Top 10 Best Podcasts (in no particular order)

Here’s a list of the top 10 podcasts that make up a majority of my podcast-listening time, in no particular order. . . 


To this show I owe my entire addiction to podcasts. Whether you know CGP Grey and Brady Haran or not (and I can’t tell you what an awful person you are if you don’t) this show is worth listening to, beginning to end. It’s entertaining and funny, and you’re bound to learn new things. My favorite aspect of the show is how, as you listen, you’ll invariably begin to take a side. Are you on the Haran side or the Grey side? More logical or more gut-led? More of a robot or caveman? And the culture around this show is incredible. I don’t think there’s ever been anything like it for any podcast ever.


100% of the episodes turn out to be interesting and important. I don’t believe I’ve ever skipped an episode because of the content. This show is a classic. And the editing is amazing, for those of you who are interested in doing your own producing.


I’ll admit, I don’t get sucked into every episode. I’m just not enough of a design/architecture/history nerd, I guess. But I still listen to 99% of the episodes, without regret. The things that exist around you in the world? You’ll never see them the same way. I think that’s a theme with all the podcasts I listen to. I don’t listen for entertainment. I listen for insights and ideas. And there’s plenty of both in 99PI.


The way Hello Internet began my adventure into podcasting, Showcase is like the medal that I was awarded with for listening to so many hours of podcasts over the years. It’s a treat for anyone who loves podcasts for the sake of podcasts. It’s a love-letter to podcasting in the form of multiple mini-series. The first mini-series is about analogue vs. digital sound and how the differences affect us today. The second series, the one that’s airing right now, is about the Polybius conspiracy. Incredibly riveting! Totally binge-worthy!


This show, where real-life entrepreneurs pitch their real-life ideas to a group of real-life investors, is what I listen to when I want to flex my good-vs-bad-idea muscle. Some people might listen to this show to find out about up-and-coming startups or to get new ideas for their own businesses. I listen so I can pretend to be an investor. As I listen, I try to stay a step ahead of the panel of investors and come up with my own questions and reasons for wanting to, or not wanting to, invest. It frustrates me when they don’t ask a question I’m thinking of, but that hardly ever happens. The investors are brilliant, always.


To this podcast I owe the beginnings of my own podcast (Better With Books). The short-form, essay-like style is my favorite style, and it’s how I fashioned my own podcast. You don’t have to be a history buff to listen to this show. I’m definitely not. But you do have to have an open heart and a readiness to have questions (you probably didn’t know you had) answered. 


Here’s how I put it in my iTunes review: “Conspiracy theorists on your tail? All-natural health nuts? Science doubters? Use this podcast——and the facts that it arms you with——as repellent!”


This show is where I get most of my productivity and life-organizing ideas. After having listened to this show since it began, I can tell you I’m a much more productive person. At least a few hundred percent more productive than I used to be. I track my time. I keep a rigid system for to-dos. I keep many checklists (including my ultra-important daily checklist). This show will do you wonders. You’ll be trying out techniques and apps that you never knew existed!


Revisionist History is done by Malcolm Gladwell. I hope that’s really all I have to say to get you to give it a try. It’ll make you look at people and issues and history in a new way. You’ll feel so much more knowledgable and ready to join discussions. And Twitter battles. Some of the episodes have really turned on my Rant Mode. In a good way, I hope.


This is a very recent addition to my sub box. Never before has a podcast so quickly won my heart, and that speaks to how good this show is. Every week, it delves into a different song and how it was made by going directly to the source: the song-writer/s them-self/themselves.

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