I have been listening to podcasts for years and they’re one of my favorite media platforms. The best thing about podcasts is that I can listen while driving, at the gym, getting ready for work, and even while cleaning. I listen to them all the time!
I’m always surprised when friends and family don’t know much about them. Even though they’re still a budding media, there are so many out there. I started with the Nerdist podcast (more on that below), and then I stumbled upon one about one of my favorite shows, Once Upon a Time.
If you’re unfamiliar with podcasts you can listen to them on Soundcloud and BeyondPod for Andriod and Podcasts/iTunes for apple.
Below are my top 5 favorite Podcasts:
The Nerdist – This is the podcast that started it all for me. With Chris Hardwick as the host (you might know him from Talking Dead), you can’t go wrong. Every episode is a free-flowing conversation with celebrities, comics, musicians, and anyone else you can think of. The guest might be coming onto to the show to promote their latest project but they end up talking about something completely unrelated. Sometimes they delve into their pasts in the business, their hobbies, and neurosis, and most of the time it’s really funny. Chris has had everyone from Morgan Freeman, Mark Hamil, Sally Field, to Lena Dunham. He also has writers, producers, and directors of all your favorite movies and shows. There are over 800 podcasts. It gets updated every week and chances are you’ll always find someone you’ll enjoy listening to.
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Stuff You Should Know – This show is hosted by Josh and Chuck, two guys from the Science Channel. They take a subject and dissect it for the listener. It is everything from how famines work to the history of the Great Wall of China. Other times they discuss how malls work or how makeup works. It’s an interesting way to take a deeper look at all kinds of seemingly random subjects objectively. Chuck and Josh are great because they’re entertainers as well!
Stuff You Missed in History Class – Stuff You Should Know is actually part of a network of podcasts and this is one of them. If you’re at all interested in historical events, this podcast is perfect for you. Hosts Holly and Tracy take a very specific piece of history and hone in on it. It could be a blizzard or flood that devastated a community. Or it could be the history of Moonshine or the White Wedding. It’s an exploration of historical subjects that cover such a wide range, it’d be impossible to learn it all in history classes.
Pop Culture Detectives – This podcast focuses entirely on pop culture, more specifically TV shows. The hosts Brittany and Amanda, or as their loyal followers call them – Brittanda – are two friends who came together originally to host a podcast about Once Upon a Time called Once A Upon Podcast (how I found them). Now, they also host Pop Culture Detectives – originally all about different pop culture subjects. They recently refined their focus and now discuss one TV show per episode, honing in on the finer details of the characters and plots. They’ve talked about The Crown, The Good Place, Mad Men, and more. They don’t update as regularly as they used to, but that’s understandable because they’re busy binge-watching TV shows. It’s definitely a great show to listen to if you like TV and pop culture.
The Guilty Feminist – This podcast is perfect for a laugh – it’s two female comedians hosting a live standup show, tackling a new topic each episode. They usually have a guest comedian as well, sometimes specializing in the topic at hand. The hosts also do real-life challenges based on the topic and report their findings back to the audience. Every episode starts the same, “I’m a feminist, but…” and the hosts are unafraid to get weird, funny, and sometimes just real. It tackles feminist issues but in a way that doesn’t feel too heavy. This show updates every week but I highly recommend starting from the beginning. I listened to it every day for at least 2 weeks, maybe more. It always has me laughing out loud.
BONUS:
Stuff Mom Never Told You – I had to include this podcast because it’s one of my all-time favorites. The only reason it’s not in the top five is that the hosts recently left so the podcast hasn’t been updated since December 2016. That being said, they have some pretty amazing content prior to them leaving. This is a show about women, the issues women have faced, and continue to face. Sometimes they focus on subjects related to women and history. Other times it’s just relative to what a woman goes through. Subjects range from Free the Nipple, stalking, school dress codes, pop culture and women, abortion, birth control, babysitting… the list goes on and on. I highly recommend digging into the archives and maybe one day soon they’ll have new hosts!
UPDATE 6/29/17: Stuff Mom Never Told You is officially back with new hosts Emilie and Bridget. They are both awesome and bring a new flavor to the podcast. I still highly recommend giving this podcast a listen!
There are so many wonderful podcasts to choose from, these are just a few that I love. If there’s something you’re interested in – a TV show, cars, news, history, comedy – there is probably a podcast about it. I also recommend everything else in the Stuff You Should Know network!
iTunes, SoundCloud, and BeyondPod are just 3 of the podcasting apps out there that are pretty easy to use.
Do you like podcasts? What are some of your favorites? Let me know in the comments below. I’m always looking for another to add to my subscriptions!
Happy Listening!
Related: 5 Supernatural Shows to Binge Watch
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Christina is a twenty-something living with her beagle, Mash, and husband, Nate in their van. She loves traveling, shopping, art, and photography. She’s also a vegetarian, pop-culture enthusiast, book-lover, and Dave Matthews Band fanatic. Catch her somewhere around the country in a converted camper van or at home in Florida for a visit.
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