Podcasts I like
In this post I want to share with you my favorite podcasts.
About one and a half year ago I started listening to podcasts, because I was biking every day to my work one and half hours. Today I am a regular podcast listener, and try to listen podcasts whenever I am doing work which does not involve too much concentration: while cooking, fitness, in the train, etc.
What I find great about podcasts is that podcasts use our second important sense: hearing. I am most of the time attached to my desk, so I stare normally six hours on computer screens every day. After so many hours I just want to avoid screens whenever I can, and I am happy that I can use also my ears for my daily information consumption. Another reason why I like (audio) podcasts is that they carry mostly less unrequired information than visual media. Sometimes one picture talks a thousand words, but I sometimes get distracted by unrelated visuals in a video, and cannot concentrate on the actual subject.
After some time you have a long list of your favourite podcasts that you regularly listen to, and whenever I meet a podcast-fan guy, we tend to discuss about our favourite podcasts and give some recommendations to each other. I just want to do the same here:
Stuff You Should Know tells about various subjects that you probably heard of in your life.
Planet Money is not only about economics explained in a fun and easy way but also other topics that are closely related to economics, e.g., technology and politics.
TED Radio Hour puts related TED talks about a single topic together in each episode, and includes also short interviews with the speakers.
The Science of Success is a personal development podcast. The host interviews people who are well-known and successful in their area. I especially like the summary in the shownotes which boils down most important points from an episode.
Hidden Brain is about our brain, why we behave how we behave. I particularly like the narrative style of the host Shankar Vedantam.
Invisibilia presents uncommon and strange stories about people. The stories reflect human psychology.
Rough Translation is about stories about everyday life, but from countries distant from the western culture. The podcast sheds light on the cultural differences.
99% Invisible is about design, architecture, and technology. Unique about this podcast: every episode comes along with visuals and text. Some topics are very local to USA.
Moonshot is about future ideas and technology — e.g., artificial intelligence, autonomous cars, going to Mars.
6 Minute English from BBC speaks in every episode about an interesting subject and related vocabulary. My English vocabulary did not got better, but the topics are worthwhile listening.
The End Of The World with Josh Clark consists of podcast series about potential risks how the world could go under in next centuries. Interesting topics from the series include are we in a simulated environment, why it is hard to encounter other intelligent creatures in space.
Therapist Uncensored Podcast is about psychology. The hosts discuss about practical aspects of interpersonal communication and also interview other therapists. Some episodes require you to know some basics and having listened to previous episodes, but many episodes are independent.
Darknet Diaries talks about real stories from the computer hacking world. The podcast also includes interviews with hackers. I like the background music and effects that the host uses. Normally I do not like when sound effects are used in non-fictonal stories, but this podcast may change my mind.
The following podcasts are in German:
Freak Show is where six people discuss about technology, gadgets, people, Apple, mobility etc. Unique feature of this podcast is that it is rather easy to listen and every episode is about four hours. Despite its lengthy format, the availability of chaptermarks makes it easy to skip uninteresting parts.
Mikroökonomen is about economics. Compared to Planet Money there are more local topics about Germany. Besides discussing about current news, the hosts also do book reviews and talk about particular economics questions.
Logbuch:Netzpolitik is about politics regarding digital topics. Most topics tend to be local to Germany and Europe.
On the Way to New Work discusses with various guests from corporate life and entrpreneurs about future of working life.
In WDR2 Sonntagsfragen the host interviews interesting people and philosophizes with them about life and their achievements.
Weltzeit - Deutschlandfunk Kultur presents news from around the world. It is a good podcast to break out of the local news bubble.