Marie C. Cassandra

I’m not usually an early adopter, but when it comes to podcasts, I go back nearly to the beginning when I got my first iPhone, circa 2006. It’s been a wild ride. Even the change in just the last 5 years is astronimcal. That’s when I first published My Favorite Podcasts (v1) as even back at that time podcast discovery was completely lacking and word-of-mouth was still the best route. Well, now there are plenty of ways to find new stuff to listen to, so this is less of a Public Service Announcement, but hope you still might find something new!

Best of The Classics

For many people the pandemic was when they discovered podcasts or they found their interest accelerated, but for me, it was just the opposite. I mostly listened to podcasts during my commute which was about 1 hour each way. Once my commute went away, I found myself only listening in shorter gaps – perhaps while washing dishes or folding laundry. So only a couple of months in to the pandemic I found myself with over 55GB of downloaded podcasts. Yeah. So for me, the pandemic actually forced me to get a lot more selective about the podcasts I listened to. I turned off auto-refresh for almost all of them, but here are the privileged few from my initial favorites list who I always prioritized listening to when they released new episodes and stayed on auto-refresh:

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1. 99% Invisible “About all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world.” Roman Mars always finds fascinating stories behind things that you’ve never stopped to look twice at.
2. Criminal  “The show tells stories of people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle.” Beautifully told true crime stories that often make you re-think what is the very definition of crime in our society.
3. the memory palace “a storytelling podcast about the past” Host Nate DiMeo tells short true stories from the past in a way that makes you find coziness in a listening experience.
4. Invisibilia = “Invisibilia (Latin for invisible things) is about the invisible forces that control human behavior – ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions.” My fascination with what shapes human behavior showcased in a very human-centered way (e.g. not clinical).

Best Newcomers:

No Stupid Questions “Stephen Dubner (co-author of the Freakonomics book series) and research psychologist Angela Duckworth (author of Grit) really like to ask people questions, and came to believe there’s no such thing as a stupid one. So they made a podcast where they can ask each other as many “stupid questions” as they want.” It was a hard lesson for me to learn to ask more questions in life, I was so scared of looking stupid. But you quickly learn, that asking questions leads to such a more interesting life and better understanding and greater curiosity about the world around you.

Cautionary Tales with Tim Hartford “In Cautionary Tales, Tim Harford finds morals from retelling stories of great crimes, accidents, and disasters.” I was so excited when I found this one that I even dedicated an entire blog post to it: What I’m Listening To: Cautionary Tales with Tim Hartford

The Thread “Explore history’s interlocking lives and events. Turn back the clock, one story at a time. Discover how various strands are woven together to create a historic figure, a big idea or an unthinkable tragedy.” Each season takes you on a journey to connect the dots throughout history, for example Season 1 goes from Lennon (John) to Lenin (Vladimir).

New To Me:

Discovered these new podcasts which I loved SO much that I actually went back and listened to their entire back catalog (which considering my own personal backlog is really saying something.

You’re Wrong About “Mike & Sarah are journalists obsessed with the past. Every week she reconsiders a person or event that’s been miscast in the public imagination.” Incredibly well researched and compassionate view on stories from the past that you thought you knew…but will make you see them completely differently.

The Dollop “American comedy history podcast in which comedian Dave Anthony reads stories from American history to his friend and fellow comedian Gareth Reynolds, who usually has no knowledge of the topic that will be discussed, with the two commenting on and reacting to the stories.” If you’re going to learn about real American history, you better do it with comedians that keep you laughing along the way, otherwise it’s just too depressing. Well researched and totally hilarious.

Honorable Mention:

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1. Work Life with Adam Grant “Organizational psychologist Adam Grant takes you inside the minds of some of the world’s most unusual professionals to explore the science of making work not suck.” My biggest personal passion, am actively seeking more resources for learning about practical applications of best practices from organizational psychology.
2. SmartLess “Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett is a podcast that connects and unites people from all walks of life to learn about shared experiences” I haven’t listened to all of them, but pick up episodes with people I really like. While I’m not that interested in celebrities in general, these guys are really funny and my favorite interviews tend to me with other comedians, always good for some relaxation with a good laugh.
3. People I (Mostly) Admire “Hosted by Steven Levitt, the unorthodox University of Chicago economist and co-author of the Freakonomics book series, who tracks down other high achievers and asks questions that only he would think to ask.” The other Freakonomics spin-off, Steven picks very interesting guests and I really like how his brain works because he does go down lines of questions you don’t hear on other podcasts. The only reason I haven’t listened to them all is because it is not ‘easy listening’, I really like to save it for time when I can really focus and engage on the topic.
4. The Indicator from Planet Money “A little show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what’s happening today.” I absolutely hate economics, but the team at The Indicator do such a great job of making it interesting and applicable.

So there you go. I hope you discovered something new. Oh and for those of you worried for my phone’s memory, I’ve managed to cull my podcast storage down to 14 GB.