I first talked about some of my favorite podcasts in July 2017, but since then, I’ve become such a podcast fan that I organize all of the ones I follow by the day new episodes are posted. I work from home and really rely on podcasts to keep me engaged in my work. I know some people can’t focus on tasks with unrelated audio playing, but I’ve found I’m usually fine with some background noise.

The following are podcasts I’ve really grown to love in the past year. I used to only listen to podcasts during work, but I’ve started playing some of these while cooking or doing any other menial task. I prefer interview series and pop culture discussions over true crime or political podcasts, so if you like lighter fare in your podcast lineup, I’d highly recommend any of the picks below!

1) Desert Island Discs

This is actually a long-running radio show on the UK’s BBC Radio 4, having first aired in 1942. I either listen to it in full form on the BBC’s website, where more recent episodes usually stream easily, or in shortened podcast form on Stitcher or Mixcloud, which both have older interviews that won’t play for me on the BBC site. Featuring both British and foreign guests from various professional industries, each episode asks for its subject to select eight songs they’d wish to have access to as a castaway on a desert island. In between each musical snippet, they discuss their lives, careers, and why these songs stand out to them. For starters, I recommend trying out Tom Hanks and James Corden‘s episodes, and if you’re open to listening to an interview with someone you may not know, Miranda Hart’s is great. I usually veer toward the interviews with film and TV figures, but the podcast’s endless archive includes episodes with politicians, authors, musicians, and more.

2) Thirst Aid Kit

Goodness, this one is so fun. In each episode, co-hosts Bim Adewunmi and Nichole Perkins usually select one male celebrity and devote an hour to dissecting why they, well, thirst after him. They explore his body of work, his looks and persona, and what exactly makes him appealing. The women also aren’t afraid to discuss any man’s problematic side or how most of their podcast subjects are white, as that’s what Hollywood often puts forward as the male ideal. They conclude each episode with their own original drabbles about that week’s object of affection, and the women themselves are hilarious, insightful, and relatable. This article explaining the podcast is fantastic.

3) Royally Obsessed

You know I love me some royals. While the Fug Girls‘ royal family posts are like little bursts of gold scattered throughout the week, the Royally Obsessed podcast is the deep, informative dive into the British monarchy’s doings that I crave. Led by writers Kaitlin Menza and Lisa Ryan, it covers what the royal family has been up to that week, honors historical anniversaries, and dissects certain media angles and coverage of the family members. Lately, guests have also popped up to contribute thoughts about royal fashion, the recent trend of royalty in holiday movies, and the loss of Meghan Markle’s stellar social media accounts. I have no friends IRL who love the royals like I do, so this podcast perfectly suits my need for monarchist fangirling and speculation.

4) RomComoisseurs

If you are all for the ongoing revival of the rom-com, this chatty podcast debriefing the ups and down of the genre’s movies fits the bill. As with any show critiquing something, you may not always agree with the hosts’ opinions about a certain movie, but I love the recurring jokes and unique observations that commentators Dana Schwartz and Max Genecov offer. So many movie podcasts are male-centric, so I just appreciate the more well-rounded viewpoint of this one.

5) Reality Steve Podcast

I still follow plenty of Bachelor podcasts, and my job usually requires me to stay on top of the franchise spoilers that Reality Steve posts. In the last year, I’ve really gotten into the spoiler king’s own podcast, on which he interviews Bachelor Nation alums and other former reality show contestants, producers, and entertainment journalists. Steve has such a comprehensive interview style and always manages to coax out an interesting narrative from his subject even if he or she didn’t last on The Bachelor or Bachelorette that long. I also love that he’s spoken to plenty of old-school contestants from the first few years that I watched the franchise.

What about you? What are some of your favorite podcasts?