History and Dramatized History-Based Series
In Our Time (BBC Radio 4)
Host Melvin Bragg takes listeners through fascinating periods or events in history in this BBC podcast. I’m a fan of slightly bitchy, dry, witty British intellectuals so I really like Melvin as a host (though I can only do one episode at a time…). The show also garners some amazing professors, intellectuals, and experts from all over the world to sit as guest panelists.
You Must Remember This (Wondery)
Listening to Karina Longworth’s ‘You Must Remember This’ podcast is like listening to an old-time movie or radio show. All brought to you in Karina’s wonderful radio-star Hollywood reporter style voice. Karina’s podcast details the history of mysteries and scandals of Hollywood’s first century with each episode normally focused on an individual star.
Even if you aren’t interested in current-day Hollywood (I’m not) this is a super interesting, entertaining, and informative podcast that sheds light on the tragedies, scandals, and legends’ of many early Hollywood stars. Many stars profiled are actors I’d never heard of or knew very little about before listening to this podcast.
NPR
Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me (NPR)
Wait Wait is NPR’s comedically influenced News Quiz show.
If you aren’t a Wait Wait listener get out from under your rock and subscribe! I honestly can’t wait til each new episode is released that is how much I love this show. Want to listen to smart, witty, repartee and keep up with current events (while laughing instead of crying) and stranger than fiction news stories? This is a MUST LISTEN podcast for you.
Planet Money
I NEVER listen to finance-related podcasts, but that is not what Planet Money is (despite the name). It is is a super entertaining podcast that discusses many different interesting topics. Many episodes are economically focused or related to money or economics in some way, but some are not. All are well researched and informative. From why a certain vaccine hasn’t been created yet to the birth of recycling in the U.S. to the origins of standardized time, Planet Money talks about fascinating stuff in a smart and interesting way.
True Crime
Hollywood and Crime (Wondery)
A very entertaining and well done true-crime series that digs into the most infamous murders in Hollywood history. The hosts are great (as speakers/actors) and the level of investigation is impressive. The show adds a lot of context to crimes most of don’t know much about or may never have heard of, but that shook old-time Hollywood to the core at the time they were committed (and for many years after).
Over My Dead Body (Wondery)
Another extremely well done true-crime podcast from Wondery that tells the stories of some really strange and incredible murders carried out by the least likely (or most devious) individuals. Most stories focus on people whom it is hard to believe would ever carry out a murder (successful lawyers, the partner in a seemingly perfect and wealthy couple, etc.) which is what makes the series so interesting. Sort of like Dateline-but with multiple episodes covering each crime so you get a lot more backstory.
Unsolved Murders (Parcast)
Unsolved mysteries are, in my opinion, unavoidably fascinating to us humans.
This series covers some of the most gruesome and crazy unsolved murders in the world. I honestly can’t explain why I enjoy listening to this kind of series, but the actors who host this show are phenomenal and this shows proves more than any other I’ve listened to that real life really is stranger than fiction. It is also incredibly interesting to listen to the hosts’ hypotheses on who the murderer might be after having presented all of the research and details and thought of some alternate (while unprovable) alternatives.
Drama
As a kid, we didn’t own a television for quite a few years and when we did own one, we weren’t allowed to indulge very often. Instead, we were encouraged to read or play outside. And, as a family, we often listened to radio shows (theater-like mystery series, etc.) or dramatized audiobooks (like The Hobbit). While I complained about this as a kid, I have always loved listening to stories or dramatized series. So, when I realized you could find some of these types of shows in podcast form, I was super excited. The following have been my favorites (yes, I’m kind of a dork and no I’m not as old as this story makes me sound).
I have had a tough time finding many other podcasts of this type that are as well enacted and compelling.
Life After (Panoply)
Life After ‘take listeners on journeys to the limits of technology.’ The show is set from the perspective of Ross, a low-level employee at the FBI, who one day discovers that he can converse with his recently deceased wife through an app she had previously used to record daily messages. Soon, strange things start happening, and Ross’s life is consumed by the desire to communicate more and more with his wife, who is sending him peculiar messages, but there are complications. He goes down a dangerous path, gets blackmailed, and makes some startling and disturbing discoveries that lead him to realize that there is something much bigger going on that goes far beyond him. The entire human race may be at risk.
The Walk (Panoply)
The Walk is one of the very few fictional drama podcasts I’ve found in which the listener plays an active, first-person role as the story’s main character. That’s right. YOU are the main character-other characters will speak to you, give you orders, ask you questions, etc. as you pursue your quest to deliver an important package, even while the entire country’s power source is cut off and enemies are coming at you from all sides. Somehow this podcast really works! It’s like a tv drama series for your ears.
Inspirational/Entrepreneurial
Chris Guillebeau’s ‘Side Hustle School’
I’ve been following Chris Guillebeau since 2014 when I quit my job and took off to spend a year in Europe (in my mid-30’s and mid-career and without a nest egg or rich parents or much money in the bank…). I somehow got turned onto his blog ‘The Art of Non-Conformity’ and his book ‘The $100 Startup” while I was online searching for inspiration from people living unconventional lives. After that, I was hooked. Chris wasn’t like any other ‘online personality’ I’d ever read/seen. The way he wrote, was just like a normal unpolished dude. He wasn’t trying to hard-sell people or sell programs on how to do what he does. He wrote (and writes, and speaks) from the heart. No bravado, sales pitches, ego, etc. He has always focused on presenting people with ideas and inspiration for living an unconventional or more fulfilling life.
ANYways, he started a podcast a few years, ‘Side Hustle School’ which was an extension of what he was already doing on his website and with his email list (where he emailed posts detailing different real-life side hustle examples from real people) and his recently published Side Hustle book. If you’ve ever considered starting a side hustle or creating something, starting a business or launching a product… #tunein to Side Hustle School. Chris might not have the superstar podcaster power voice but dude is doing some cool shit and keeping it REAL while providing so much inspiration to so many, for free.
Marie Forleo
What can I say about Marie Forleo? I am not usually one who drinks the kool-aid of online business coach or ‘start your own business’ marketing people but Marie Forleo isn’t just any one of those things, she’s all sorts of things wrapped up into one awesome package. Yeah, she’s got an UBER successful B-School online program that mints money, but girl has earned it. She worked her ass off, worked a bunch of side hustles, followed her gut and her passion, and won big by keeping it real and NEVER STOPPING.
Beyond her B-School programs which people have to pay a couple grand for and which only open up once a year, Marie offers all sorts of free and super valuable content in the form of her ‘Marie TV’ episodes and podcast (basically the podcast is a recording of the TV episodes, just without the video). She interviews incredibly inspiring people, discusses topics that are super relevant to anyone trying to do something different or trying to start something of their own, and offers great comment forums in which commenters can interact with her and her team and exchange ideas and answers.
Classic Literature/Audiobooks
These podcasts offer completely free audiobooks. The caveat is that the selection of books is quite limited and there are very few new or popular quality titles. However, you can definitely catch up on your ‘must read’ classic lit titles.
Librivox
Librivox offers audiobook recordings completely free of charge and which are read by unpaid volunteers. The organization, in fact, is completely non-profit and totally powered by volunteers. The books Librivox is allowed to record are books that are within the ‘public domain’ meaning that they were published long enough ago that they now qualify as being in the public domain and are not the property of any individual or corporation. This means that the books on Librivox were all published either as long as 95 years ago or 70 years after the death of the author (depending on a few factors). So, these are old books. I’ve listened to titles such as War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Oliver Twist, Wuthering Heights, etc.
I personally love classic literature so I am a big fan of Librivox. This app also came in very handy when I was living in Southern Spain and had a super tight data limit due to using a portable wifi box at home and having a pretty limited phone data plan. So, I would download my favorite podcasts plus some chapters of a Librivox book at my coworking space and then listen to them later while walking or sitting on the bus, without draining my data. Yeah.. you learn stuff when you are a temporary digital nomad…