Reasonable Man

TPS was co-founded by Carl Sagan in 1980 and continues to provide space science information catered to a general audience. It is currently chaired by Bill Nye. Drift off to sleep while imagining the view through the cupola: www.planetary.org/planetary-ra...

Near the end of every episode, a segment called “Random Space Facts” gets announced sometimes very loudly with varying distortion effects. This is the only thing really working against Planetary Radio as an ideal sleep podcast.

Topics include news surrounding space missions, projects, interviews with subject matter experts, education, and astronomy watch. The topics are delivered in a consistent and relaxed tone, and the subject matter is interesting and often out-dated.

If you value quantity and consistency in your sleep podcasts, The Planetary Society’s Planetary Radio is a rich vein. There are well over a thousand episodes in their feed, dating back to 2003 (a pretty exciting time in space travel imho).

💤Sleepy💤 podcast: The Planetary Society - Planetary Radio
💤Sleepy💤 genre: Space News
💤Sleepy💤 score: 8.0💤s out of 10.

The Empty Bowl: A virtual romp through the grocery store cereal aisle, that is interesting and funny, while also doing its best to put you down for the night. A perfect sleep podcast!  https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bowl

There are 92 episodes as of this writing, and this one zonks me out quickly… It's easy enough to start the backlog again when I run out of episodes. Dan is a consummate expert on all things cereal - he runs the Cerealously website where he reviews new products. Justin is a “cereal enthusiast”.

Justin McElroy and Dan Goubert review and comment on everything happening in the world of breakfast cereals. A “calming breakfast oasis”, this podcast, unlike most I’ll review, is specifically a sleep podcast.

💤Sleepy💤 podcast: The Empty Bowl
💤Sleepy💤 genre: Review
💤Sleepy💤 Score: 10💤s out of 10.

Oh No, Ross and Carrie!: Check it out, it might help with your sleep, if their broad range of topics don’t keep you awake with interest. https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/oh-no-ross-and-carrie/

The Besties: A very fine journey through the last decade+ of video games. The old stuff might help you catch some Zzzs, but be awake for the new episodes! https://www.themcelroy.family/besties

Night Call: Good vibes and a chill atmosphere for zoning out and getting some valuable sleep. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-night-call-28893044/

The Worst Idea of All Time: Check out these good boys and maybe their frustrating journeys can help you get caught up on your 💤s. https://www.worstideaofalltime.com/

Casefile: If you’re the morbidly curious type who can be lulled to sleep by descriptions of heinous crimes and murder. https://casefilepodcast.com/

“Creaky dulcet tones”, I should have said in my intro post. This podcast is specifically engineered to help you get to sleep, so give it a try, or several tries! https://www.sleepwithmepodcast.com/.

Overall some decent sleep infotainment: I often revisit episodes I slept through and am interested in, and there are hundreds of episodes in the backlog to keep you going for a while.

As a sleep podcast, the consistent tone and host-read ads are nice. On rare instances, a cackle or laugh can come through a bit shrill, but low volume playback will solve this. In the mornings, it may take me a few minutes to figure out what they’re up to, if tuning in mid-episode or mid-series.

Ross Blocher and Carrie Poppy get into the weeds and investigate things that are probably bullshit, but maybe not, and report on their findings. Subjects include Scientology, Flat Earthers, Tarot readings, male/female enhancement devices, and much more. Lots of interviews with experts too.

💤Sleepy💤 podcast: Oh No Ross & Carrie
💤Sleepy💤 genre: Documentary/Investigation
💤Sleepy💤 Score: 8.0💤s out of 10.

Books, TV, and movies also come up in the reviews, but usually represent a short round-up of what the hosts are actively engaged with at the end of each episode. A solid podcast for sleep and active rotation. Though it has had its hiatuses, it surprisingly holds up to time.

In every odd contemporary episode, the McElroys will dip out and leave Chris and Russ ("the Resties”) to discuss lesser-known games. There is lots of emphasis on Nintendo and mobile, which are up my alley, and constant revisiting of games to discuss their status as GOTY contenders.

Ads are minimal and read by the hosts. There may be some rare excitability amongst the hosts, but kept at a low volume, this podcast is a fun one to sleep to, especially starting in the early days and listening to discussions of games from 10+ years ago.

Two thirds of the McElroy brothers, and their former Polygon colleagues Chris Plante and Russ Frushstick review what’s new, what they like, and take occasional deep dives into pop culture releases that are typically 95% video games.

💤Sleepy💤 podcast: The Besties
💤Sleepy💤 genre: Game Reviews
💤Sleepy💤 Score: 8.5💤s out of 10.

Night Call is one of my favourites, and every bit worth a listen during waking hours too. The trio of hosts had a previous podcast “Girls in Hoodies” that I haven’t heard, but it does lend hope that there will be a podcast reunion in the future.

Night Call ran for 136 episodes and ended in December 2020, shortly after a switch to iHeart. The format of the show is very chill, the conversations interesting and evergreen, and there are no obnoxious noises or outbursts… which make this a very good sleep podcast.

Molly Lambert, Emily Yoshida, and Tess Lynch hosted this weekly call-in show with a bent towards pop culture, film and TV, books, and internet culture. Night Call has the aesthetics and vibes of driving through a brightly lit city at midnight listening to an FM radio call-in show.

💤Sleepy💤 podcast: Night Call
💤Sleepy💤 genre: Comedy/Talk radio
💤Sleepy💤 Score: 9.5💤s out of 10.

There may be a rare shriek, or a loud visit from the Boner Inspector, but otherwise the smooth voices of these New Zealander comedians make it easy to fall asleep and stay asleep too. You don't even need to watch the movies they subject themselves to.

There are over 600 episodes, and these boys may have you laughing in the middle of the night. Part of my regular daytime rotation now! As with most podcasts I'll review, this isn't supposed to be a sleep podcast, though I believe they've acknowledged that some people do.