17 new podcasts to listen to in December 2021

Pod Bible aims to be the essential guide to podcasts. To keep your download list full of the best podcasts, and help you find the next podcast sensation, we’re bringing you the latest releases in our New This Month feature.

It’s the last new podcasts round-up of the year and we have an epic list to take you over the holiday season. This list sees celebrity podcasts levelling up and going beyond interviews. There’s also a number of creative uses of audio, and more audio-play podcasts coming out. So if you’re driving home from Christmas, or hopping on a train for the holidays, line up some of the best new podcasts to listen to right now!

New Podcasts

The Last Days of Maradona

When football legend Diego Maradona died at the age of 60 in 2020, there were many questions about the medical treatment he received. The Last Days of Maradona is a new podcast from Spotify that is part forensic investigation, part homage to Maradona. Another football legend, Thierry Henry, is the narrator, and I find him interesting to listen too. There’s no doubt his delivery is a little unnatural, but the personal influence of Maradona on Henry is a great connection to explore. The series is also available in French (also narrated by Henry), Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. Listen now on Spotify >>

The Always Sunny Podcast

The Always Sunny Podcast is already a chart-topping show, having knocked Joe Rogan off the top of the Spotify charts for a brief moment. It’s an unofficial re-watch podcast for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – with the extra punch that it’s hosted by those involved in the show. Glenn, Charlie, and Rob are going over every season with a deep dive into their memories of creating the show. Listen now >>

We Were Always Here

Another Broccoli production (and the first released under the new ‘Documentaries’ strand of the company) We Were Always Here seeks to bring the untold perspectives of the UK HIV epidemic to the fore. It’s been 40 years since the first cases of HIV – or as it was known then ‘Gay-Related Immune Deficiency’ – were identified. In this series, Activist Marc Thompson weaves fact, history and personal experience, along with the experiences from those that rallied together during the worst parts of the epidemic. I think that Marc’s commentary has some really lovely, lyrical wording, which also seems impressively unscripted. And the music is really emotive and unique. Listen now >>

Storytime with Seth Rogan

This podcast has been getting rave reviews, and as the description says, this is “not a typical comedian-hosted chat show!”. Episodes are short and sweet, and we hear a guest’s story interspersed with Seth’s monologues, conversations with people who know the storyteller and music breaks from all genres. The first episode, Glorious Basterds, has Seth talking to a Jehovah’s witness-turned-comic about her journey to comedy, which involves a Quentin Tarentino film and Paul Rudd. But does Paul Rudd remember..?! Listen now >>

Psycho Schizo Espresso

Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson teams up with best-selling author Dr. Kevin Dutton for “an Indiana Jones-style adventure” in this interesting take on a celebrity podcast. Bruce and Kevin delve into the psyches of rock icons, sporting superstars, and special forces soldiers. Along the way they speak to some of the most respected thought leaders and brain scientists on the planet. The first episode looks at ‘the number of the beast’ and speaks to Professor Steve Friesen about why 666 is associated with the Devil.  Listen now >>

dot com: The Wikipedia Story

I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting from this podcast about Wikipedia – but it definitely wasn’t a guest unexpectedly singing an American folk song. The singer in question is Steven Pruitt, one of the top editors on Wikipedia, and therefore one of the 25 most influential people on the internet. We meet him, along with other eclectic wiki authors, in the first episode. This is an interesting peek behind the pixels of the Internet’s biggest encyclopaedia. Listen now >>

Whistle Through The Shamrocks

It’s another celebrity making a podcast! And this is especially amusing considering this tweet from one of the creators last year. But Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls) and Camilla Whitehill are really levelling up the celebrity-doing-a-podcast genre, and bringing a heap of tongue-in-cheek as well. The sleepy Irish village of Ballysnavougherenn is the scene for an epic audio drama about foul winds, potato farming, and evil English lords. But in the framing of the drama, we hear Coughlan and Whitehill directing the play. We’re also treated to a host of celebrities that have been duped into recording this play for ‘The National Theatre’. A must listen – if only because this one is hard to explain! Listen now >>

Other new podcasts for your list:

• Trusty Hogs – Catherine Bohart from the You’ll Do podcast and Helen Bauer of Daddy Look At Me team up after winning hundreds of regular fans with their award-winning online comedy show Gigless over lockdown. Now they’re putting the world to rights, solving listener problems, and welcoming fantastic comedy friends to join in with the high-energy hilarity. Listen now >>
• Power: Hugh Hefner – The second subject in the Power series is the silk-robe clad Hugh Hefner. We hear from the models, Playboy Bunnies, and other women in the Playboy founder’s inner circle, and it explores the power he had for progress, and for abuse. Listen now >>
• Jackie The Ripper – What if the genders were turned on the infamous Ripper story? Stak’s audio drama is a comedic re-telling of the true story that still holds onto the social importance. The 5-part series premiered for Halloween, but would make a great alternative to the Christmas ghost story. Listen now >>
• Life Sentence – This semi-fictional podcast brings a fresh perspective to the climate crisis by drawing on music, spoken word and evocative sound design to tell stories of some of our planet’s prime inhabitants. Features Jordan Stephens, Charlotte Ritchie, Will Mellor, Evanna Lynch, Jade Anouka, Sindhu Vee and Cel Spellman. Listen now >>
• Not Another Love Song – Matt Edmonson wanted to make an album, but he can’t sing or play instruments. So he enlists the  help of some of his favourite artists to create songs about some less likely subjects like hayfever, dishwashers, potatoes. This might remind me at times of doing joint music projects at school, but there’s some comedy and the end songs are fairly impressive.  Listen now >>
• Media Storm – Media Storm is a news podcast that starts with the people who are usually asked last. “Migrants”, “criminals” and “sex workers” are some of the biggest stars in the headlines, yet we rarely actually hear from them. The first episode ‘Why do refugees ‘love’ the UK?’ couldn’t be more timely. Listen now >>

New Podcast Seasons

The Log Books – Season 3

The podcast telling untold stories from Britain’s queer history is getting closer to the present day. This series looks at the day-to-day impact on LGBTQI+ people made by shifts in technology and attitudes from 1992 to 2003. I’m sad to say this is the final season of a Pod Bible favourite, but the physical log books from Switchboard became digital in 2003, so it’s a fitting place to end. Listen now >>

Armchair Adventures – Season 2

The award-winning podcast is back for a second season and looks set to continue is its mission for creativity and connection. We recently spoke to creators, theatre company Made By Mortals, about the series and their inspirations. Listen now >>

Unobscured – Season 4

Unobscured is one of the non-fiction offerings from Aaron Mankhe’s Grim & Mild, and looks at parts of history we think we know. Previous seasons have covered the Salem witch trials, the Spiritualist Movement, and Jack the Ripper. This one is looking at the Romanovs and their relationship with Rasputin. (If you can listen to this season without getting Boney M. in your head, you’re a better person than me!) Listen now >>

Stuff The British Stole – Season 2

This history podcast from Australia has a simple premise – each episode looks at one item that was taken from its country by the British Empire. There is… a lot. From Maori ancestors (as in literally their heads) to the Parthenon Marbles, there is a true crime style to this series. This has been one of my favourite podcasts of the past year, so I’m half hoping there’s enough stuff to keep this going for many years. But I’m mostly worried how big the can of worms is… Listen now >>

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If you listen to these podcasts, please tell us what you think! Tag us on social media @PodBible. Read more of our New This Month editorials for the newest podcasts to listen to.

Do you have a show for our new podcast list? Email  info@podbiblemag.com with the show description, release date and artwork. We will share as many launches as we can.