I get really excited when I talk about podcasts. I cannot get enough of them. I share my enthusiasm with podcasts much like I imagine Ralphie does in “A Christmas Story” when he listens to the Little Orphan Annie radio show. Ralphie and his little brother Randy turn on the radio, snuggle down into the carpet, and begin listening with their eyes aglow, and you can see their minds awash in active imagination. That is where my brain is while I am immersed in a podcast.
Podcasts, the 21st century version of radio, are definitely having a moment, with Americans listening to more than 21 millions hours of recorded shows. While this is by no means a threat to television or movies, the ever-growing audience of podcast listeners reveals the best parts of the medium that cannot be ignored. For starters, you can carve out plenty of time in your day to listen to a podcast – a work commute being the top listening time. Working out, cleaning the house, and walking the dog are all optimum opportunities to put in your ear buds or headphones, and get transported to magical places. With over 200,000 podcasts available, there is something for everyone.
What I think makes podcasts such a great sell is the magic of having to listen without seeing – it grips the human imagination like no other and enriches the experience. Everything tends to come across bigger than life. Your mind remains open for any possibilities – not like watching television where you watch the action, or even reading a book, where you ARE the action. Radio is relevant and still thriving in 2017 because of these wonderful qualities that podcasts possess.
With smart phones and computers, podcast accessibility is just a click away. iPhone and iPad users can select the pre-loaded app “Podcasts”and Android/tablet users the pre-loaded “Play Music”. Use the search button to find podcasts that appeal to you. You can subscribe to a podcast just like a magazine and you will get notifications on your mobile device when a new episode is available. A word of warning about storage however. Apple’s Podcasts app automatically downloads new episodes of podcasts you subscribe to, storing them on your device. That’s convenient, but it can strain all those 16GB iPhones and iPads. I access the “manage storage” on my iPhone weekly to delete the latest downloads of podcasts to keep my storage space in better shape. You can also hook up a portable media player to your computer, and your podcast software will automatically load your new shows into it. That way, you don’t have to keep checking the podcast’s website to see if there are new shows, and you always have the freshest shows on your listening device. In addition, almost every podcast has their own website to visit and learn more about individual episodes.
I have a few recommendations for you if you are searching for interesting podcasts to listen to:
You Must Remember This
This is my favorite podcast. Written and produced by Karina Longworth, the content dials up the “secret and forgotten history of 20th Century Hollywood”. Whether you like 20th century Hollywood or not, listeners get sucked into this podcast merely by the format. There are no sponsorship acknowledgements midway through the show, no guests hosts or other interviewers – it’s just Karina – speaking for sometimes up to an hour, weaving spellbinding true tales about the lives of celebrities and the times they lived in. It is Hollywood’s dirt at its finest. My favorite season was the 2015 season “Charles Manson’s Hollywood”, which explored the murders in 1969 by Charles Manson’s cult followers, and the ties he had with the Hollywood music and movie scene. She followed up that riveting year with a brief 6 part podcast in the summer of 2016 called “Six Degrees of Joan Crawford” – a detailed biography and somewhat disturbing foray into the life of Joan Crawford. This is a podcast to definitely check out.
Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin
Host Alec Baldwin conducts a series of intimate and honest conversations with artists, policy makers and performers. The listener can enjoy hearing about people’s lives with details not available from a tabloid. There is a brief sponsor acknowledgement halfway through the podcast, but overall it is in-depth dialogue that is very revealing.
Ted Radio Hour
This podcast offers a lot of variety. Each podcast includes parts of two or three Ted talks, and the Ted Radio Hour host, Guy Raz, takes you on a journey through the world of ideas that are bound together with a common theme. Some of my favorites are The Hero’s Journey, Cities, Anthropocene, and The Unknown Brain.
Criminal
To lift from their website “Criminal is a podcast about crime. Stories of people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle”. Narrated by Phoebe Judge, the criminality of each episode is explained or overcome by the people who have been associated with it. The stories are truly fascinating, from the couple who printed money, to the man who robbed banks, to the neighbor who solved a crime from a newspaper article. Most episodes are under 30 minutes so that is just enough time for most to get to work. The New York Times says it the best:
“No matter how strange or ghastly the crime, the voice of the host Phoebe Judge somehow remains implacable and oddly soothing.”
Death, Sex & Money
This podcast is hosted by Anna Sale about the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation. It’s the three things that people don’t want to talk about – death, sex and money. There is a little bit of something for everyone on this podcast and exploring taboo subjects creates a daring listening atmosphere.
Not on my top five but definitely a few others to check out:
Stuff You Should Know
There is no need to say more – this podcast is about how stuff works, from how watersheds work to how porta-potties work. Check it out.
How I Built This
Guy Raz, the host of the Ted Radio Hour, interviews innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists about how they built some of the world’s best known companies. Some good episodes include Kate Spade, Sara Blakely (Spanx), Tony Hsieh (Zappo’s) and Airbnb (Joe Grebbia).
Happy listening to everyone!
Life Experiences Add Up 