From summer blockbusters to antique auctions, check out these new podcasts

Podcast releases are in bloom this month. The NPR One team gathered a few recommendations of returning favorites and fresh releases from across public media for your playlist.

The podcast episode descriptions below are from podcast webpages and have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Pop Culture Happy Hour – NPR

There was Barbenheimer Summer, then Brat Summer, what will this year bring? Maybe it’s the season of actually good superhero movies, like The Fantastic Four and Superman. We’ve got a guide to the movies and TV we’re most excited about this summer, including M3gan 2.0, Pixar’s Elio, and Mission: Impossible.

Start listening to “The movies and TV we’re excited about this summer.”

Antiques Roadshow Detours – GBH

Ever wonder what happens to the treasures featured on America’s beloved Antiques Roadshow after the cameras leave town? A new season of Antiques Roadshow Detours tracks down the juicy afterlives of your favorite finds from PBS’ hit series. Hosted by longtime Roadshow producer Adam Monahan, this podcast dives deep into mysteries, secrets and surprises as each episode takes a thrilling “detour” into a single Roadshow object, astonishing and amusing listeners with every turn.

Start listening to “Treasure from the Trash Heap.”

Up First Sunday Story – NPR

Sean Combs who was once at the forefront of hip-hop music and fashion is now on trial for sex trafficking. The hip-hop mogul launched the careers of numerous stars and grew his business empire to a reported $1 billion in 2022. A fortune that has since shrunk considerably as he faces multiple civil lawsuits, a crumbling media empire and the prospect of years behind bars.

NPR Music reporter Isabella Gomez Sarmineto shares how Sean Combs went from music intern to media mogul and how it all came crashing down.

Start listening to “The Trial of Sean Combs.”

This podcast includes mentions of sexual assault/violence.

On the Media – WNYC

Season 2 of On the Media’s Peabody-winning series The Divided Dial is the untold story of shortwave radio: the way-less-listened to but way-farther-reaching cousin of AM and FM radio. The medium was once heralded as a utopian, international and instantaneous mass communication tool — a sort of internet-before-the-internet. But like the internet, it also took a turn for the chaotic. And like AM and FM talk radio, it also went hard to the right, with extremists and cults still finding a home on the shortwaves.

Start listening to episode one “Fishing In The Night.”

Throughline – NPR

The story of the Los Angeles police chief who, faced with one of the largest internal migrations in American history, tried to close California’s borders to stop it.

Start listening to “California’s ‘Bum Blockade’.”

Unsettled – Iowa Public Radio

On Unsettled, we are minding the gender gap in all facets of life. Host Charity Nebbe explores the political divides shifting Gen Z women to the left and men to the right, as well as educational achievement gaps, health care outcomes and safety risks through the lens of gender. We also hear from men of various ages and backgrounds about what it means to be a man in 2025.

Start listening to “Dating in the time of the political gender gap.”

NPR’s Jessica Green and Jack Mitchell curated and produced this piece.