I used to listen to long form essays on Youtube. My favourite ones either break down the history of a conspiracy, teach me something new and cool about the world, or explore a hobby I've never been interested in.
I don't like the ones about killers or heavy drama. I also don't like podcasts that spend half the time reading the latest news from [topic] in verbatim .
What are some podcasts you can recommend me while I chip away at other things?
The Dork Forest, the host invites on somebody to talk about whatever they are really in to. It's ranged from a comedienne talking about comedy, to a pen and paper Marvel/DC super hero RPG history/mechanics, to the Sailor Moon anime series. Its pretty chill and usually a decent listen.
The Past Times, its by the two hosts of The Dollop. (Sometimes Dave and/or Gareth will get wound up and stuck on a bit that can get cringy as it goes on too long.) Dave gets a newspaper from some point in the past and Gareth and whoever they've invited on just riff on the headlines, the content of the articles/advertisements/classifieds, etc. A bit hit or miss, but its decent for having on in the background where you aren't really trying to pay too much attention to it.
The Dollop is alright. Dave reads stuff about an historical event or person to Gareth and sometimes a guest. Everybody riffs on it. Sometimes the jokes are a bit gross and go on for too long. I'd recommend their sports episodes as a person who is not interested in the watching or playing of sports but I do find myself amazed about the history behind leagues, games, competitions, players, coaches, owners sometimes. Some of the episodes can get pretty dark due to the subject of the episode though.
It ended quite a while ago but, The West Wing Thing, is a pretty long series that follows a popular USA TV series "The West Wing" and the slow descent into maddness by the two hosts and their guests as they watch (almost) every episode and discuss what they watched.