Merry Christmas: My Gifts To You Are Indie Podcasts To Meet Every Need!

 What I've always loved about Santa Claus is that he knows what children want for Christmas. He has the master list. 

At Ear Worthy, we know that our readers want to discover the best independent podcasts out there. Unlike Santa, we don't have gift information down to the granular level.

I don't know how Santa does that every year, possibly now using AI to assist him in this Herculean task.

What we thought we'd offer readers is a list of indie podcasts that could meet your needs in 2026. We'll try to match your needs, wants, personality, life situation, and uniqueness to indie podcasts.

Let's try it. 

Typically, the new calendar year engenders a drive to lose weight, get in shape, and sculpt your personal temple -- your body. With that goal in mind, we suggest Salad With A Side Of Fries by Jenn Trepeck. 

Do you want wellness without the weirdness? Try this podcast. Topics the show tackles include debunking fad diets, food myths, misinformation in marketing, bad science, and general nutrition. No CrossFit craziness, no starving on a diet, and no dangerous supplements. Just common sense.

If 2025 has been a challenge because of illness, trauma, or death of a loved one, try these podcasts to revive your spirit and help you on your journey to psychic balance Try The Life Shift, Grief And Light, Multispective and Root To Resilience. These shows help us learn from the trauma and others, better cope with life's challenges, develop a growth mindset, and find the resilience to handle the curveballs' life throws at all of us. 

 If you are a history buff and can't resist a great history podcast, you've come to the right place. The History podcasts we offer as gifts either bust historical myths (Our Fake History), offer an immersive, you-are-there experience (Short History Of...), focus on stories you don't know and aren't told (Trapped History), (Echoes in the First Person) is a storytelling podcast that reclaims overlooked narratives and breathes life into the forgotten and the misremembered.  

 If your 2026 objective is to either be a contestant on Jeopardy, or even a more modest goal of winning just one trivia night at your sports bar, then I suggest  Everything Everywhere Daily, where, in about 10 minutes, listeners can learn something new every day on various subjects, including history, science, geography, mathematics, and technology, as well as biographies of some of the world’s most interesting people.

If its facts and pop culture trivia you desire, then History and Factoids About Today is a daily podcast about all the interesting and historical events of that day, birthdays, national days, fun facts and trivia.

How would you like to be better than someone who's always bragging about how much money they make, the expensive toys they own, or tries to top everyone else's story that has more lies in it than a politician's town hall? Therefore, you need to be a snob. A safe space for snobbery is wine knowledge, since a vast majority of people don't know what they don't know about wines.

First, I suggest The Best Five Minute Wine Podcast with Forrest Kelly. In just five minutes, you'll discover irresistible wine conversation starters, hidden travel gems, and expert insights. You are allowed to say that you visited these wineries, largely because Forrest will make it fell like you have.

Every episode of The Wine Pair Podcast is built around curiosity, transparency, and a genuine love of discovery. Married hosts Joe and Carmela blind taste three wines they’ve personally selected and purchased, which means their reviews are completely independent and unfiltered. The result is wine education listeners can trust — real opinions, honest reactions, and recommendations based on what’s in the glass, not on a press release or free sample. 

Finally, are you tired of family visiting and assaulting everyone with their political opinions, irrespective of what wings they're on.  You're exhausted from Aunt Theresa speculating about all the food at the holiday feast, wondering if it has artificial dyes, seed oils, or received a mRNA vaccine.

Then try these politics podcasts that can offer you a perspective from each side of the political spectrum. First, Left Right & Center is rightfully described as a civilized debate. The show's format is devilishly simple. The moderator is the moderate, or center.  There is a conservative voice and a progressive voice. They typically discuss three topics. 

The Purple Principle bills itself like this: “An award-winning, non-partisan podcast for independent-minded Americans exploring the perils of partisanship in U.S. politics, society, and daily life.”

Open To Debate has encouraged the public to "think twice" on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News correspondent John Donvan has moderated the show since 2008.

These debates are not dry and desiccated events but spirited and lively. While debates are not sporting events, the competitive fires burn and the debates crackle with points scored with relevant facts instead of baseball bats or soccer balls.   

Regardless of religious affiliation or a secular humanist belief system, I wish you the best this holiday season. 

Remember what Albert Einstein once said, "Save the receipts in case you have to return, and always buy next year's holiday decorations right after Christmas."

Actually, Albert Einstein also said, "Learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow."