[laurieg]

Perhaps you just feel more in tune listening to people with whom you have greater shared experience? I often listen to radio comedy and think "This would be incredibly dull if you didn't follow all the cultural references".

If you include radio programmes in the definition of podcast (and nowadays there is no real sensible distinction) then the BBC makes a huge number of interesting and entertaining radio shows.

Your comparison of Planet Money to Moneybox is really apples to oranges. Planet money is factual entertainment about interesting stories with an economic spin: "Hey, I'm gonna make my own vodka, let's learn about price discrimination." Planet money is about consumer finances: pensions, investments, tax exemptions. I can't think of a more boring topic than listening to the ins and outs of another country's tax code.