Whether it’s to get your news, sports updates or comedy, there are a plethora of topics and genres of podcasts free to download and listen to.

Podcasts are easily accessible for both iOS and Android users — for iOS users, there is a Podcast application that comes with the iPhone, and for Android users, there is Google Play Music.

According to a 2018 report conducted by Edison Research, 26 percent of Americans listen to podcasts monthly and the report shows that that trend continues to rise in popularity.

In a poll conducted last week, Sacramento State students voted on their favorite podcasts. Here are students’ choices for their favorite podcasts.  

Students voted for “Last Podcast on the Left” as their number one choice in podcasts. Hosted by Ben Kissel, this podcast takes place every Friday and discusses the terrors of the world. Kissel is a comedian, actor and political commentator. The podcast also features its producer, Marcus Parks, along with comedian and actor, Henry Zebrowski.

“Last Podcast on the Left” began in 2011 and has had a total of 331 episodes. During the show, hosts discuss everything from imagined horrors like demons, ghosts and vampires to real horrors such as cults and serial killers. The show typically lasts up to an hour to 90 minutes.

Outside of their podcast, the group has done numerous live shows around the country. On their website they leave you with the statement, “Subscribe… if you dare!”

In second place came the podcast “Pod Save America.” This progressive political podcast, which started in Jan. 2017, comes out on Tuesdays and Thursdays and has 188 episodes in total.      

The Tuesday show is hosted by former Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor and Jon Lovett, while the Thursday show is hosted by Favreau and Daniel Pfeiffer.

According to the New York Times, the podcast averages 1.5 million listeners per show as of November. The podcast mainly covers recent news and left-wing activism while also analyzing the Trump Administration.

Just like “Last Podcast on the Left”, “Pod Save America” has also done live shows and even went on tour last fall. This year, they have gone on an international tour playing in London, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Olso, Norway.  

“The Bill Simmons Podcast” came in at third place. Bill Simmons hosts this podcast and occurs approximately every two or three days. On the show, Simmons discusses current sports news and gives his predictions for games.     

He began the show back in Oct. 1, 2015 and has hosted 412 total episodes. After the first two weeks, he had 4 million downloads, according to digiday.com. Now on SoundCloud, he has over 56,000 followers.  

Simmons worked at ESPN as a sports columnist and analyst from 2001-2015. When his contract didn’t get renewed, he began his own website titled The Ringer shortly thereafter, which also hosts “The Bill Simmons Podcast”.    

He occasionally has guests on and has a segment each week called “Guess the Lines”, where he and a guest will predict betting lines for NFL football games each week of the season.      

“My Favorite Murder” came in as Sac State students’ favorite. Comedians Karen Kilgariff — a former Sac State student — and Georgia Hardstark host the weekly show. It began on Jan. 13, 2016 and has had 137 episodes.     

Along with their Thursday show, they’ve also produced 87 minisodes, occuring every Monday. The Thursday shows run between one to two hours, while the Monday shows run between 30 to 45 minutes.

On the podcast, they discuss murders and crime stories. This includes anything from unsolved murders to stories of cannibalism. On Facebook, they have 255,563 followers and growing. Their main page states, “Stay sexy, don’t get murdered.”

Last but not least, in fifth place is “WTF with Marc Maron”. This podcast began on Sept. 1, 2009 and has produced 949 episodes. Hosted by Marc Maron, it’s a biweekly podcast that is released every Monday and Thursday.

His guests are typically comedians and old friends who discuss past experiences along with other stories in a free-form discussion.

Maron began his career as a stand-up comedian in 1987. In 1993, he hosted his first show, “Short Attention Span Theater”, on Comedy Central. He then went on to host the game show “Never Mind the Buzzcocks” in 2002 on VH1, before going into radio in 2004.

He has interviewed former President Barack Obama, and in 2012, Maron hosted comedian Louis C.K. had the number one rated podcast episode of all time, according to Slate.

Outside of his podcast, Maron also had his own TV show “Maron”, which appeared on IFC from 2013-16.