A podcast is literally like a radio show on the Internet, with the added bonus of it being recorded before-hand so you can download it and listen to it whenever you want. You get to listen to something entertaining while going for a jog, or on your way to PDC or to the gym. There are so many podcasts on different topics available for free. For Iphone users, there is a whole separate app for all podcasts that are available.
One thing always stands out to me when it comes to listening to podcasts is, that I get to listen to people discuss specific topics within a restricted amount of time, and because it’s mostly guest speakers talking about their experiences, struggles or something they love, it is very informative and fun to listen to. It’s like watching National Geographic or CNN but with all the banality removed.
There are podcasts of all kinds: News-based, TedxTalks, fiction stories, business and cultural insights; basically something for everyone.
If you want to ever give podcasts a try, listen to the ones down below. These are some of my personal favourites, and I hope you enjoy them!
- Lore
Narrated by Aaron Mankhe
Lore is an American anthology which talks about frightening history behind common folklore. All of the episodes are unique and 17-35 minutes long, each addressing a different tale rooted deeply in myths and folktales. From the origin of the phrase “Saved by the bell” and the inspiration behind Bram Stoker’s Dracula, to talking about the Salem Witch trials in 17th century France, Aaron Mankhe makes each one of these episodes extremely interesting and eerie to listen to.
Lore earned the “Best of 2015” from iTunes, and in 2017, Vallhala Entertainment developed a short television series which goes by the same name. Although not all the podcast episodes have been adapted to TV episodes, the ones which have been adapted are wonderfully executed by combining documentary footage and cinematic scenes to tell horror stories and their origins.
Notable Episodes:
Episode 1: They Made a Tonic
2. Imaginary Worlds
Narrated by: Eric Molinsky
This should be a must-listen podcast for anyone who’s looking to talk about their favourite fantasy movie or novel. Eric invites various guests over and dives deep into the world of fantasy and science fiction with them. From discussing famous fictional worlds of Harry Potter and Hunger Games, to talking about long-running genre tropes of ‘Saving the Girl’ and ‘Sexy Robots’, imaginary worlds is an intriguing series that goes beyond the surface-level coverage of the genre.
What makes this podcast unique from all the others is, that it isn’t an extended interview or a talk-show style podcast. Instead, each episode is played out like a segment from NPR’s This American Life or Planet Money shows. He mixes his reporting, clips, and interviews to form a nicely packaged story. For example one of his episodes, “Then they Fell” where he talks about immersive theatre (Did you know such a thing existed?!) and shares his experience through a series of videos that he made when he went there.
Notable Episodes:
- Faith in Fantasy: a discussion between a Minister, Rabbi and an Alwaez (Maulvi) about the religion in dystopian fiction.
- Fahrenheit 451 Still Burns: Neil Gaiman, Alice Hoffman and other people come together to discuss how Fahrenheit 451 is a kind of masterpiece that seems like a different story every time one reads it and what lesson there is to be learnt each time.
- The Allusionist
Narrator: Helen Zaltzman
This podcast speaks to the word nerd in everyone. Ranging from 15-30 min episodes, a lot of the questions are about the origins of a phrase, or why some languages are ignored and the difference between British/American accents and spellings (that personally, is my favourite topic to talk about)
Notable Episodes:
82- A Novel Remedy: Which book do you read to make yourself feel better? And why does it work? A clinical psychologist and a linguist talks about how patients in post-WW1 Britain were soothed by Agatha Christie novels.
78- Oot in the Open: Imagine you are born and raised in a household speaking particular language but then you go to school and that language is banned. Speaking that language will have physical and psychological repercussions – this my friend, is the predicament of the Scots language.
68- Curse Soup: Stephen Clews, manager of the Roman baths at Bath, shows us the curses that were sloshed around amongst people when they wanted to vent out their anger or frustration on someone. (This one’s a pretty funny and interesting podcast to listen to when one of your instructors’ is being irrational lol)
- Lit Up
Narrator: Angela Ledgerwood
The description of the podcast, on the iTunes Podcast, literally describes “Lit Up as a sanctuary for people crazy about books, stories and the literary life. Angela Ledgerwood, talks to the world’s most provocative thinkers and writers about the power of stories, the importance of literature in 2018, and why they’re compelled to create the work they do.
Lit Up is also about pushing the boundaries and revealing the messy and complicated – rarely talked about – parts of what it means to be human. No topic is off the table and no conversation is too weird, too personal or too controversial. There have been writers like Mohsin Hamid talking about immigration and life in Pakistan and Anna Patchett, the writer of “Bel Canto” opening up about what inspires her fiction.
Notable Episodes:
Trevor Noah on his memoir, “Born a Crime”
Jami Attenberg on being a woman in NYC and finding success
- How I Built This
Narrator: NPR
For all the SDSB majors who have emerging entrepreneurship ideas in their heads and want a boost or a guideline to go about them, there is this one podcast I want you to listen to which will be really helpful. This podcast tells the story of successful companies in the words of their creators. Host Guy Raz speaks to a different entrepreneur in each episode, and has them recount how they built their business. The real draw for listeners is the calibre of guests that the show manages to attract: past episodes have featured the brains behind prominent startups including Instagram and Airbnb, but also more mainstream business leaders such as the executive chairman of Starbucks and the founders of Ben & Jerry’s. It’s an intimate insight into the history of well-known brands, and great inspiration if you’re looking to get your own business idea off the ground.
This series is more about the personal journey than the gory business details since most of them are surprisingly dysfunctional and fluky. The entrepreneurs are also unexpectedly humble, personable and warm; which makes them all the more inspiring.