After closing out my year as acting director of the Knight Science Journalism program last May, I plunged straight into producing the massive ScienceWriters2015 conference, held here at MIT in mid-October.

After that extravaganza, which ended up being the largest meeting in the history of the National Association of Science Writers, my life settled down a bit, allowing me to focus full-time on my new role as outreach officer for MIT's Program in Science, Technology, and Society.

My job this year is to plan a new STS/MIT initiative aimed at promoting public engagement in technology and science. Much more on that soon.

Already, though, I can share my hope/plan/prediction that podcasting will be part of the initiative. Which means I've been paying even closer attention lately to the evolution of the podcasting business. I've expanded the group of podcasts that I listen to regularly, and I've been studying the techniques and approaches that make them so compelling.

I thought it might be fun to share my current list of favorite podcasts, for those looking to expand or vary their own listening diets. I made one of these lists once before, for Xconomy, back in 2014. Now I've published an expanded and updated list or 38 recommended podcasts, once again at Xconomy, where I remain on the masthead as contributing editor.

My top picks include prominent shows like 99% Invisible (of course), Inquiring Minds, Invisibilia, and Serial, but also some lesser-known shows like Gastropod, Out on the Wire, and US & Them.

Go check out the full list, and give some of these fine shows a listen yourself!