Top Ten Podcasts to Listen to NOW- plus one added bonus!
And here we are again! This week, I am posting my top ten favorite podcasts of all time.
What is a podcast, you say? Well, if you have not had the pleasure of listening to them, yet, then you still have time to jump on the podcast train, as it is a fairly new medium. Podcasts are basically magical ear and brain candy. Think of listening to Pandora or the radio, but instead of hearing your favorite artist, you are transformed by tales of true (at least the ones I am listing) stories, told by interesting voices, and woven together like a movie. Unlike many forms of entertainment these days, podcasts generally come out a week at time, and either follow one story over a season, or are self-contained episodes of goodness, told by the same narrators. These podcasts are all found on Apple Podcasts and likely also on Android devices. I like listening to podcasts while I drive or while I am working, grading papers. They provide a level of background noise, and teach me something as well!
My favorite podcasts are listed below, with a little blurb about the story line or what to expect. Most of these are not child-friendly (either in content or language), so beware if you have tiny ears in the car and decide to try out a podcast for the first time. Don't say I did not warn you!
1. Serial. This is often known as the podcast that got the general public interested in podcasts, and I am no exception. Before Serial, I only knew I had a pesky podcast icon on my phone that would not go away, no matter what I tried. Thank goodness for Serial. Serial has two seasons, and hopefully more will be coming. I heard about Serial on the news, related to the case from season one, and decided, well, I will give this a listen. It is produced really well, with great audio, an entertaining host, Sarah Koenig, and a great story line that Koenig researched herself. Season one was my favorite, but season two was interesting as well. I am listing this first, not because it is my favorite of all time, but because it really got me intrigued about this whole podcastverse (that is podcast universe, if you wonder what that means).
2. This American Life. Listening to Serial gave me the recommendation (thanks to podcasts giving shout-outs to other podcasts) to listen to this one. It comes out weekly, with a different topic or theme, but all of it is related to something Americans can relate to. Most episodes are split up into acts, or sections, that tell a different story on the topic, but some are devoted to one story. One of my favorites is about the story of a man who was shot, in a hospital room, while drugged, after coming in and asking for help with a mental health issue. Another good one was about the true story behind the Matt Damon movie, The Informant! They are all good stories. Ira Glass is a joy to listen to, as well.
3. Stuff You Should Know. SYSK is a great podcast with a different topic each episode. As it states in the name, it’s mostly an educational podcast, fairly straightforward and two guys talking and sharing research. It’s not story telling and drama and music, but it’s very good at being informative and entertaining at the same time. I also started listening to this on accident, and I’m so glad that I found it! My favorite episodes are too numerous to mention! I recommend looking at the list of episodes and just picking a topic you like and start there! They’ve been doing this podcast for so many years, you’ll never run out of episodes.
4. Sword and Scale. This is a great one that is rather intense. Mike Boudet hosts and there is a lot of drama and music and such. It’s gruesome at times, well, a lot of the times. With the right amount of interviews, court proceedings, and 911 calls, you hear the story from the horse’s mouth, often right when it is happening. That alone gets a bit intense. It’s almost like listening to someone be traumatized and being unable to help. It’s a creepy podcast, filled with unusual true crime that covers the gamut- from serial killers to road rage to sleepwalking murders. I can never wait for the next episode to drop!
5. S-Town. This is a one season only podcast and it’s the greatest story telling of all time. It starts with a letter...er, well, an email, and ends up being a fine character study and poignant painting of the town that our main character lives in. The main character becomes the star of the show, as he needs a sounding board for the chaos and corruption of his small town and all the hi-jinx of local law enforcement. There’s a murder. Well, maybe, there's a murder? And the cover up of it all, or was there even a murder at all? And our narrator and our main small town character walk us through this all. It’s a magical ride in story telling. Listen to this one first, if you can!
6. Science vs. This is a great podcast with an Aussie hostess with the mostess. Well she has the most puns of anyone outside of my house, that’s for sure. She takes claims that people have stated or are commonly believed, and matches them up against the scientific evidence. With a wide range or scientific experts close at hand, topics like “is fracking bad for the earth?” and “are polar bears really endangered?” are fairly, and evenly, discussed with little bias. It’s a good show and I love her puns, and the fact that she’s Australian!!
7. Reply All. This podcasts rocks. It’s a weekly, sometimes biweekly podcast about technology. And it’s rather interesting. It covers a variety of topics from scams using technology to unpacking the content of famous tweets. There is a variety of segments on the show. One time two of the podcasters dropped acid as an experiment for the show. Hint: they recommend not doing that. Once the hosts decided to answer the phone two full days and make a show out of the conversations they had with listeners who called in. It’s a fun show and very eclectic and entertaining!
8. TED Radio Hour- This podcast is like taking a them or TED talks and listening to them on a podcast. They are very good and this format gives the background on the TED Talks before letting you hear them. There’s a lot of motivation, and a lot to learn by listening to this show. It’s an hour long format with each episode being themed. Working the theme you will find segments that follow the theme. It’s kept my interest and Kale’s interest on long car trips! It is a family friendly one!
9. Atlanta Monster- This is a podcast that reels you in with hopes of finding out if the person arrested for the Atlanta child murders was really the culprit (Wayne Williams, in case you were unaware of the case). It gives you many sides of the story of the largest amount of American child murders in recent times. It gives background on the case, the city, and the time period, as well as the man who was arrested and tried and convicted in the crime. It unfolds the layers of the case and does so with a very smoothly voiced podcast. The host is very good with the mic. He’s easy to listen to, smart, and informative.
10. What Really Happened? This is produced and narrated by Andrew Jenks, who did the research on the show himself! It’s very good and has a one episode/one topic flow. The title is catchy because he is taking a story everyone knows and then is sharing some behind the scenes things no one knows. I love this one! My favorite is the one about Britney Spears, with the Muhammad Ali one a close second. It’s really good and gets your mind thinking!
As we end this blog post, I have one more podcast to offer up, Top of The Class. It is a GCU podcast about teaching, for teachers and teacher candidates. Give it a whirl! I think you will like it. I know I do!
Next week, we will uncover my top ten favorite documentaries! EEEEK. I can hardly wait for next week. Ta-ta for now and I will see you later, alligator.
