cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/25642646

So I’ve run my own show for just about ten years now. We’ve never had ads or sponsorships of any kind other than a Patreon plug at the very end.

When I go out into the world and listen to other podcasts I’m perpetually annoyed at the lengthy, frequent ad-breaks. I don’t mind being reminded to engage or click on their link or go to a show’s Ko-Fi page, but a two minute dollar shave club or AG1 ad is just too much. And, honestly, the amount of advertising dollars some shows take makes me question their integrity just a bit. I know it might be a bit old-fashioned to think that, but I can’t help it.

What are you favorite sponsorship-free, ad-free podcasts?

CLARIFICATION EDIT: So, to clarify because it keeps coming up: I’m looking for shows with no ads and that are not on platforms that serve ads during the show in question. To me, in my mind, a podcast is an MP3, which is how I listen to them. They get downloaded and put onto an MP3 player.

I don’t watch podcasts on YouTube, and generally try to limit my time on platforms like that in general (although I find it nearly impossible to do so fully). I’m aware that some shows have ad-free versions if you access them via paid fees or behind other subscriptions models, but I’m looking for truly ad-free MP3 audio experiences. Thanks for all the recs so far! I’ve already compiled quite a list, so keep 'em coming!

  • ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world
    3·
    6 hours ago

    5-4 Podcast.

    It’s a podcast about how much the supreme court sucks. They discuss the ideological battles behind the landmark cases that shape the law in a fun and engaging way.

        • reattach@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          4 hours ago

          I’m on the RSS feed (not Spotify, Apple, etc.) and was able to listen to most of the back catalog without ads. When I was catching up, ads weren’t playing in episodes older than about 1 year.

          I had a similar ad experience with The Dollop, another good podcast.

          • bluelander@lemmy.mlOP
            2·
            4 hours ago

            Interesting, guess they started running ads recently. I wonder if they’ll begin injecting them into older shows eventually, I know some hosts offer that as a service.

            • reattach@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              3 hours ago

              It’s odd; in the old episodes, 5-4 includes ad bumps (e.g., “It feels like a good time to take a break”) but then immediately resumes the episode(“And we’re back”) without playing an ad. Maybe they switched advertising partners and didn’t bother to update old content?

              • bluelander@lemmy.mlOP
                2·
                3 hours ago

                Very possible! The podcast host I use offers a few kinds of ad services so there’s no telling. I don’t use them so I’m not totally sure how they work, but I’ve seen the options when I log in.