Podcasts are taking the world by storm at the moment so I thought I’d chime in with my top 4. I’ve been listening to podcasts for several years now but it’s true that in the last 12 months the quality of shows has greatly increased and I’ve found myself listening to a lot more shows than ever before.

1 - Reply all: I’ll begin with what I believe to be the most engaging podcast, Reply All from Gimlet Media. Hosted by PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman. Reply All presents interesting, well investigated stories that are loosely connected to the internet somehow. Ranging from interviewing the inventor of Internet browser pop ups to recordings of the hosts spending a day “outside”. What I love about Reply All is that it’s consistently the first place I’m hearing about the stories told and they are always eye opening tales that just keep you hooked the entire episode. I highly recommend starting from episode 1 because unlike more current news orientated podcasts, the stories in Reply All are timeless.

2 - Encore: Encore is the recently rebranded podcast for the AbsolutePunk website. This podcast is in my top 4 because the AP website scene best represents my music tastes so I always know that hosts Jason Tate and Thomas Nassiff will be discussing bands I love or will soon love. It provides lots of behind the scenes tidbits on the music scene, being a music reviewer and running a label. The podcast isn’t 100% music orientated and subjects such as technology, sports and entertainment are all show regulars.

3 - Modern Vinyl Podcast: Now I don’t really understand why I enjoy the Modern Vinyl podcast so much, it’s probably the chemistry between the hosts resulting in just a fun listen that centres on the latest vinyl releases. The never ending creation of recurring sub-episodes inside shows, each of which have their own theme song keeps the formula fresh.

4 - Accidental Tech Podcast: The ATP podcast was probably my gateway into the wider range of technology podcasts leading to me subscribing to most of the offerings from networks like 5by5 and Relay FM. All three of the hosts also participate in shows on the latter. But what separates this podcast from any of the other tech podcast offerings is the fact that the hosts, John Siracusa, Marco Arment & Casey Liss, really know their stuff and are all developers by trade. This means that when covering the weekly tech news cycle they will always go into the greatest detail and give points of view that only the heaviest users can provide.

Honorable mentions:

• Material: There is a never ending source of podcasts that cover Apple news but shows that centre on their closest rival, Google, are hard to come across. Material from Relay FM fills that void with their weekly round up of all news Google. Great chemistry between hosts Russell Ivanovic, Andy Ihnatko & Yasmine Evjen leads to a nice addition to my weekly listening.
• The Bugle: To break with the common theme of technology in my podcast listening habits I also subscribe to The Bugle podcast. Hosts John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman bring a satirical view to the weekly happenings in the world and is a great addition for fans of Johns HBO show Last Week Tonight.