A look at new podcasts from The Economist, MSNBC, Crooked Media & The Verge

With fall now in full swing and the media industry moving into the final quarter of the year, some of the most recognizable names in publishing are doubling-down on podcasts as a core part of their content strategies. To that end, consumers will soon have several new shows to check out from brands like The Economist, MSNBC, Crooked Media, and The Verge, covering subjects that span politics, tech, and global affairs.

The launch of the new shows, including one that’s available starting today, will offer a mix of everything — from newsroom debates that are brought out into the open to political conversations as well as a nostalgia fest about technology and gadgets. Here’s a look at what’s coming, below, starting with a new premium video and podcast offering from The Economist available beginning later this week.

The Economist ‘Insider’

The Economist has a new weekly show called The Insider — hosted by editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes and deputy editor Edward Carr — that the magazine says will give subscribers “access to leading editors as they explore the news and trends shaping the world now.” A peek behind the curtains, in other words, to get a sense of how The Economist’s journalism actually gets made.

In addition to that flagship weekly show (available starting Oct. 9), other senior editors will host weekly shows of their own as part of this new project: There’s Inside Defence with Shashank Joshi; Inside Geopolitics with David Rennie; Inside Economics with Rachana Shanbhogue, Henry Curr and Mike Bird; and Inside Tech with Tom Standage and Alex Hern. Episodes of all five podcasts will be available twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Insider members can take part in Q&A shows as well as receive a dedicated email newsletter.

As Beddoes put it in an announcement about the new shows: “In an era of ubiquitous artificial intelligence, this new product will showcase the decidedly human intelligence that makes The Economist unique.”

MSNBC’s Jen Psaki and ‘The Blueprint’

Next, we turn to MSNBC.

Former White House press secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki is back for season two of her podcast The Blueprint. The new season debuts Oct. 15 with a pair of launch episodes and will drop weekly on Wednesdays across major podcast platforms like Apple and Spotify.

Psaki’s first season featured Democrats looking back on the 2024 election cycle. Season two shifts the focus to the first year of President Trump’s second term, and Psaki will talk with guests that include rising Democratic stars to ask where the party goes from here.

The live debut episode will be taped next week at MSNBCLIVE ‘25 in New York, for which Psaki will be joined by the hosts of the I’ve Had It podcast. Worth noting: Psaki’s show is also part of MSNBC Premium, which gives subscribers access to ad-free episodes and bonus content.

Alex Wagner Joins Crooked Media

Another of this fall’s major podcast launches comes from Crooked Media, which signed Alex Wagner to host a new weekly podcast premiering Oct. 23. Wagner, whose MSNBC primetime show was canceled earlier this year as part of a broader MSNBC programming shakeup, is launching a show that promises “visceral, emotional storytelling” about life under the Trump administration.

Episodes will pair Wagner’s interviews with everyday Americans with analysis from journalists and other voices. The show will also be available in both audio and video formats.

Beyond her new podcast, Wagner is also joining Pod Save America as the show’s first official contributor. She’ll host one Sunday episode per month and make regular appearances on Crooked’s YouTube “Rapid Responses” videos. “We’re in a moment of shocking and intense political change,” Wagner said in a statement. “There’s no better time to launch a show that gets right to the heart of the matter.”

The Verge’s ‘Version History’

Finally, The Verge has a new show with tech enthusiasts in mind that’s available starting today. Hosted by editor-at-large David Pierce, the site’s new show Version History revisits the legacy of past tech products — ranging from hoverboards to Guitar Hero to Vine.

“Each week,” the site explains as part of a YouTube launch video, “a panel of hosts will tell the story of a gadget, app, website, widget, or any other thing that anyone ever shipped or sold or at least said they’d eventually ship or sell.” Version History will “explore the history, the legacy, the mistakes, the unexpected wins, the weird commercials, and everything in between.”

The new show joins a slate of podcasts from The Verge that includes Decoder and The Vergecast, and episodes of Version History will be released weekly on Sundays across YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.