Good Robot to Good Hang with Amy Poehler: 10 of the best podcasts of 2025 so far

Good Hang with Amy Poehler (The Ringer)

Having conquered improv comedy, television and film, actress and comedian Amy Poehler has turned her attention to a new arena. With the Good Hang podcast, Poehler draws upon her years of experience and friendships cultivated in the entertainment industry, chatting with the likes of Tina Fey, Martin Short, Dakota Johnson and Michelle Obama. The show is stacked with questions about careers, family and wellbeing, with Poehler leveraging her signature humour and infectious laugh to disarm her guests. Good Hang wholly succeeds in the mission promised by its title – making you feel like you're in a room hanging out with your closest friends.(Francis Agustin)

Watch on The Ringer or YouTube. Listen on Spotify

Rory Stewart: The Long History of Heroism (BBC)

British politician and diplomat Rory Stewart begins his five-part exploration of what it means to be a hero with an embarrassing admission – for much of his youth and early adulthood, he longed to be Alexander the Great, sacrificing his life for a noble cause. Yet this classical notion of heroism has little place in today's complex world, Stewart argues, in this latest series of his Long History of… podcast. He takes the audience on a journey through more than 3,000 years to trace the evolution of heroism, starting with Achilles and ending with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. In an age of superheroes and social media, are there any heroes left, or has something crucial about the human flaws required to be a hero been lost to history? (Richard Gray)

Listen on BBC Sounds in the UK or BBC.com outside the UK

For more culture from the BBC, these are the best films and tv shows of 2025 so far.

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