Podcasts don't have to be solo things! My crew all listens to the same comedy podcast during shifts. We quote bits back and forth and end up laughing just like with old stories. It's not the same as a foreman's tale, but it still gets everyone talking. Sometimes we even pause it to argue about a joke. That messy, loud feeling can still happen, just in a different way.
But don't you think it's not the same when the jokes are already taped? A podcast can't play off your crew's inside jokes or the day's messes. It just feels like background noise compared to real shared laughs.