Podsauce MVPs 2021: our favorite news podcasts of the year

We love a trusty news source. Here at Podsauce, we’re a little obsessed with the news (evident by our weekly news roundups released every Thursday). So, to celebrate getting through yet another year of politics, we’ve rounded up our Most Valued Podcasts in the news category of 2021. They’ve kept us updated on COVID-19, from new variants to vaccines, kept our fingers on the pulse of the Biden administration, and kept our attention on the world as new news comes out every day.

Check out our list of the best news podcasts of the year:

The Daily

In case you haven’t been able to tell from our weekly news podcast roundups, we here at Podsauce love “The Daily.” Every week day, they post one deep dive into relevant news stories from the journalists at The New York Times. They’ve been keeping us updated on COVID-19, the criminal trials of the century, and letting us know the world news that really matters. Just 20 minutes a day, five days a week, “The Daily” is certainly our go-to for the biggest stories.

Pod Save America

Four former aides to President Obama, Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor, are breaking down American politics for all to see. “Pod Save America” is the podcast that kicked off the podcasting network Crooked Media, which continues to provide us better conversations about politics, culture, and the world around us. Some things may be broken, but that doesn’t mean they’re unfixable. “Pod Save America” continues to keep us up-to-date on the Biden administration and lets us know what else is going down in D.C.

Global News Podcast

This BBC News podcast is where we go for all of the biggest stories worldwide. Posting twice daily on weekdays and once on weekends, “Global News Podcast” doesn’t miss a single beat. Hear about the latest news from Afghanistan, the WTA’s suspension of tournaments in China, Biden’s meetings with Putin, Barbados becoming the world’s newest republic and more with this podcast.

NPR News Now

NPR knows that keeping up with all the news is far too difficult a task to do on your own. So, at the top of every hour, “NPR News Now” is giving you the latest news in just five minutes. Bite-sized news segments that won’t make you late for work or coffee.

What A Day

Hosts Gideon Resnick, Josie Duffy Rice, Tre’vell Anderson, and Priyanka Aribindi are breaking down the biggest news of the day, finding the important stories you may have missed, and overall, being the most positive news podcast you can find! “What A Day,” another Crooked Media creation, does it all in just 30 minutes or less every single weekday.

Pantsuit Politics Podcast

Sarah Stewart Holland and her longtime friend Beth Silvers host this biweekly podcast in which they face the ideological polarization in American politics head-on with their compassionate, intelligent discussions. Since 2015, the two Kentucky women, both with law degrees, have been discussing what the U.S. government has been up to. With nuance and kindness, the two ladies of the “Pantsuit Politics Podcast” are soothing our aching dread about the division in our two-party system. It’s like Ted Lasso, but politics.