If you’re in need of a new form of entertainment that isn’t books, movies, or TV shows, podcasts are a great alternative. Very similar to music, you don’t need to be watching anything to know what’s going on, you can do aimless chores around your house, listen to it in the car or even while doing homework, and still listen to what’s being said and talked about. If you’re looking to start getting into them, here are my top five recommendations that you need to listen to ASAP.

1. Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain

Featured on Spotify, Apple podcasts, and many more platforms, Chamberlain’s podcast is one that voices her inner thoughts, converses with her audience, gives advice, and much more. Fan or not of Chamberlain, this podcast has really made me love her more than I already did before. I love listening to her advice episodes, they really help me understand certain topics or help me change my perspective on something that I didn’t know much about before. Since I have been an Emma Chamberlain fan since her early start-up to fame, I feel I can really connect with her through this podcast, even though she has no idea I exist.

2. BFFs with Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards

If you’re anything like me and enjoy keeping up with the latest TikTok influencer drama, this podcast is perfect for you. Featured many times on the infamous TikTokroom Instagram account, this podcast has a lot of controversy with it. Richards and Portnoy bring on several famous TikTok influencers on separate episodes and discuss controversies surrounding them or things they are involved in. This podcast is perfect for you if you’re a little on the nosey end and like to know what these influencers are involved in and why. Besides bringing on famous influencers to discuss their controversies, Portnoy and Richards talk about their own opinions on certain controversies that have recently happened or events mentioned on the TikTokroom Instagram.

3. Stuff You Should Know with Josh Clark and Charles W. Bryant

SYSK (Stuff You Should Know) is a podcast created by iHeartRadio that’s about stuff you should know, hence the name. Although it is stuff you should know, it is quite random stuff you should know so if you’re one for knowing random facts this podcast is definitely for you. Ranging from, how skateboarding works, to how blimps work, to learning about aspirin, you’ll never be bored and almost always intrigued. This podcast is great for pulling random facts out of your back pocket.

4. Lore with Aaron Mahnke 

Lore is a non-fiction podcast that looks at the history of unusual, dark events that have happened on earth. I know I said the word “history” and that can be a head-turner for most, but the podcast is very promising. The way Mahnke narrates this podcast is almost like you are listening to stories while sitting near a campfire, it almost brings nostalgia to me because you are so engaged with the story that you could quite literally imagine yourself sitting at a campfire listening to one of his podcasts.

5. My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark 

If you know me, you know I love anything crime or unsolved murders related. If you like those things just as much as me, this podcast is right up your alley. In most podcast episodes, Kilgariff and Hardstark discuss an unsolved murder case and through the details of it. If they aren’t discussing an unsolved murder, they are talking about hometown crime stories from their friends or from fan submissions. With many crime podcasts to choose from, the hosts of this one really keep you listening.