CREDIT: How Did This Get Made?

My annual Best of the Year coverage currently encompasses the worlds of Cinema, Television, Music, and Podcasts. That last medium is perhaps the most expansive, despite also being the youngest. So since listening to every new podcast of 2025 would have been a disturbingly Herculean task, this isn’t a countdown of the best podcasts of the year, but instead a collection of highlights from the ones on my playlist.

Comedy Bang! Bang!: Humanity’s Podcast had a typically raucous time in its annual Holiday Spectacular, particularly the return of Gil Ozeri to unveil Scotty Auk’s side-splittingly revealing voicemails from DeLuca’s Chophouse.

Doughboys: With an assist from guest Griffin Newman, Mitch and Wiger got into a delightful examination about whether or not Santa Claus is the most famous person in the world.

The Deep Dive: On the “Burger Queens” episode, it was Storytime with June Diane Raphael as she detailed her family’s magical trip to a surprisingly delicious Burger King. (I can co-sign the approval of the Impossible Whopper!)

How Did This Get Made?: Over on June Diane’s other podcast, she unfortunately missed the Grizzly II episode, though she was eventually able to chime in on the discussion surrounding the (mostly) Gen-Z cohort of stars that Paul, Jason, and guest Jake Johnson dubbed the “Geek Sqwad.”

The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast: Every episode featuring a voicemail from Edie from Baltimore.

Scott Hasn’t Seen: They introduced Sprague to the oeuvre of Tom Six, and it was as gut-busting as I could have possibly dreamed of.

That’s Auntertainment!: Highlights from my own pod in 2025 included me and my Aunt Beth wrapping up our excursion to Gilead and welcoming a frequent guest into the March Madness fold.