WSJ What’s News

WSJ What’s News does something clever that most daily podcasts don’t bother with -- it publishes twice a day on weekdays, plus a Saturday markets wrap and a Sunday long-form piece. That means you can check in during your morning commute and again in the evening to see how the day’s stories developed. Host Luke Vargas anchors most episodes, with Alex Ossola and a rotation of Wall Street Journal reporters filling in. The weekday editions usually run 10 to 15 minutes, packing in business headlines, market movements, and global political developments. The Journal’s deep bench of correspondents means you’re often hearing from reporters who actually broke the stories they’re summarizing, which adds a layer of detail you won’t get from aggregators. The show has been running since 2006 -- that’s nearly two decades of daily output, making it one of the longest-running news podcasts around. It leans business-heavy, as you’d expect from the WSJ, but doesn’t ignore geopolitics or domestic policy when they matter. Episodes are tight and well-edited, with no wasted minutes. If you already listen to The Journal for deep dives, What’s News fills the gap on everything else the newsroom is tracking that day. It’s the kind of podcast that makes you noticeably better prepared for any meeting or conversation about current events.