They say the news never stops, but in 2025 it's been travelling at breakneck speed. From Kashmir to the Vatican, these top politics podcasts make sense of the maelstrom with informative analysis and debate by experts in the field.
Newscast
Newscast is a "show that knows what it is and who it's for", said Miranda Sawyer in The Observer. The daily news podcast from the BBC is aimed at anyone who wants to "dive into the day's big stories". "Everyone on the show has the advantage of actually still being involved in the areas they're talking about," and there's plenty of journalistic clout to go round. Presented by the BBC's former chief political correspondent, Adam Fleming, and political editor Chris Mason, with other heavy-hitters pitching in, listeners are in expert hands. That's not to say it's a purely academic listen. Newscast's "briskness and jollity" combined with a strong community spirit keeps its audience, like the presenters, very much on the ball.
Today in Focus
The Guardian's flagship podcast, "Today in Focus" is simply a "really great show for keeping up with world events big and small," said Andrzej Lukowski in Time Out. Hosts Helen Pidd and Michael Safi preside over an atmosphere "slightly less formal" than many traditional news podcasts, drawing on a wealth of experienced journalists who bring expert insights to each topic. True to its name, "Today in Focus" thoroughly explores a new story every day, tackling both under-the-radar issues and those which loom large in the headlines. The podcast is unique for avoiding the discussion-based format of its peers. Its "documentary sensibility," said Charlotte Tobitt of The Press Gazette, is very much deliberate. Many episodes move their audiences just as much as they inform.
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These Times
Helen Thompson (co-host of the "Talking Politics" podcast) has teamed up with UnHerd political editor Tom McTague for this informative podcast that delves into the history that has shaped today's politics. This is "proper wide-angle stuff" placing the latest events within long-term trends that go back centuries, said Josiah Gogarty in GQ. The hosts "both know their current affairs onions" but they also bring in knowledgeable guests to help listeners gain a better understanding of our "chaotic modern world".
Westminster Insider
Politico's "thought-provoking" weekly podcast takes listeners into the House of Commons to discover "what life is really like" for the people inside, said Vicky Jessop in London's The Standard. Delving into questions "you might not even have even thought to ask before", like what happens behind closed doors during mysterious COBRA meetings when a crisis hits the UK, this is one for "true political nerds". A "proper gem".
Democracy's Year of Peril
I'm a "sucker for a podcast with a gloomy, portentous title", said James Marriott in The Times. In 2023, the chief economics commentator and "chief Jeremiah" of the Financial Times, Martin Wolf, made a terrific series called "The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism". It was "doom on a grand canvas": very much my bag. Now, he is back with another intellectually inspiring, yet extremely unnerving, podcast called "Democracy's Year of Peril", in which he interviews leading political thinkers about the future of Western liberal democracy.
Robert Kagan warns that the US is a "voluntary association of states" that may not hang together for ever. Fiona Hill explains why she thinks America is already in a state of "cold civil war". Anne Applebaum tells us that European diplomats are preparing for a world in which America is no longer a democracy. "Depressed yet? Yes? Good. And we're only just warming up."
The News Agents
"The News Agents" has become "a daily fix" for many since its inception in 2022, said Patricia Nicol in The Times.
The "much-trumpeted" podcast from LBC's owners Global is co-hosted by Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall (all formerly of the BBC), said The Guardian. The title may be a "throwback to when we got our daily news by popping into a local shop once a day", said GQ, but this is what the ex-mainstream media professionals are offering: a "smart, daily dissection" of the big news stories.
The Rest is Politics
The "staggeringly popular political podcasting behemoth", as The Irish Times' Fiona McCann called it, is yet another blockbuster produced by Gary Lineker's wildly successful Goalhanger Podcasts.
Fronted by former Blairite spin doctor Alastair Campbell and ex-Conservative minister and "awkward nerd" Rory Stewart, its red-blue logo makes clear the divide between the two, said Samuel Rubinstein in The Spectator.
But although it’s definitely serious, it’s also "kind of a balm, and pretty chummy" said The Irish Times. But these two are "wildly well informed" and "personally invested in how these structures play out on issues from prison reform to public education". Listen in for "astoundingly articulate, generally polite and largely reasonable gentlemen".
Electoral Dysfunction
Each week on Sky News' "Electoral Dysfunction", political editor Beth Rigby, former Labour MP Harriet Harman and the former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson bring their "no-nonsense styles and decades of experience" to bear.
The podcast aims to "try and attract people that don't necessarily live and breathe politics", Rigby told Press Gazette. It takes a weekly look at political leaders and their policies, and promises to offer a "less formal" side of political journalism, said Rigby. "Honestly, it's quite rude as well."
The Daily T
Recorded straight from The Telegraph's newsroom, this daily news and right-of-centre politics pod has the paper’s director of audio, Camilla Tominey, and the former editorial director of BBC News, Kamal Ahmed at the helm.
"Camilla and I will have all this brilliant journalism at our fingertips," said Ahmed in The Telegraph prior to the launch last May of the podcast, which is filmed. YouTube Shorts and clips are an "incredibly important part of what we want this podcast to be", Ahmed told Press Gazette.
Tominey pointed out to The Telegraph that they fill a "gap in the market for something that hasn't been designed by a left-wing committee". They have rather different political persuasions, though, which was part of the appeal for Tominey, who aims for what she describes as "agreeable disagreement". The pair secured the first in-depth campaign trail interview with Rishi Sunak, asking about both his proposals for national service and his appreciation of "Star Wars".
Hacks on Tap
Hosted by former Obama campaign director David Axelrod and Republican strategist Mike Murphy, "Hacks on Tap" is "the best podcast about American politics by miles, and one of my favourite podcasts about anything", said James Marriott in The Times. Listeners are invited to pull up a chair and "settle down to listen to these twinkly and avuncular old-timers thrash things out together". The mood is amiable yet it avoids the "airless consensus" that suffocates many of its rivals.
Americast
This thrice-weekly US politics podcast delves into the latest insights and analysis coming straight from the White House. Hosted by BBC's North America editor, Sarah Smith, BBC Radio 4 presenter, Justin Webb, the BBC's social media investigations correspondent, Marianna Spring, and BBC North America correspondent, Anthony Zurcher, "Americast" is a "one-stop shop for everything you could ever dream, wish and hope to know about American politics", said Naomi May in Elle. The real draw is the Q&A sessions where members of the public get the chance to put their questions to the knowledgeable hosts.
The Week Unwrapped
Have you missed the biggest news of the week? Or at least the stories which will shape our lives in years to come, when the passing hype of the day's headlines have faded from memory. That's the premise of The Week's own award-winning podcast, "The Week Unwrapped", which seeks out under-reported stories with unexpected consequences, from the world-changing to the small but personally significant.
Listen to The Week Unwrapped on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts
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