50. The Deep Vault, “Episode 2: The Fall”

“The Deep Vault” is a medley of throwbacks to a radio sci-fi landscape of the 40s and 50s, which thrived on monotone-voiced robots, out-of-this-world mind melds and sinister government plots. But beyond the dystopian melodrama, the distinguishing quality of this show (and its Dead Signals precursor “Archive 81“) is its hearty sound design, fashioning a covert underground lair from thin air. What transpires in the latter half of this second chapter in the series is a terrifying cacophony of screams, shots and a creature that doesn’t seem to belong in our world. Strap on a pair of noise-canceling headphones, close your eyes and make sure all the lights are on when you’re finished.

Listen to the episode here.

49. Terms, “Episode 4 – Goddamn Rockford”

Call it morbid fascination or escapist soap opera, but the basic premise of “Terms” alone (dangerous demagogic politician wins the presidential election, forcing the incumbent to block his succession) makes it a dirty-politics audio drama for the moment. This standout chapter tones down the melodrama of backroom deals and accusatory verbal sparring and shifts the attention to on-the-ground reporting. Taking a wider view of the political landscape and moving outside the Washington bubble, it’s an interesting parallel to the potential salves for the very political system it’s dramatizing.

Listen to the episode here.

48. Start Up, “Shadowed Qualities (Season 4, Episode 3)”

After initially setting their sights inward, chronicling the creation of Gimlet Media, “StartUp” has done a fine job documenting the travails of nascent businesses (last year’s Dating Ring season) and established business leaders (this season’s deep dive into the comeback attempt of former American Apparel head Dov Charney) alike. Though it didn’t have the innate drama of some of those other episodes, no chapter in the “StartUp” saga put anyone under a microscope quite like this incredibly personal window into the life of Gimlet CEO Alex Blumberg. We’re used to getting this kind of transparency for creators, but not necessarily from executives. This introspective series, regardless of the focus, continues to be a rarity in the entertainment world.

Listen to the episode here.

47. Reading Aloud, “#62: Timothy Simons, Robyn Clark, Robert Baker”

Nate Corddry’s “Reading Aloud” departed the podcast airwaves earlier this year, but not before leaving behind a hearty collection of fiction and essays read by a fine group of actors and comedians (Aya Cash, Jimmi Simpson and Alison Pill were among this year’s guests). One of the show’s lasting delights will be this episode’s kick-off: Timothy Simons’ impeccable delivery of Mike Lacher’s McSweeney’s essay “I’m Comic Sans, Asshole.” With an entertaining reading from Robyn Clark and a chilling George V. Higgins excerpt delivered by Corddry himself (and Robert Baker’s performance of the Declaration of Independence to boot), it’s a solid example of what made the show a quality listen while it was still on the air.

Listen to the episode here.

46. Candidate Confessional, “Relive One Of The Worst Booings In Political History”

One of the only podcasts built solely on the perspective of those on the wrong side of an election outcome, “Candidate Confessional” talked with national primary contenders, campaign staffers and even a surrogate of the current president-elect. But the most curious case that Sam Stein and Jason Cherkis covered this year was that of Ben Konop, whose public booing came to symbolize the death knell of his 2009 bid for Toledo mayor. Konop’s retelling of the story is a window into the recent past, when viral videos were still an early sensation. It’s also a reminder of how quickly fortunes can turn in the political realm and the quaint mistakes that used to end careers.

Listen to the episode here.

45. Lif-e.af/ter, “Ep. 7”

The first six episodes of GE and Panoply’s follow-up to last year’s “The Message” is a sci-fi infused exploration of how we process grief. But when “Life/After” expands from a narrow vision of obsession and despair, the results might be even more unsettling. When our protagonist crashes a gathering of tech-cult followers, the story’s blend of social media futurecasting and undercover intrigue gives way to an audio bottle episode that flips the script on everything that’s come before.

Listen to the episode here.

44. I Was There Too, “Aladdin with Gilbert Gottfried”

Animated films have always been populated by voices belonging to comedians whose material is decidedly unsafe for youngsters. As he discusses the curious circumstances that led to his role as Iago the parrot in “Aladdin,” Gilbert Gottfried certainly doesn’t shy away from his NSFW bonafides. But underneath that brash exterior is a thoughtful consideration of a career that’s seen its share of controversy and missteps. (After you’re done, be sure to catch up with the Martin Casella two-parter.)

Listen to the episode here.

43. Surprisingly Awesome: “#14: I Told You Sos”

“Suprisingly Awesome” has been able to mine the mundane for an unexpected amount of drama. (See: their overview of the tumultuous history behind the birth of frequent flyer miles.) But the show succeeds even when it tackles more abstract concepts. “I Told You So” takes aim at our collective vilification of confronting other people after we’ve been proven right. Like the best episodes, it not only elevates the importance of something oft-ignored, it uses that sense of discovery to challenge the perceptions of what we collectively deem insignificant or unworthy of examination.

Listen to the episode here.

42. You’re the Expert, “Pet Psychiatry”

Aside from one nationally syndicated exception, panel shows have never reached the saturation here in the States that their British counterparts enjoy. But this Boston production, which gives “What’s My Line?” a modern twist, consistently courts an impressive array of leaders in various scientific fields and lightning-quick comedians to match (Ken Reid, Obehi Janice and Eugene Mirman headline this edition). Along with the episode about the science of nightmares, this is a showcase for its panelists’ uncanny ability to balance playful needling with a genuine curiosity. And they mix in some of the quickest callback jokes you’ll find anywhere.

Listen to the episode here.

41. Revisionist History, “Hallelujah”

Months before Leonard Cohen died in early November, the artist’s seminal songwriting work “Hallelujah” formed the basis for an exploration of genius, courtesy of bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell. Without getting too reductive, Gladwell’s distinction between instantaneous and gradual inspiration forms a careful exploration of how we process works of art, both on a personal and cultural level. Tying an Elvis Costello record to the works of Dutch Baroque, it’s a web of philosophical connections that’s distinctly Gladwellian.

Listen to the episode here.

40. Modern Love, “The Doorman”

One of our picks for the best episodes of the first half of 2016 was one of the early “Modern Love” entries, featuring Sarah Paulson’s performance of Amy Seek’s “Open Adoption: Not So Simple Math.” The simple beauty of “Modern Love,” which brings in notable names to read selections from the regular New York Times column, is that it can balance the playful and the sorrowful, the curious and the gutting. This edition of the show also shows how the different versions of love can help shape different versions of family. Cecily Strong’s narration carries the perfect blend of warmth and respect to match Julie Margaret Hogben’s original essay. And, as with other “Modern Love” episodes, the show’s second half gives time for the author to add some of their own reflections to a very personal exercise.

Listen to the episode here.

39. The Bright Sessions, “24 – Zero Hour”

The second season of Lauren Shippen’s superpower psychiatry series ventured out from the office and into a greater world, all without losing connection with the patients that make the show hum. In a gutsy move, this finale splinters the core group of doctor and patients, dispersing them across the country and across time. After separating them in such a drastic way, one of the highlights of season three has been tracking the show as it tries to bring them back together again.

Listen to the episode here.

38. Twice Removed, “#1: Dan Savage”

With its winding journeys through genealogy, “Twice Removed” could be a show about anything. For a producer, that’s a scary proposition. But even judging solely by its inaugural episode, this show is already demonstrating a desire and willingness to tell stories from all corners of the globe, to help lift up forgotten figures of history and salute their contributions. The conclusion of this premiere is such a warm jolt of happiness, a tribute to the idea that all human connection has value, no matter how seemingly small it is to your story.

Listen to the episode here.

37. Talk Easy, “Episode 15 – Eric André”

Writers, poets, actresses, musicians and more have occupied the “Talk Easy” guest chair this year across from host Sam Fragoso. These weekly interviews surge past the trite Wikipedia highlights and through to some revealing, surprising personal sharing. But no conversation this year deconstructed the celebrity interview format quite like Fragoso’s chat with comedy disruptor Eric André. A discussion of André’s driving artistic force slowly morphs into a Q&A spar of sorts, disarming both participants and leveling the show’s playing field. Unexpected and insightful in equal measure, it’s an electric outlier of an interview.

Listen to the episode here.

36. Love Me, “Episode 1: At A Loss For Words”

The premiere episode of “Love Me” is the year’s purest distillation of how communication affects our deepest human connections. Mac McClelland shares the gradual unfolding of a chance encounter that lead to her long-distance love, filtered through the help of Google Translate. Like the best stories of this kind, McClelland’s story is presented without interruption, with her storytelling rhythms dictating each fresh, exciting development of their relationship. The show’s concluding segment, an imagined conversation between two robots desperate to convey their untold desires, shows how “Love Me” can balance the tangible and the abstract in the most satisfying ways.

Listen to the episode here.

35. The Longest Shortest Time, “#88 W. Kamau Bell Asks His Mom About Sex”

Not many people would freely discuss their love life of years past on an open microphone, but this episode quickly establishes that not all people are Janet Cheatham Bell. Host Hillary Frank brought Bell and her son, comedian W. Kamau Bell, to talk about how raising a son as a single mother affected her dating life. None of these details (some of which you can hear are news to Kamau) come with any shame. Instead, it’s a podcast-inspired bonding experience that gives this family a chance to reflect on the strength they’ve found in each other over many decades.

Listen to the episode here.

34. Skillset, “The Risky Business of Rebellion”

After taking the first season of her show to tackle movie-adjacent topics as disparate as Dermot Mulroney’s cello career and “Keanu” cat trainers, MTV News film critic Amy Nicholson took Season 2 to zero in on high-school movies. This installment spoke best to the lasting ripples that these instant classic tales can have on culture. From the man who’s spent decades preserving the personal history of James Dean to the Tom Cruise poster image that helped revive an entire industry, Nicholson taps into the smaller but significant ways that films can linger outside the walls of a theater.

Listen to the episode here.

33. Science Vs., “#1: Fracking”

After making the trek across the ocean from her native Australia to host the show from New York, Wendy Zukerman made a delightful splash with a fresh audience with her updated science show. “Science Vs.” kicked off its US run with a closer look at fracking. Zuckerman bolsters the show’s standard journal research and review with some on-site reporting in Pennsylvania at the center of a heated environmental debate. Her findings lead to some surprises, setting the tone for a show that delivers stark truths with energy, patience and a welcome wink or two.

Listen to the episode here.

32. The Tell Show, “Ep. 03: Edie Windsor & Roberta Kaplan – Coming Out”

Hosts Summer Anne Burton and Isaac Fitzgerald got some of the best moments of their Buzzfeed show by stumbling into some surprising confessions. But the best episode of its ten-episode run told a decades-spanning tale of the fight for equal recognition, as seen through Edie Windsor and Roberta Kaplan, the eyes of the plaintiff and attorney in United States v. Windsor. They each share the love in their own lives that led to their legal team-up, one that eventually made history. Add in a quick round of “Never Have I Ever” and you have the recipe for a low-key gem.

Listen to the episode here.

31. Hang Up and Listen, “he Kevin Hustle Plays Kabaddi Edition”

Long the platonic ideal of a sports talk show, “Hang Up and Listen” consistently offers up an insightful overview of weekly scores, scandals and triumphs throughout the sporting world. This particular episode is indicative of the show’s distinctive ability to balance the past, present and future. On top of World Series talk, co-hosts Josh Levin, Stefan Fatsis and Mike Pesca incorporate interviews covering Shaun Assael’s Sonny Liston-centered biography and the recently wrapped Kabadi World Cup. Stick around for the regular Afterballs segment, a grab bag of sports-adjacent oddities and curiosities that would be enough to make the show a weekly must-listen all on its own.

Listen to the episode here.

30. See Something Say Something, “Episode 5: Parents”

This multi-angled look at parenthood in Muslim families is an ideal example of the casual confidence of “See Something, Say Something.” This particular episode features guest Zahra Noorbakhsh discussing her relationship with (and secrets kept from) her parents, a condensed version of what she’s shared as co-host of “#GoodMuslimBadMuslim.” Coupled with host Ahmed Ali Akbar’s interview with his own dad about his career as a surgeon and raising a family in Michigan, it’s a sincere supplement to an oft-overlooked part of our national conversation.

Listen to the episode here.

29. Politically Re-Active, “How Van Jones Keeps His Cool in the Cable News Circus”

“Politically Re-Active” assembled an impressive variety of interview subjects over its 2016 run. Hosts W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu welcomed activists, commentators, hosts, writers and intellectuals of all stripes, sharing their thoughts on everything politics touched over the course of the calendar year. Their conversation with Van Jones covered the much-maligned intersection of media coverage and activism. As with many of this first run’s best episodes, it offered a refreshing antidote to a predominate, short-sighted viewpoint.

Listen to the episode here.

28. Criminal, “#53-54”

One of the impressive things about “Criminal” is its ability to compress the entire saga of a criminal enterprise or all the ramifications of an unfortunate decision into a half-hour package. Back in October, the show proved it could tackle a longer-form story just as well. This two-part series about one woman’s attempts to reclaim the truth of her past and help save the fate of her family is the kind of empathetic true-crime tale that doesn’t lose sight of the humanity among the intrigue.

Listen to the episodes here.

27. Selected Shorts Too Hot for Radio, “#1: Stephen King, ‘Batman and Robin Have an Altercation'”

We extolled the virtues of Stephen Lang’s performance at the end of the summer, but it’s worth noting again the warmth and gravitas he brings to his telling of Stephen King’s short story. Hardly breaking stride as he switches between characters and narrator, it’s an impressive showcase for both performer and piece. For a more twisted tale, try Sam Underwood reading Chuck Palahniuk’s tale of a high school defibrillator fad gone tragically wrong.

Listen to the episode here.

26. Planet Money, “#680 – Anatomy of a Scam”

Those daytime commercials that advertise the untold riches in a work-from-home business seem innocuous enough. But this profile of an elderly woman taken in by a predatory scheme shows highlights the more sinister angles taken to boost this practice. The clips from the phone calls are enough to make you lose faith in humanity, but this also serves as a much-needed reminder of how economic issues can easily become breeding grounds for unfeeling swindlers.

Listen to the episode here.

25. Internet Explorer, “How Parentheses Became a Symbol for Hate Speech”

Ryan Broderick and Katie Natopoulos’ regular dive into the weirder corners of the internet isn’t afraid to occasionally wade into the web’s more unsettling waters. This summer, before the term “alt-right” crossed over into mainstream political discussions, the show was out in front of identifying the specific dangers of the movement’s targeted harassment. It was a harbinger of things to come, but even as things worsened (less than two months later, they’d title an episode “Politics is Out-Weirding the Internet“), these two still managed to find curiosities from the web’s less disturbing corners.

Listen to the episode here.

24. Beautiful Anonymous, “#21: Make Fruit Baskets Great Again”

Many of the anonymous callers to Chris Gethard’s podcast find themselves at a crossroads, whether they face questions about their faith, their family or the career that never came. It’s fitting that as the country faced a similar tipping point, one phone call came to signify much of what was missing in the national discourse. Both participants in this hour-long chat acknowledge the gaps in their shared cultural experience, but the fact that they were able to have a respectful disagreement on various issues was a fresh breath of civility in a year of ugliness.

Listen to the episode here.

23. The Dollop, “160 – FedEx Flight 705”

In the world of comedy podcasts, there are few things quite as delightful as listening to the shared incredulity of Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds as they sift through the overlooked chapters of American history. This episode’s anecdote is particularly terrifying, but Anthony and Reynolds show how they can effortlessly find the dark comedy in the bleakest of circumstances. For adventures through America’s more distant past, be sure to also check out their discussions of the life of legendary con artist Victor Lustig and the troubling tremors of 19th century nativism.

Listen to the episode here.

22. Whistlestop, “The Birth of Barack”

“Face the Nation” host John Dickerson’s relaying of past presidential campaign curiosities has dug into the infamous and the little-known alike. But in what must have been one of the show’s most personal episodes, Dickerson reached into the recent past for a close look at Barack Obama’s rise in the Iowa caucus lead-up in the early days of the 2008 campaign. Drawing on his own reporting for Slate and other news accounts of the time, Dickerson paints a picture of a not-quite-polished politician who managed to sidestep missteps to score an unexpected political victory. The result is a profile of a would-be president that slightly punctures the mythology surrounding his ascendency, but still captures the groundswell enthusiasm that laid the groundwork for his two-term administration.

Listen to the episode here.

21. Radiolab Presents More Perfect, “Object Anyway”

The “Radiolab” spinoff highlighting tales from the history of the Supreme Court saved its best story for last, closing out the series with a look at race in the justice system on a granular level. The overview of the events and aftermath of Batson v. Kentucky describes how the case shifted judicial policy in the exclusion of candidates from jury pools. Beyond the case itself, “Object Anyway” shows how, even in the case of titanic public institutions, actions taken with the best intentions can still be morphed in an unkind world.

Listen to the episode here.

20. Keepin’ It 1600, “Ep. 9: ‘Meet the Press’ Host Chuck Todd, Trump’s ‘Pivot,’ Polling Mayhem, and More”

The half hour talk with NBC’s Chuck Todd that closes this episode, coupled with his recent follow-up appearance on the show, form odd bookends to a particular section of the 2016 election saga. While most of this year’s episodes of political podcasts now seem like ancient relics, it’s remarkable how every point from this seven-month-old conversation is still relevant. As Todd and co-hosts Jon Favreau and Dan Pfeiffer reflect on the media lessons of the Obama administration, it serves as a reminder of the importance of presidential accountability and the duties of an independent press.

Listen to the episode here.

19. Strangers, “Jo & Fayaz”

Over the summer, in the immediate wake of the tensions surrounding the Brexit vote, the experiences of this international couple spoke to the need for acceptance in a shifting world. Months later, Lea Thau’s tribute to her friends from her time in Pakistan seems even more vital. Like so many other “Strangers” installments, “Jo & Fayaz” shows that love has the power to bring people across borders and to transcend the space that those limitations present.

Listen to the episode here.

18. Fighting in the War Room, “125 – Movies We Want to Show (Our) Children”

As insightful as “Fighting in the War Room” is on a weekly basis, there’s something special about the show’s Quarter Quells that say more about culture than few other podcasts can. This particularly personal episode looks to the future, with each of the shows four co-hosts (Katey Rich, Da7e Gonzales, Matt Patches and IndieWire’s own David Ehrlich) picking a film that they’d like to give to an upcoming generation of film lovers. That their picks reach across decades and genres speaks to the distinct critical eye that each of them bring to the show on a regular basis. The way they open up enriches the work they all do throughout the year.

Listen to the episode here.

17. Still Processing, “A Journey to the ‘Blacksonian’ | Episode 5”

When the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in September, “Still Processing” co-hosts Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris made the trip to Washington to experience it for themselves. The resultant episode is a thoughtful blend of personal reflection and a salute to the creativity and perseverance that led to the museum becoming a reality. Their conversation with Joanne Hyppolite about the process of structuring the details and layouts of various galleries throughout the NMAAHC illustrates just how richly the black experience is woven into the fabric of America.

Listen to the episode here.

16. Filmspotting, “#600: Top 5 Movies Future Historians Will Remember w/ Chuck Klosterman”

Longtime listeners of Filmspotting know that the milestone, double-zero episodes are some of the show’s true treasures. #100 saw a pick of the best performances in film history, #300 took stock of the 2000s and #500 brought with it a live extraganza. The flagship film podcast’s 600th episode took a look forward, balancing cinema present and cinema future with the help of guest Chuck Klosterman. Their hypothetical guesses at the consequential films to impending generations are varied, but balanced in their concerns for what may come to pass in the industry and the greater world. It’s the kind of careful consideration of film history that we’ve come to expect one of the medium’s longest-running movie series, a show that continually reaffirms all that is great about film fandom.

15. Heavyweight, “#2: Gregor”

The structure of a 45-minute audio story, with its roots in the traditional public radio format, has a familiar rhythm. But few people can infuse their stories with the distinct, wry personality like Jonathan Goldstein. The “This American Life” vet finally got a show of his own, quickly cementing the series as a worthy regular listen. This episode, featuring a quest to recover the CDs that become the skeleton for Moby’s 2001 album “Play,” features some particularly choice Goldstein asides, especially when that sojourn takes him and Gregor out to Beverly Hills in search of the man who unwittingly birthed the beef that built the episode.

Listen to the episode here.

14. Risk!, “Lovesick”

We talked about this particular episode back at the end of the summer, but it still hasn’t lost any of its potency. JP Michael’s deeply personal “A Hard Landing” shows one of the enduring values of podcasting: a way for people to share their past in a nonjudgmental space in the hopes that someone else might find it as therapeutic as they do. Though this particular story doesn’t have the told-in-front-of-a-live-audience component of many other “Risk!” tales, the desire to find meaning in the trials of the past reverberates throughout its other episodes and other live storytelling shows of its kind.

Listen to the episode here.

13. Homecoming, “2. PINEAPPLE”

Just listen to the phone call at the top of this episode: pitch-perfect corporate speak (delivered by an unbelievably sleazy David Schwimmer), airport distractions and an immediately recognizable boss-employee show of power. This isn’t just two actors in front of a mic, reading a script. This is a meticulous production from the top down, delivered by seasoned storytellers. The psychological intrigue that surfaces in later episodes doesn’t land if it’s not delivered on a foundation of lived-in performances and sound design, pushing the bar higher in a rapidly evolving world of audio fiction.

Listen to the episode here.

12. Death, Sex & Money “We’re Not Going To Have Karl Again”

Another from our collection of summer standouts, it’s worth recognizing again just how much care goes into a story like this. As Amber Scorah and Lee Towndrow share the birth and loss of their son, the episode presents their grief without manipulating it. It’s the kind of story that Anna Sale and the “Death, Sex and Money” team are uniquely prepared for, and you can hear the support they give their guests throughout the episode, even with minimal intrusion of the host. The result is a tribute to a young life and a family’s resiliency in the face of something that would have broken many lesser bonds.

Listen to the episode here.

11. The Truth, “Commentary Track”

Jonathan Mitchell and the crew of “The Truth” have carved out their own unique corner of audio drama, somewhere in the space between serialized fiction and anthology series. This particular entry not only showcases the show’s meticulous attention to detail, it also manages to create a dense, multi-layered character study in fifteen minutes. Presented as a hypothetical commentary track on a hypothetical special feature for a hypothetical studio rom-com, it magically replicates the sonic quirks of a DVD bonus. Birgit Huppuch nails the cadence of a director reckoning with her past work, unfolding in real time over a live mic. When the story of lost love finally sneaks through, you’ll find yourself wishing for the rest of the story.

Listen to the episode here.

10. Sleepover, “Judy Wants Romance”

For every time you’ve pondered your dream, anyone-from-history five person dinner party, “Sleepover” is here to show you that a hotel room with a handful of strangers might be even better. Sook-Yin Lee is an ideal host, shepherding three disparate individuals through a night of confessions, problem-solving and connection. The middle chapter of Season 1’s third trio of episodes found an Ontario politician and a wise-beyond-his-years nine-year-old help a new acquaintance with a new shot at romance. It’s tough to beat the magic of hearing friendships form in real time.

Listen to the episode here.

9. Embedded, “The House”

There’s no embellishment or exploitation in the “Embedded” profile of those living with opioid addiction in a small Indiana town. It’s a series of conversations with people forced to reckon with a condition they can’t escape, crafted with respect for those willing to share their experiences. Like the best that public radio has to offer, it gives voice to those overlooked by the churn of daily news coverage. What’s more, this episode gave rise to a follow-up, showing that this is a story that can’t (and shouldn’t be) confined to a single piece.

Listen to the episode here.

8. Crimetown, “Chapter 2: The Wiseguys”

Some of the year’s crime-themed podcasts focused on larger-than-life institutions while others zeroed in on the particulars of a single crime. The episode that separated this Gimlet offering from its counterparts was this one, following two footsoldiers in the Patriarca crime family of Providence, Rhode Island. It takes the organized crime mythology of Dons in private quarters doling out orders and refocuses it on the enforcers who had to suffer the consequences of their obedience. (And it’s all delivered in the shadow of podcasting’s best new theme song.)

Listen to the episode here.

7. Within the Wires, “Season 1, Cassette #4: Sadness, Lungs”

It didn’t take long for “Within the Wires” to evolve from an unassuming facsimile of a relaxation tape to a sly suspense serial complete with its own mythology. There’s a moment halfway through this fourth episode that solidifies Janina Matthewson’s narration as the one of the most dynamic storytelling tools around. She lets just enough vulnerability and frustration slip through her meditation instructions to hint at something bigger on its way. When she returns for “Side B” with composure intact, it’s spookier than most horror fiction.

Listen to the episode here.

6. Why Oh Why, “#3: Can Meddling Help a First Date?”

Host Andrea Silenzi’s regular look into the ever-evolving state of the dating world has taken some unexpected turns in its inaugural podcast season. After its run on WFMU, the show has embraced a densely layered approach to everything from the dating lives of Christian ministers to Silenzi’s brutally honest look at her own recent breakup. Few of the stories capture the delightful spontaneity and sneaky gut-punch emotional wallop as this audio artifact of a first date. It’s the kind of thoughtful, concise storytelling that’s made the show one of the most exciting debuts of the year.

Listen to the episode here.

5. Reveal, “The man inside: Four months as a prison guard”

Week to week, “Reveal” demonstrates an astonishing ability to investigate a globe-spanning array of subjects with equal clarity. But nothing the show did this year was quite as thorough or as harrowing as its profile of journalist Shane Bauer’s tenure as a guard in a for-profit Louisiana prison. Incorporating audio from Bauer’s video diary, anecdotes from Bauer himself and startling tape from inside the prison, it paints a system where survival is a daily, all-consuming concern. A worthy companion piece to Bauer’s extensive Mother Jones article, it’s also a prime example of how audio and print journalism can continue to enrich each other in the years to come.

Listen to the episode here.

4. In the Dark, “Episode 8: What’s Going On Down There?”

Few crime-centric podcasts have aimed a laser-like focus at criminal justice institutions quite like “In the Dark.” It dispensed with the “whodunit” angle immediately, instead taking a multi-level approach to what went wrong in the investigation of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling’s abduction in late 1989. “What’s Going on Down There?” was intended to be the final installment before fresh developments in the case immediately predated the show’s launch. What remains is a sobering sendoff that indicts cities large and small across the country, susceptible to the same ills that plagued this Minnesota town. It’s a truly chilling kicker, among the more powerful podcast endings ever put to tape.

Listen to the episode here.

3. The Memory Palace, “#86 – Finishing Hold”

As 2016 became an unlikely year for a resurgence of O.J. Simpson-themed programming, Nate DiMeo set his sights on another notable 20th century figure thrust into the national spotlight on the heels of a murder trial. Compressing Dr. Sam Sheppard’s tale of loss and public scorn into a tiny parable of fame, it’s a characteristic snippet of DiMeo’s ability to evoke time and place for a tantalizingly brief instant. The episode’s final verdict on Sheppard’s guilt or innocence is a stunning piece of storytelling control. As usual, DiMeo puts you right back in a moment: it’s your choice how to perceive what you’ve been given.

Listen to the episode here.

2. Reply All, “#79: Boy in Photo”

Over its incredible year and a half run, “Reply All” has been able to maintain its standing as the best podcast in existence by tapping into the untold power of the ethereal. This year, those stories have ranged from “Zardulu,” a dive down into a conspiratorial rabbit hole that transcends the New York City limits, to “On the Inside,” a four-part saga in search of the truth behind one man’s imprisonment (which we wrote about here). But this piece following the obsessive theories of a teenager’s unknown fate taps into the ways we make online connections with figures we create in our own image. One meme’s twisty history becomes the internet in microcosm, where everyone gets to fashion their own reality.

Listen to the episode here.

1. Love + Radio, “A Girl of Ivory”

There’s been a strong current in the discussion around 2016 in media about what we’re owed as an audience. What comprises the truth and what we want from the stories we’re given is an ever-shifting dynamic that changes from person to person. As Nick van der Kolk and the staff of Love + Radio often do, they present a simple story from a singular perspective. The thrill of discovery comes from realizing those moments where your worldview deviates from that of the person sharing their story. “Girl of Ivory” uses the audio format to deliver a love story that does as much to illuminate what we’ve come to expect from storytellers as much as the voices coming from the other end. It gently grabs you by the hand, then slaps you in the face. And it’s all thrilling.

Listen to the episode here.