I've logged a lot of miles since 2017, and most of them come with a podcast playing in my ear. Long drives, longer flights, waiting rooms in places I can't always pronounce. Good audio makes the miles disappear.

This week's crop of new shows and returning seasons gave me plenty to queue up. From a flag football legend turned interviewer to a BBC investigation into a monastery's dark side, there's a lot going on in podcasting right now. Here's what caught my attention.

Diana Flores, a two-time flag football world champion, just launched "Born to Become" through the TikTok Podcast Network and iHeartPodcasts. She's sitting down with athletes, entrepreneurs, artists and executives to dig past the resume and find out what actually shaped them. New episodes drop every Thursday. I like the premise — everyone's got a turning point, and most of us never hear about it.

Then there's "Free Shelley Jensen" from Sony Music Entertainment, hosted by journalist Larrison Campbell. This one's a gut-punch of a story. Shelley Jensen was a successful Tampa veterinarian who sold her practice for millions and was set to move to California with her husband, Chris. Then, at 52, she had a mental health crisis. Someone petitioned a judge, and Shelley ended up trapped in Florida's guardianship system, moved between institutions for months while her family fought over what was best for her. It raises a question worth sitting with: how hard is it to get your freedom back once someone else decides you can't be trusted with it?

The BBC's "Dark Island" is another one built on persistence. Journalist India Pollock first reported on Caldey Island, off the Welsh coast, nine years ago. The island's known for its monks and its peaceful reputation — but Pollock kept digging and found allegations of sexual abuse involving a monk, Father Thaddeus Kotik, that never reached police, plus a man on the most-wanted list who hid there for years. Eight episodes, decades of buried history. That's the kind of story that makes me grateful journalists stick with things long after everyone else moves on.

On a lighter note, "Silver Spoons" brings together Jae'Won Phillips, son of Jadakiss, and Christopher "C.J." Wallace Jr., son of The Notorious B.I.G., for a show about growing up with hip-hop royalty as your last name. Expect talk about legacy, identity and plenty of sneaker drops.

If you want something quick for your commute, "The Top Five News Show" with career recruiter Joe Pelayo counts down five stories every weeknight at 5pm ET, then ties them to real career advice from his three decades in executive search. His question every night: what can you actually do with this tomorrow? Similarly built for speed is "The Daily Skinny," where James Maas runs through 10 pop culture stories in about 10 minutes each weekday morning — full episodes on YouTube, bite-size clips everywhere else.

For the more technical-minded, "Authorized Intelligence" from Rubrik and N2K CyberWire has AI risk expert Cal Al-Dhubaib talking with security practitioners and policymakers about building trust into AI systems. And "The Human Success Show" from Zensai, hosted by Robin Daniels and Nina Carøe, spends nine episodes asking what actually makes people and workplaces thrive.

New Seasons Worth Catching

A few familiar shows are back too. "Camp Shame" returns for season two, with host Kate Kelly — an attorney and ex-Mormon herself — examining conversion therapy's history in Utah. Marvel fans get "Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday," hosted by Frank Alvarez and Iman Vellani, counting down to the December 18 release with guests like Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. Landon Donovan and Tim Howard are back for season three of "Unfiltered Soccer," and "The Slowdown" launches its seventh season of daily poetry with host Maggie Smith.

That's a lot of listening for one week. I'll probably start with "Dark Island" on my next long drive — nine years of digging for one story is the kind of commitment that makes me want to hear how it ends. What's landing in your queue this week?

Source: https://www.podcastnewsdaily.com/

Before this, we covered: A British Take on American Politics? That's Exactly the Kind of Curiosity I Like