It wasn’t that I discovered the existence of podcasts in 2015 – I don’t live under a rock. I did, however, include a number of new podcasts into my weekly rotation, and established said weekly rotation the same way many people look forward to television shows. I’ve realized listening to podcasts is a much more interesting way of incorporating physical activity into my day (great company on walks!), as well as spicing up car commutes.
Here are the newfound and long-loved within that weekly rotation. Most should be pretty familiar to my fellow podcast listeners out there.
Savage Lovecast: This is definitely my top podcast, and my Tuesday morning walks are always ones to look forward to! The Savage Lovecast is written and produced by Dan Savage, an improved audio version from his successful decades-old written advice column. Dan and his husband Terry started the It Gets Better Project in 2010 and, as the podcast’s “About” page claims, “Dan’s graphic, pragmatic, and humorous advice has changed the cultural conversation about monogamy, gay rights, religiosity, and politics.” I do have to say I agree.
RadioLab: A fun and interesting scripted show that explores the intersection of science and philosophy and humanity. Previous episodes have discussed cybercrime, legal hunting of big game and its effects on conservation, human tissue donation, and Nazi summer camp.
This American Life: Probably one of the most well-known on this list, each episode of the show has a theme, with a series of 3-4 journalism pieces or humorous essays that relate to the theme. Occasionally, like the one about car salesmen in New York, the entire episodes follows the one story. One recent episode that hit home for me was “The Problem We All Live With”, which discussed the methods being used today to better and reinvent education and how race plays into the education issue.
Death Sex and Money: Host Anna Sale describes her podcast as being about “the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation”. She speaks with some big names about their experiences with death, sex, or money – sometimes all three. She speaks to smaller names with interesting stories, and even collects anecdotes from viewers, such as in the episode “Why You’re Not Having Sex”. One of the most compelling episodes of this podcast for me, and apparently one of the most controversial, was a December episode entitled “Autism Isn’t What I Signed Up For”.
Serial: Produced by This American Life, Serial reinvigorated podcasts with its overwhelming popularity and success this past year. “One story, told over the course of a season.” The story of Adnan Syed was one of the first in the true crime genres and captivated listeners. Did he do it? To what extent was he involved? The new season, starting in 2016, explores the story of P.O.W. Bowe Bergdahl.