My love affair with podcasts, along with practically all other Millennials, started in 2014 with Serial. This spurred on a fast and obsessive journey of discovery into this new medium - highlights so far have included meeting Alex Blumberg of Gimlet Media, publicly crying while listening to TED Radio Hour’s episode featuring StoryCorps, and now actively joining the community as a host of Feast Meets West.
Podcasts have turned my morning commutes into something I actually look forward to – I escape the unforgiving crowds by savoring the analog pace of facts being delivered into my brain without disruption. Whether true or not, it makes me feel like I’m getting smarter.
I’ll admit my favorite podcasts change constantly - based on my mood, the specific guest speakers or topics. Here are my favorites this month:
Malcolm Gladwell, not a fan of his books but love his compelling storytelling here. His tendency to produce fluff for his books is contained into 30 min episodes on topics that matter like the problems in higher education funding and the outcomes of satire. First season just wrapped, so you can binge on this.
2. Note to Self
I have a girl crush on the host Manoush Zomorodi. She looks at our human relationships with technology from a relentless journalistic angle. She asks questions that make us critically think about the progress rather than follow it blindly. The reason why I turned off most of my app notifications.
3. Design Matters with Debbie Millman
This design heavyweight interviews people that have a strong design/life philosophy, so it’s not just your typical entertainment celebrities (yawn). She also knows how to surface facts about her interviewees that have been gathering dust to be re-examined. One to pick up interviewing skills from.
4. Science Vs.
I’ve never heard a more upbeat host than Australian Wendy Zukerman. She gives us the actual facts on subjects like Organic Food, Fracking and the G-Spot. You know it’s really good when Gimlet poached her for their network.
5. Invisibilia
Note: Season 1 was stellar, stopped listening mid-way Season 2. The hosts share fascinating stories on human psychology and behavior. Humans are so weird.