I’m curious what podcasts you listen to.
A person’s podcast diet is so personal and intimate.
Podcast listening is more of a solo endeavor, not so much a group activity—unless, maybe, you’re in a car together. The alone-ness of it, the straight-into-your-brain delivery of storytelling and conversation creates a sense of familiarity with the podcast hosts and speakers. Especially if we listen to them regularly, especially in a pre-post-pandemic era where time spent with friends has been cautiously limited, but every week we fold laundry or wash dishes with the same people—dare—I say friends chattering away inside of our ears. Inside of our heads.
As a person who has struggled with attention span issues her whole life, following along with a narrative helps me focus. Not when I’m writing or doing anything verbal, but while I’m listening to a well-told story my brain is better at staying on course with tasks that are apt to make me wander off and seek distractions, like cleaning messes (culinary, art or otherwise), folding baskets of laundry, washing dishes. Similarly, I find it easy to engage in mild exercise like walking or rowing machine listening to an expert dish about his passion project. Hula hooping requires a bit more of a beat.
I probably listen to between 10 and 12 podcasts a week. My repertoire is a blend of culinary, science, wellness, mindfulness, storytelling, and general info about the world. I’m not a fan of two people just yammering away thinking that they’re clever, so I skip a lot of podcast intros and head straight to the good bits.
Certain podcasts are part of my regular weekly or daily routine. On Sundays I choose an episode of On Being or Oprah’s Soul Session or something similar that speaks to how I’m feeling.
There are over two million different podcasts out in the world (or over 48 million episodes). I’d venture to say most are probably crap, either content or production wise. Not everybody can be This American Life, the GOAT and primogenitor of all other podcasts. But, chances are, no matter what you’re interested in or curious about, someone’s recorded themself yakking about it.
Since we’re talking all things curiosity I’ll share some podcasts and episodes with you, the ones that, in some way or another, scratch my curiosity itch, teach me things I didn’t know I needed to learn, or make my brain hum.
I’d love to hear what you’re listening to, how, and why.
Decoder Ring: tackling cultural mysteries and hidden curiosities. My faves are history of the mullet and rise of the Karen.
Armchair Expert: actor person Dax Shepard and his wife’s BFF interview people on their area of expertise. This episode on Simulation Theory stuck with me for a long time.
Home Cooking with chef/wonderful human Samin Nosrat and musician Hrishikesh Hirway is peak quarantine podcasting. One of the best examples of perfectly done banter, laughter, and all sorts of cooking information, whether you’re on lockdown or not.
Ologies is Alie Ward asking smart people all kinds of questions. Even topics you don’t think you’d be interested in, like planaria, are fascinating.
Radiolab episodes are all really interesting smart-kid magazine articles you’d love to read but seem really long and daunting. I always seem, to catch snippets of an episode on my local NPR station and am so fascinated I have to go find the whole episode and listen.1
On Being explores the moral, social, spiritual innerscape of the human existence with thinkers, believers, artists and other humans.
Design Matters features Debbie Millman speaking with a vast array of people from the art and design world about their work in the world. Even if you aren’t an artsy/designy person, there is so much here. Try this recent episode with Suneel Gupta.
More on my smart-kid curiosity list:
I’ll be coming at you from time to time with links for more great podcast episodes as I hear them and you share them with me.
By kid I mean grown-up.