I've similarly lost interest in most direct-broadcast listening on NPR, though I'll catch a newscast a few times a week, perhaps.

Among podcasts:

- Fresh Air. Terry Gross and Dave Davies are both consummate interviewers, the guest list is excellent, and long-form interviews (30--40+ minutes typically) allow real exploration of a topic, beyond what a 2--6 minute news segment might address. The topical coverage is broad and includes numerous aspects well beyond my own typical interests. There's also a tremendous back-catalogue in the Fresh Air Archive: <https://freshairarchive.org/>

- NPR Headlines: If you just want the most recent 5-minute rundown, that's its own podcast feed.

- Selected Shorts: Short stories --- narrative fiction. A nice break from nonfiction / news / political coverage, and a good end-of-day / end-of-week unwind. Very New-Yorkerish as a friend notes... <https://www.npr.org/podcasts/381443486/pri-selected-shorts>

- The World (PRX): Not strictly NPR, but a news programme which has its primary focus outside US borders. <https://theworld.org/programs/the-world>

- Radiolabs, Freakonomics, Planet Money, How I Built This, Ted Radio Hour: Variable quality IMO, but often good. For someone who's not especially interested in business-launch stories, HIBT has delivered some real hits. I'll sample from these streams. Many of these series have been around for a long time, and have gone through a few hosts. They're generally pretty solid. Most have become at least somewhat "popular" / watered down / formulaic, though original brilliance does sometimes shine through.

- On the Media (WNYC Studios): Distributed by NPR (and at one time directly affiliated), this is the left-central media-analysis programme out of NYC. I was greatly disturbed at the ejection of former co-host Bob Garfield (his own subsequent podcast has been shut down, though he still tweets and has a substack). The show remains relevant, though much more uneven and less compelling than previously. In part it's become a platform for showcasing other podcasts' and series' productions, some of which can be quite good. Currently (re)running a multi-episode bit on right wing talk radio.

- From the CBC, "Ideas" with Nahlah Ayad: <https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas>. This also has a very long back catalogue (notably with former host Paul Kennedy who helmed the programme from 1999--2019). The Massey Lecture segments are especially good.

I strongly favour less topical programmes, generally not affiliated with NPR/PBS or other US public broadcasters. Notably a number of philosophy-related podcasts (Adam Davidson "History of Philosophy", Stephen West "Philosophize This", Wesley Cecil "Humane Arts" (popular and error-prone, but engaging), the truly excellent "Talking Politics: The History of Ideas" with David Runciman, now concluded). A few Libravox books (variable in technical and speaker quality, but some gems), and histories (Rome, Byzantium, China).

I also listen to numerous author / academic podcasts, most especially from the New Books Network (<https://newbooksnetwork.com/>) and various university series (Yale, Harvard, Stanford, LSE, etc.) These may be public lecture series, university press, or specific departments of interest. Speaker quality varies tremendously, but topical knowledge is excellent and the material tends to be noncommercial and is generally only glancingly topical, with some exceptions.