After a nudge from Andrea, I jumped into Podcasts with both feet. I listen to them at 1.5x speed, so even my brief commute gives ample time to cover quite a bit of ground each week. Here’s a quick rundown on my Podcasts list and why I listen to each:
- NPR 7am ET News Summary ~5 minutes long daily, and keeps me more up to speed on: Ukraine/Russia, ISIS, Ferguson, etc. than if I spent lots of time reading news.
- NPR Topics: Story of the day Totally eclectic selection of topics, which is great for experiencing things outside my culture bubble.
- Freakonomics Taking a critical look at incentive structures in every day life, host Stephen Dubner puts many experiences in a new light.
- NPR: Planet Money Really genius reporting on all sorts of financial quirks of the modern day, along with analysis of how we got here. I wish I’d started listening in time to get a squirrel t-shirt.
- Radiolab Eclectic audio production and a tabula rasa approach to investigation from hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich make this make this a really unique gem.
- You Need a Budget (YNAB) It’s no secret that I love YNAB. YNAB CEO and podcast host Jesse Mecham provides periodic nuggets for staying the course.
- Science Friday Great recap of the scientific advances from the previous week. Its like IFLS before there was IFLS.
- The Moth Personal stories told live on stage with no notes. Great glimpse into the lives and experiences of others.
- This American Life The radio classic, without the FCC putting the lockdown on swearing.
- The Skinner Co. Network JRD Skinner’s flash fiction, in a cleverly cohesive universe. There’s more, but you’re going to have to listen and follow along to experience it.
- BLDRPPL Sean Helvey and Briana May’s freshman podcasting effort takes a tour of the unique Boulder scene. While you’re catching up on back episodes, keep a listen out for the episode I’m featured in!
- StarTalk Radio Neil deGrasse Tyson might be one of the most important scientists alive today, a spiritual successor to Carl Sagan as mass-market educator. This podcast is a mix of interviews with celebrities who are also nerds and socratic-style answering of questions culled from the internet.
- The Human Business Way (transitioned to:) The Owner’s Mind with Chris Brogan One of podcasting’s pioneers interviews business leaders and people with great insights.
- NPR: TED Radio Hour There have been so many great TED and TEDx talks, it’s almost impossible to keep up with them all. On the radio hour, they combine interviews with speakers with clips from their talks.
- Savage Lovecast Dan Savage has been running an advice column in Seattle’s “The Stranger” for years, and offers a really great, progressive view of relationship advice and
- seanwes Hand letterer-turned-passion entrepreneur Sean McCabe brings insightful advice on freelancing, brand-building, and delivering value twice a week. Not sure how he does it.
- Board Game University Famed board game reviewer Tom Vasal interviews board game designers about their successes and failures in the board gaming industry, and asks each to dispense “one piece of advice for an aspiring designer”. Great info as I work on Valour.
- StartUp Alex Blumberg, the creative force behind Planet Money and This American Life has set out on his own, and is recording all the details of starting a business that us startup junkies take for granted, but is really refreshing to hear about from the outside.
- The Paleo Solution — Robb Wolf No bullshit discussions of nutrition, fitness, and everything in between.
- Serial A spinoff of This American Life, host Sarah Koenig is dedicating an entire season to uncovering details of a crime committed in 1999 that has lots of unanswered questions.
- Swedish Survival Phrases Fun crash course in basic Swedish as I gear up for a 2015 trip to Sweden.
- Manager Tools Basics Super cheesy title, but great info if you’re taking on your first management role.
I’ve only gone back and ‘caught up’ on past episodes of some of these (Freakonomics, YNAB), and a few I jumped in right as they were getting kicked off (Serial, StartUp, BLDRPPL).
Hopefully you discover something new and interesting to you! If you have a favorite you think I should be listening to as well, post to comments!