cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/25642646
So I’ve run my own show for just about ten years now. We’ve never had ads or sponsorships of any kind other than a Patreon plug at the very end.
When I go out into the world and listen to other podcasts I’m perpetually annoyed at the lengthy, frequent ad-breaks. I don’t mind being reminded to engage or click on their link or go to a show’s Ko-Fi page, but a two minute dollar shave club or AG1 ad is just too much. And, honestly, the amount of advertising dollars some shows take makes me question their integrity just a bit. I know it might be a bit old-fashioned to think that, but I can’t help it.
What are you favorite sponsorship-free, ad-free podcasts?
CLARIFICATION EDIT: So, to clarify because it keeps coming up: I’m looking for shows with no ads and that are not on platforms that serve ads during the show in question. To me, in my mind, a podcast is an MP3, which is how I listen to them. They get downloaded and put onto an MP3 player.
I don’t watch podcasts on YouTube, and generally try to limit my time on platforms like that in general (although I find it nearly impossible to do so fully). I’m aware that some shows have ad-free versions if you access them via paid fees or behind other subscriptions models, but I’m looking for truly ad-free MP3 audio experiences. Thanks for all the recs so far! I’ve already compiled quite a list, so keep 'em coming!
What i have found is that if i use my vpn when downloading , some countries dont have active ads for the podcasts i listen to so it just downloads without. All i hear is a fade out and 3 sec silence and then fades back to the show
Oh weird, I didn’t even think about that. Yeah anything with dynamic ads would likely set them per country, I suppose. So some places wouldn’t have anything to go in the slot.
This is like asking, “What are some good books?” Are people here really so guileless that they’re listening to podcasts simply because they have no ads? I don’t get it. You could give me 100 ad-free football podcasts and I’m not listening to any of them because I’m not interested in football.
You know what I like? People talking passionately about stuff they like. I also don’t like ads. It’s not that hard to figure out, not sure why you’re coming in so hot.
Hearing people with passion explain things they’re knowledgeable about is fun, enlightening, and interesting to me. Sue me.
While I’m at it, got any book recommendations?
Big, if true. Not even being snarky. I wish I were so open-minded. There are just some things (indeed, lots of them) that I will never be interested in.
I don’t know if it’s open-minded per se, I just like people having good discussion. Like I don’t give a shit about astrophysics, but I’ll listen to an astrophysicist explain what excites him all day. I listen to my SO gush about fountain pens all the time, but have no interest in them whatsoever. If I only listened to things I had a pre-existing interest in then I’d never discover anything new to enjoy.
One of the podcasts someone recommended in this thread is just two dudes dunking on Alex Jones. I don’t give a shit about Alex Jones, he seems like a dirtbag. But listening to them dunk on him is hilarious!
Come to think of it, there are one or two podcasts I stick with partly because I like the sound of the host’s voice. So perhaps you’re on to something after all.
Boonta Vista. Comedy podcast out of Australia. No agenda.
Chapo Traphouse. Comedy political show out of USA. Leftist.
TrueAnon. Political show out of USA. Leftist.
QAA Podcast. Studies conspiratorial thinking and is genuinely pretty funny. Anti-capitalist.
Friendly Atheist Podcast (I think this has no ads, but I subscribed to the Patreon when I was only reading the blog and may be wrong). Focus on religious bullshittery in politics and such in USA. Pretty liberal for my taste, but when Jess shuts up about politics it’s otherwise fine. Hemet is great at sticking to the topic at hand: freedom from religion.
Some of this is right in my wheelhouse. Thanks for the recs!
Film Reroll
I’m part of a podcast and we also do not have any adverts or sponsorship. We sell merch and we have a ko-fi account which we mention once per episode (if we remember to lol).
Subject matter is um…kind of niche though I suspect.
Popping back in to say that this is a really good show! Going right into the regular rotation, thanks for doing what you do.
Yeah that’s a little niche, but you’re going on the MP3 player anyway! I’d rather learn about something new from people who want to talk about it than hears ads played over something I already like :)
5-4 Podcast.
It’s a podcast about how much the supreme court sucks. They discuss the ideological battles behind the landmark cases that shape the law in a fun and engaging way.
A good podcast. They do have ads though.
Well dang, that’s unfortunate.
I’m on the RSS feed (not Spotify, Apple, etc.) and was able to listen to most of the back catalog without ads. When I was catching up, ads weren’t playing in episodes older than about 1 year.
I had a similar ad experience with The Dollop, another good podcast.
Interesting, guess they started running ads recently. I wonder if they’ll begin injecting them into older shows eventually, I know some hosts offer that as a service.
It’s odd; in the old episodes, 5-4 includes ad bumps (e.g., “It feels like a good time to take a break”) but then immediately resumes the episode(“And we’re back”) without playing an ad. Maybe they switched advertising partners and didn’t bother to update old content?
Very possible! The podcast host I use offers a few kinds of ad services so there’s no telling. I don’t use them so I’m not totally sure how they work, but I’ve seen the options when I log in.
I listen to it on the Amazon Music subscription I get included with Prime and it’s ad free.
Sounds engaging! Also going onto the ever growing list.
I cannot more highly recommend a pod called NeverPost. It’s kind of like an audio magazine about the internet and it is great. They mention their bonus tier every episode but there’s no normal ads
Oooh that does sound nice. Thanks for the rec, on the list of goes!
I should probably add this
Walking Through The Stargate doesn’t have ads. It’s about watching all of the Stargate TV shows.
I’ve been looking for a good excuse to dig into Stargate anyway, so that’s perfect.
Awesome! They’re almost through the last season of SG-1 and working on Atlantis concurrently in air date order, jumping back and forth.
They watch the bad cartoon show when their supporters donate to a specific tip jar, and presumably they’ll get to Universe, Origins, and the movies.
A friend of mine has been slowly working through Farscape with me and Stargate is on our short list for what to watch next. I’ll definitely be pushing for it even harder now, got the first three episodes of the podcast loaded up and ready to go lol
Cool! How do you like Farscape? I liked it, but the puppetry won’t be for everyone.
I’m not sure it’s a very good story but the fx and stuff all has so much heart that’s it’s hard to dislike it. Overall we’re having a lot of fun with it, even when we’re kind of laughing at it rather than with it.
That’s sort of where I was too. It’s often really fun, but I’m not sure it was GOOD.
I really enjoy Making It and am a patreon subscriber. It’s Jimmy Diresta, Bob “I Like to Make Stuff” Clagett, and David Picutto (FKA The Drunken Woodworker). They talk about being makers, being on youtube, being middle aged, etc. Ep 469 just came out, so it’s got some staying power.
Sounds fun, adding it to the list! My own show just hit 500, so I know how tough it is to stick to it week after week, kudos to them for making it so far.
I don’t personally listen to podcasts often, but a Spotify client called Spotube can play the same Spotify podcasts ad-free.
On Android you can get Spotube from its official Git site, or just from the F-Droid app store. iOS/macOS guides are also in the website.
Strong songs is fully listener supported with a plug to his patreon once per episode. It is a podcast about what makes some songs better than others. Best if you have some musical understandig as he can get a bit detailed.
I have what doctors call “dumb ears” and have zero musical ability. But I’m going to listen anyway, no one can stop me!
If u watch on YouTube and use a client like pipepipe then everything is as free.
I already use sponsorblock and other add-ons for youtube, but I try to spend as little time as possible there. I sync my podcasts to an MP3 player. Thanks for the tip though!
Ahh kk. I’m sure their is some tool that let’s u download the sponsor block data and cut that part out of relevant files. If not it wouldn’t be too hard to write especially with the help of Dr gpt
