Presidential

Lillian Cunningham of The Washington Post created Presidential as a countdown to the 2016 election, producing one episode per week for 44 weeks, each dedicated to a different president. The result is a remarkably consistent and well-structured series that gives every commander-in-chief roughly equal time and attention. The guest list alone makes this worth listening to: Pulitzer Prize-winning biographers David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Jon Meacham all appear, alongside Washington Post journalists including Bob Woodward. Each episode runs about 30-40 minutes and follows a similar format: how the president reached office, what decisions defined their term, and what legacy they left behind. With 60 total episodes (including bonus content beyond the original 44), the show has continued in some form through 2024. The 4.4-star rating from over 3,600 reviews reflects broad appreciation, though some listeners noted that hosting style preferences vary. What makes Presidential special is its completeness. You can listen to the entire series and come away with a genuine understanding of every American presidency, told by the people who literally wrote the books on them. Cunningham also created Constitutional and Moonrise, following a similar model of deep-dive limited series. If you want a single podcast that covers every president in order, with top-tier expert commentary, Presidential is the definitive version of that idea.