid ad-driven shows in general, hence the original question. I have a few that I tolerate it on, but largely looking to avoid it where possible.

[-] Evotech@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago

I mean, it's either paid or ads right.

Are you willing to pay for podcasts?

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 4 points 13 hours ago

It's not though! I've done 500 episodes of my own podcast and we never charged for a single episode or ran a single ad. Not one single time. We have a Patreon, and it's optional.

And yes, I'm willing to pay for podcasts if I think they're worth paying for. I've donated to shows I enjoy and paid for others before. I see no issue with people getting paid for their work.

[-] Botzo@lemmy.world 4 points 17 hours ago

These two popped up in my brain right away.

https://www.popularfront.co/podcast

https://knowledgefight.com/

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 2 points 16 hours ago

Thanks! Onto the RSS feed they go.

[-] HuntressHimbo@lemm.ee 3 points 17 hours ago

Knowledge fight is my go to

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[-] GammaGames@beehaw.org 2 points 16 hours ago

If you’re into game dev or retro games in general, Dev Game Club is a small podcast where the hosts play old games and discuss their design + influence on games that would come later. I don’t think they even have a patreon lol

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 2 points 16 hours ago

I am indeed! My show is a retro gaming show. Def adding this one, thanks!

[-] Trent@lemmy.ml 2 points 16 hours ago

Thanks for asking something I'd thought of asking but never gotten around to. Also, what's your podcast OP?

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 2 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

Haha, glad to be of service! I've already gotten several good recommendations that are syncing to my MP3 player as we speak.

I run a retro gaming podcast, you can find us here: https://retrowarriors.net/

Or just directly subscribe via RSS here: http://retrowarriors.libsyn.com/rss

[-] Trent@lemmy.ml 3 points 16 hours ago

A retro gaming podcast is actually probably more my style than the other two podcasts listed. So, have another subscriber...

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[-] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 1 points 15 hours ago

Breaking Points

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 2 points 15 hours ago

Went to listen to a bit of this one and was instantly hit with ads for the NFL and other stuff. Maybe you're on their Patreon feed or something?

[-] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 1 points 14 hours ago

I mostly listen to them on Youtube.

https://youtu.be/Kcl0JS2_G-4

Do you mean normal ads from the platform, or ads which are presented by the show host? (Think LTT style)

[-] bluelander@lemmy.ml 1 points 14 hours ago

Any corporate sponsored advertising. Platform, sponsorship, whatever.

The ads on their RSS feed seem to be auto generated and inserted. Lots of shows use that kind of service.

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this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2025
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