With the inauguration on the horizon, I took a dive into the world of presidential podcasts this week to surface shows from amateur historians and analysts, fiction and non-fiction, about the American presidency.
Terms — a fictional podcast that explores a sitting president’s options after a controversial electoral college victory. Start with: episode 1 (and you likely won’t be able to stop after that).
Presidential — a 45-part series from the Washington Post, beginning with George Washington. Episodes regularly feature guest experts, biographers, and journalists discussing facets of the presidency including elections, decision making, and crisis management. Start with: your favorite president, or someone you don’t remember from history class.
Presidents Are People, Too! — an amusing look at past presidents as real-life people. Start with: Martin Van Buren, if only for his memorable mutton chops.
10 American Presidents—the lives and legacies of a handful of American presidents, narrated by a different guest host each episode. Start with: Nixon, hosted by the inimitable Dan Carlin.
Election College — a look at the history of presidential elections. Start with: Presidential Inaugurations, for a timely history.
Slate’s Whistlestop—Face the Nation moderator and Slate columnist John Dickerson revisits moments in history of presidential campaigns. Start with: Harry S. Truman’s Battles with the Bosses, the first episode of the post-pivot relaunch as a podcast that now focuses on historical moments of sitting presidents.
Ready to begin listening? All the links in this article will automatically open in the RadioPublic app, so download the app for iOS or Android to get started. If you’d like the recommended starter episodes listed here in one handy playlist to go, we’ve got that too: American Presidents — select any episode to hear it now or tap “follow” in the app to listen to the playlist later.
