October 16, 2023

20 Best Daily News Podcasts

With the popularity of podcasts like The Daily from The New York Times and The Journal from The Wall Street Journal, there have been dozens of new journalism podcasts launched that release episodes on a daily basis and cover the news throughout the world. These podcasts vary in time and depth, catering to people who want their news quickly or those who want more in-depth analysis of specific news stories. And with many daily news podcasts to choose from, listeners can also pick and choose which stories interest them most.

Whether you just want the latest headlines or you want to listen to journalists deeply discuss stories you might not hear about otherwise, we’ve created this list of the 20 Best Daily News Podcasts to help you find the best news coverage you’re looking for. These podcasts come from numerous countries, and often focus on specific topics of news like politics, business, or global affairs. Our suggestion is to subscribe to a bunch of them, so you have many news stories to choose from when you’re navigating your latest podcast episodes. These podcasts are a great way to stay informed while on-the-go and learn about major events happening in your country or across the globe. In a somewhat ranked order, here are our picks for the 20 Best Daily News Podcasts to learn from, with reviews of each podcast:

1. Wall Street Journal’s The Journal Podcast

The Journal is a daily news podcast offered Monday through Friday by the Wall Street Journal. Structured similarly to the popular New York Times’ The Daily Podcast, this podcast features a host interviewing a Wall Street Journal colleague about one of the major news stories of the day. The hosts are either Kate Linebaugh or Ryan Knuston, who both do an excellent job of digging into the story with their interview questions. Each 15-20 minute episode covers a particular news story well with added audio clips from broadcast news along with a bit of music and sound effects for additional listening flair. Like the New York Times’ The Daily Podcast, each episode of The Journal is named specifically for what it will be covering in that episode, which helps you decide which ones you’re most interested in. Because it’s the Wall Street Journal, the episodes tend to focus on business and economic-related stories more than other daily news podcasts. While some of the episodes are related to business, many of them also cover social and political issues. If you enjoy the New York Times’ The Daily Podcast, then Wall Street Journal’s The Journal Podcast is also a very good daily news podcast to subscribe to.

2. New York Times The Daily Podcast

In this popular daily podcast from The New York Times, host Michael Barbaro covers one of the day’s top news stories with journalists’ interviews about this story and audio clips of the news events spliced in. It’s one of the best podcasts for catching up on the top news stories of the day from a newspaper that often drives the daily news cycle with its in-depth reporting. The podcast covers primarily politics, both global and domestic, along with major news stories that are unfolding in the United States. The podcast started in February of 2017, and you can go back through the whole archive of over 2,000 podcast episodes to listen to the stories you are interested in. Learn about these eventful times with this top-rated podcast from The New York Times.

3. BBC Global News Podcast

The BBC Global News Podcast is a daily news podcast that covers many top stories from around the world in about 30 minutes. The episodes are twice a day on weekdays and once a day on weekends. At the top of the podcast, the host mentions some of the headlines that will be covered in the episode. Each episode features about ten quick stories covering news from around the globe. BBC correspondents chime in, along with short interviews of people involved in the news stories. They’ll sometimes throw in a lighter story to lessen the weight of the global tragedies happening every day. For those interested in keeping up with global news delivered in a straightforward British manner, this podcast from the British Broadcasting Corporation is a very good listen.

4. Today Explained Podcast

Led by Sean Rameswaram, Today, Explained brings together Vox Media’s team of explainers to break down the news into a 20-minute, daily podcast released every afternoon. With each episode, Rameswaram tries to simplify what’s happening in world affairs, domestic politics, cultural trends, and more. This podcast is comparable to the New York Times Daily Podcast and serves as a nice complement to round out your daily news intake and get your head around the most important issues of the week.

5. NPR: Up First Podcast

Up First is a daily news podcast from National Public Radio. In each 15-minute episode, they cover about three major news stories dominating headlines for that day. Their coverage is in the classic NPR style, with various NPR correspondents chiming in about each story. They don’t get too in-depth on any given story, but it’s a good overview of some of the top news for that day. On Sundays, they feature a longer Sunday Story that showcases an NPR journalist who reports on a specific news story that might not be making headlines. It’s a well-done daily news podcast that’s easy to fit into your daily listening.

6. Slate’s What Next: Daily News and Analysis Podcast

Slate’s What Next offers a daily assessment of the news that provides listeners with a broad understanding of the biggest headlines in a format that can be listened to in roughly 20 minutes. Host Mary Harris asks questions from a listener’s point of view, probing the experts to understand what’s happening and how to understand it. An excellent podcast for those looking for a wider variety of essential news in one episode, presented every morning.

7. Guardian UK: Today in Focus Podcast

If you’re looking to explore some news stories in-depth and beyond the headlines, then the Today in Focus Podcast from the Guardian UK offers some quality journalism. Their episodes generally run about 30 minutes and focus on one story. Hosts Nosheen Iqbal and Michael Safi interview journalists, authors, and other newsmakers about the story. Some of these episodes cover news that is making headlines, but often, they are covering stories that might be of general interest but aren’t the major headlines. Sometimes, they feature a multi-episode series over several days to delve deeper into a story. They cover news from around the World and sometimes focus more on England since they’re based in the UK. The Guardian newspaper has been around since the 19th century, and this daily podcast continues in their tradition of exemplary journalism.

8. Axios Today Podcast

The Axios Today Podcast briefly covers some of the day’s top stories in about 10 minutes. Host Niala Boodhoo starts each podcast with their “One Big Thing” story. This segment covers the story in the title of the episode in about 5 minutes. She interviews Axios reporters about the topic. In the last 5 minutes of the podcast, she covers some of the day’s top headlines and usually a couple more stories. The podcast also encourages feedback from listeners and responds to their questions and comments in episodes. If you like your daily news short and to the point, then Axios Today is definitely worth subscribing to.

9. Post Reports Podcast

The Post Reports Podcast differentiates itself from similar daily news podcasts thanks to the in-depth reporting and expert analysis that is the hallmark of Washington Post reporting. With each episode, listeners get a deeper look at the stories that underpin the current events, from field reports on America’s mental health crisis to frontline reports from conflict areas across the globe.

10. The Big Take Podcast

The Big Take podcast offers daily long-form news reporting, presented by Bloomberg with a sober-minded tone reminiscent of NPR and PBS. Host Wes Kosova speaks with an international network of expert journalists, touching on topics that range from geopolitical intrigue to tech industry innovation to the economic insight that one would expect from Bloomberg News. The Big Take is a must for listeners seeking deeper analysis from some of the best reporters working on the stories of the places, people, and trends shaping the world around us every day.

11. PRI’s The World Podcast

PRI’s The World Podcast is a daily world news magazine that is a co-production of Public Radio International, the BBC World Service, and WGBH in Boston. Hosted by Marco Werman, each show covers world news and interesting stories from around the world in public radio’s signature style. Each show runs about 45 minutes, and they are put out by PRI Monday through Friday, with two weeks of episodes remaining on the podcast feed. In addition to global political news, they also cover economics, language, and music from around the globe. You’ll also hear stories of a more personal nature as their reporters interview individuals throughout the world. Enjoy this popular public radio program that is broadcast on over 300 stations across North America.

12. The Intelligence Podcast

The Intelligence from The Economist magazine is their daily podcast covering three major global news stories every weekday. The episodes run between 20 to 30 minutes long and feature news stories from around the World. The episodes are named according to the first story they cover and usually take up the first 10 minutes of the podcast. The hosts will interview journalists from The Economist, which is a British weekly magazine that offers numerous podcasts. Most of their other podcasts are weekly, but The Intelligence is daily and provides quick and formal coverage of some top global news stories. They don’t offer too many bells and whistles in their audio production, and their hosts aren’t very charismatic, but it’s quality journalism from a respected magazine. You can also get The Intelligence podcast by subscribing to their main podcast simply called The Economist Podcast, which offers episodes from all of their podcasts.

13. NPR: Consider This Podcast

Consider This from National Public Radio offers bite-sized stories focusing on some of the day’s most important stories. Topics run the gamut from national affairs to domestic politics to regional and local reports from participating member stations. Presented with the high quality expected of NPR, Consider balances a broad spectrum of stories that feel fuller than the average 15-minute episode length may imply.

14. WSJ What’s News Podcast

For daily business news, the Wall Street Journal’s What’s News Podcast is a good brief podcast that runs Monday through Friday with episodes in both the morning and evening (AM and PM editions). Each podcast runs for about 15 minutes and covers the major business news headlines of the day. A host interviews Wall Street Journal reporters about three or four stories making headlines. While most of the stories are business-related, they also cover some major stories outside of the economy. If you like your business news quick and straight to the point, then this podcast is worth subscribing to and listening to.

15. Monocle 24: The Globalist Podcast

Monocle 24 is an internet radio station out of London that has been broadcasting for over a decade now. One of their best podcasts is The Globalist Podcast currently hosted by Georgina Godwin. It’s a one-hour program released Monday through Friday covering major news from around the globe. While it’s similar to the BBC Global News Podcast, it offers more analysis and longer interviews in its hour-long format. At the top of the hour, the host mentions many of the stories that will be covered in that day’s episode. Based out of London, it provides more focus on the news in Europe. If you’re interested in global politics and current affairs, then it’s a good listen. For more podcasts from Monocle, check out our Monocle Podcasts page.

16. NewsHour Full Program – PBS Podcast

The PBS NewsHour is a nightly TV news program that has been broadcasting since 1983. For many years, it was hosted by Jim Lehrer and was later hosted by Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff. Today, it is hosted by Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett. The public TV program is more audio-based and less image-focused than network nightly news or cable news, so it is easy to listen to as a podcast. It covers some of the day’s top stories before breaking the show into segments of analysis of each story. The hosts interview PBS news correspondents along with other journalists and political figures. The show is more focused on global news than typical network news shows. At the end of each program, a section is devoted to arts and culture. In addition to the full broadcast, you can also listen to the podcast in segments as individual stories on the NewsHour Segments – PBS Podcast. It’s a quality nightly news program for those interested in serious news rather than sensational or entertainment journalism.

17. CBC’s Front Burner Podcast

The Front Burner Podcast is a daily podcast from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. This public radio podcast covers news stories related to Canada, along with some stories covering news in the United States and around the world. The podcast runs Monday through Friday and each episode is generally 20-30 minutes long. Host Jayme Poisson interviews other journalists about one particular news story for the day which they dig into. Whether you’re from Canada or you’re interested in Canadian news, this daily news podcast will help you understand significant news stories and how they affect Canadians today.

18. Financial Times News Briefing Podcast

The Financial Times is a British business newspaper, and in this podcast reporters from the Financial Times cover headlines from some of the most important stories of the day. This 10-minute podcast typically covers three or four top stories for the day mostly from the world of global business. Each Monday through Friday episode starts with a host mentioning the headlines that will be covered and then goes into the interviews of the host talking with Financial Times reporters from all over the world. While the focus is generally business, the podcast also gets into some global politics and other current affairs news. If you’re looking for a daily news podcast with an emphasis on global business news, check out the Financial Times News Briefing Podcast.

19. What A Day Podcast

Crooked Media’s What a Day is a go-to podcast for an unabashedly progressive take on the headlines that balances irreverence with solid reporting. Each day, hosts Tre’vell Anderson, Priyanka Aribindi, Josie Duffy Rice, and Juanita Tolliver alternate stories, giving their takes on headlines that typically delve into the social issues that dominate American political discourse. What a Day manages to keep a lighter tone as it covers the day’s news and is a left-wing alternative to the typical talk radio experience.

20. ABC News: Start Here Podcast

The ABC News: Start Here Podcast covers three or four top news stories for the day in 20-30 minutes. Unlike the ABC Nightly News that you can watch on TV, this podcast is recorded specifically for audio with music and sound bytes. Host Brad Mielke interviews ABC News correspondents on various topics, starting with the subject named in the episode. They usually start with a major domestic story in the United States and then move on to more international news. The episodes feature “One Last Thing,” which is usually a humorous news story. If you like your news a little more light-hearted, then ABC News: Start Here is worth trying out.

So those are our picks of the 20 Best Daily News Podcasts out there currently. Subscribe to a handful of them and stay up to date on your daily news!