Well, pod enthusiasts, it’s been another terrific year for the form. At this stage in the podcast era, screens have entered the narrative: an ABC sitcom about podcasting has come and gone (“Alex, Inc.”), an Amazon series made from a podcast (“Homecoming”) is thriving, and a Bravo adaptation of a podcast (“Dirty John”) may improve upon its source. In offscreen podcast buzz, nothing quite approached last year’s “S-Town” or the first wave of Barbaro Fever, but “The Daily” and other returning favorites remained great (“Ear Hustle,” “Heavyweight,” many more), as did reliable standard-setters like “This American Life” and “Reply All,” and several outstanding new shows and series—the focus of my list—emerged this year to help edify and keep us sane. Several are produced by local public-radio stations (a longer list of favorites would include “Making Obama,” from WBEZ Chicago), a trend that I’d like to see continue. Here’s to 2019, which…
