I’ve been recommending these Australian radio podcasts to my IELTS students for years, as many of them have problems with the Aussie accents in the listening paper. They are also worth a look for students who find BBC podcasts difficult to understand, as:

– they tend to treat stories in detail rather than flashing quickly through unconnected stories

– there is plenty of text on each programme that they can read before listening

– the presenters tend to talk slightly slower than BBC ones

– there are fewer country-specific references (especially compared to BBC Radio 4 and 5)

– the presenters and guests are more likely to get straight to the point.

There are also topics which might interest specific students and aren’t really covered on BBC like design.

I’m only just starting to explore the many great podcasts available in the archive after forgetting for a year or two to take my own advice to listen to them, but most of the best ones seem to be on this page somewhere:

Radio National podcasts

Any other recommendations for free, non-language learning podcasts for reasonably high level students anyone? Or indeed for teachers taking long commutes to their classes?