Can't-miss public media podcasts to listen to in May

Need a new podcast? The NPR One team has gathered a few returning favorites as well as some fresh releases from across public media.

More Perfect

More Perfect from WNYC Studios brings the nation's highest court down to earth, telling the human dramas at the Supreme Court that shape so many aspects of American life — from our reproductive choices to our voice in democracy.

Listen to "The Supreme Court v. Peyote."

Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai

In many Chinese sayings, "ten thousand" is used in a poetic sense to convey something infinite, vast, and unfathomable. For host Shin Yu Pai, the story of Asians in America is just that. KUOW's Ten Thousand Things explores a collection of objects and artifacts that tell us something about Asian American life.

On the eve of selling her family's house, Donna Miscolta's daughter had a mysterious request: Go to the stairwell and pull back the loose board on the bottom step. Start listening.

Sea Change

Living on the coast means living on the front lines of a rapidly changing planet. Sea Change from WWNO and WRKF brings you stories that illuminate, inspire, and sometimes enrage, as we dive deep into the environmental issues facing communities on the Gulf Coast and beyond.

Americans eat over 2 billion pounds of shrimp a year, making it the most consumed seafood in the country. But shrimpers say the state of their industry has never been worse. Listen now.

Embedded: Buffalo Extreme

What happens after a racist mass shooting in your neighborhood? This season of NPR's Embedded follows the young members of a Black cheer team in Buffalo, New York. They were at their gym on May 14, 2022, when a white man approached the Tops supermarket around the corner and started shooting.

Listen to part 1, "Base."

Parched

The southwestern U.S. has been in a drought for more than 20 years. It's created a serious problem for the Colorado River, and tens of millions of people in the region. Colorado Public Radio's Parched is a podcast about people who rely on the river that shaped the West – and their ideas to save it.

Listen to episode 1, "The Last Straw."

Where Y'all Really From

What's one universal question Asian Americans are asked at least once (but more like a million times) in their lives? "Where are you from? No, but where are you really from?" LPM News' Where Y'all Really From shares the diverse stories and perspectives of Asian American and Pacific Islanders living, learning, and loving in Kentucky.

When he was a kid, Edward Lee told his parents he wanted to be a chef. He never changed his mind about that calling. Start listening.

Seeking A Scientist

The future is scary, but it doesn't have to be! From fungus zombies to feeling young forever, KCUR's Seeking A Scientist is puzzling out what our world could look like — and how we can get ready.

We tend to think of getting older as inevitable. But what if it's actually something we can control? Listen now.

Rightnowish

KQED's Rightnowish spent five weeks talking to people who spent their formative years in the Bay Area but are now living outside the U.S. Why did they leave? How have their perspectives changed? And what would they say if they could write letters to people back home?

Photographer Christopher Nechodom retraced his family's roots to a small town in Mexico. In doing so, he left behind the pricey Bay Area — a place he loves dearly but that was costing him more than money. Listen now.

WILD

LAist Studios' WILD is a podcast about growing up... kind of. About those big and small moments that transform us forever. About how sometimes we come out on the other side of chaos or adversity with scars, but we come out stronger.

Listen to "A Southeast L.A. Rom-Com."

The Colin McEnroe Show

The Colin McEnroe Show from Connecticut Public lays claim to being public radio's "most eclectic, eccentric program." Tackling subjects like Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam's razor — you get the idea.

You've probably experienced the feeling of going down an internet "rabbit hole." How did a 19th-century author invent such a powerful metaphor for the digital world? Start listening.

NPR's Jack Mitchell curated and produced this piece.