I recently decided to mix up my podcast lineup a bit and got some new shows in my rotation. I don't have a ton of time to listen to podcasts, so I was on the lookout for shows under 30 minutes so I could cram more shows into less time. I simply don't have room in my life for another 90 minute tech show.

In the interest of this short-but-sweet theme, I'll leave it there. Here are 5 shows that are nice and short, and I really think you should be checking out.

Presidential

This show has dominated my podcast time over the past few weeks. Each episode covers one US president and it's way more fascinating that I ever expected. I am not as much of a history buff as I would like¹, and this is a great primer on what the concerns of the day were in 4-8 year chunks (or 1 month, in William Henry Harrison's case).

Hosted by The Washington Post's Lillian Cunningham, this show is informative, well produced, and surprisingly funny. If you subscribe to one of these shows, make it this one. They're currently up to James K. Polk, and will get all the way up to Barack Obama the week before the election this November.

We Have Concerns

Jeff Cannot and Anthony Carboni cover a whole mess of topics from science, technology, philosophy, and current events...and then they take each topic to a their ridiculous conclusions. No podcast makes me laugh more.

Also, I'm totally on Team Dad Jokes.

The New Yorker: Politics and More

The New Yorker's Dorothy Wickenden is a quality show about general politics. Recent episodes on ISIS in Europe, the election with Nate Silver, and school shooters with Malcolm Gladwell have been fascinating.

Note to Self

Manoush Zomorodi hosts this show from WNYC's most interesting show about the sociological impact of modern technology.

Science Vs

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And finally we have Wendy Zukerman's show that takes common beliefs or stereotypes and sees if they stand up to scientific scrutiny. It's a fun, enlightening show that has covers topics from the Paleo Diet to race to female brains to pornography and more.

The show is between its first and second season and has moved to Gimlet for season 2. You can still listen to season 1 on iTunes or in your podcast app of choice here.