It was a few years ago that I discovered, and plunged into, the wonderful world of podcasts. Ever since, I have steadily added new podcasts to my stream—so many that I can’t possibly listen to all of the new episodes—and taken them with me on my commutes, road trips, and morning/evening walks. If you don’t know what a podcast is, this is a good summary:
A podcast is an audio program, like a radio show, that is made by someone and then posted to the Internet for you to download and listen to via iTunes or your iPhone or iPod.
Most podcasts are free for you to download and listen to (many podcasters have introduced paid premium tiers to support their work while keeping their main podcast content free).
Podcasts vary in their level of professional production. Some podcasts are downloadable versions of national radio programs like NPR's Fresh Air or ESPN's Mike and Mike, while others are companions to shows or personalities from other media such as The Jillian Michaels Show. Another type of podcast is produced by just a person or two, like Julie Klausner's How Was Your Week? In fact, anyone with some basic audio recording tools can make their own podcast and submit it for inclusion at iTunes and other podcast sites.
Podcasts are just standard MP3 files, so any device that can play an MP3 can play a podcast.
You don’t need an iPhone—you just need the Internet to start listening to podcasts.
My podcast diet is pretty diverse, ranging from politics to history to food to comedy to fiction (and a few weird ones in between). There are so many in my stream that there’s no rhyme or reason to what I listen to at any given time—just whatever I’m feeling in the moment. The only true podcast ritual I have is that I must listen to the podcast version of the Rachel Maddow Show in the morning (the only way I get my Rachel fix, obviously minus the visuals). One of my unofficial goals in 2018 is to branch out and try some new podcasts. I’ve already added two new podcasts to my stream in the New Year, making it even more difficult to keep up with all of my favorites. But there’s nothing like finding a new podcast I love and becoming completely immersed.
Here are just a few of my favorites in my regular podcast diet. If you have any favorite podcasts that you listen to, I’d love to hear which ones—I’m always looking for more! (Which is kind of the point of this diary, to be honest, to fish for podcast recommendations.)
1. The Weeds
If you’re a fan of Vox (and I know many policy-minded liberals are), you’ll love The Weeds. It’s a weekly Vox podcast featuring Ezra Klein, Matthew Yglesias, and Sarah Kliff, where they deep-dive into policy (hence the title of the show—they get into “the weeds”). If you’re looking for superficial political punditry, you won’t find it here—The Weeds is only for the wonky. The last episode was about how the life expectancy in the U.S. has dropped (something I didn’t know until I listened). A few episodes back, they did a very helpful show on the ins and outs of tax reform. I can’t recommend this show enough, and it’s not at all because I have a crush on Ezra Klein.
2. The Ezra Klein Show
On that note, another of my favorites is The Ezra Klein Show. This one is only about 30 percent because I have a crush on Ezra Klein—the other 70 percent is the content. In each episode, Ezra does a long interview (usually one to two hours) with a high-profile person. Sometimes it’s a politician, sometimes it’s an intellectual, sometimes it’s an author, etc. He did a really good recent episode with Joe Trippi, the chief media strategist for Doug Jones, on what that race looked like from the inside. He has interviewed Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Paul Krugman, and Hillary Clinton, among many others. One of my favorite episodes was with Elizabeth Drew, the author of Washington Journal, about the similarities and differences between Watergate and the Trump presidency. This is one of those podcasts that I immediately play when it pops up in my stream.
3. Bon Appétit Foodcast
There’s not much to say about this one—it’s a podcast all about food, hosted by Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Adam Rapaport. Sometimes I wonder how I can sit through an entire episode on brisket and latkes or cheese or Thanksgiving dinner, but I somehow can. This one is dangerous to listen to when I’m hungry, though.
4. Last Podcast on the Left
Here is where my podcast stream takes a turn for the weird. I initially began listening to Last Podcast on the Left thinking it was a horror podcast, which it is, but it’s actually better described as horror comedy. It’s hosted by Ben Kissel (who also happens to be a Fox News contributor—one of the sane ones), Marcus Parks, and Henry Zebrowski, who sit around and talk about all things dark, from the supernatural to cults to serial killers. But again, this is a comedy show (and a damn good one). So while they’re talking about serial killers, you’ll be equal parts horrified and rolling on the floor laughing. Admittedly, it’s not for everybody—if you need a fainting couch for deeply inappropriate dark humor, it’s not for you. But for those who are into it, it’s not only horrifying and hilarious, but it’s also really informative. The level of research that goes into each subject (which are often broken into three or four parts) is astounding. It’s like a master class on the dark and weird.
(On a side note, Ben Kissel and Marcus Parks also do a politics podcast called Abe Lincoln’s Top Hat, which I often listen to. Kissel is sort of right-ish with libertarian tendencies, and Parks is sort of left-ish with libertarian tendencies, so take it for what it’s worth. Sometimes Kissel’s both-sidesism gets me all worked up, but I keep coming back for the personalities.)
5. Slate's Whistlestop
This one, hosted by Face the Nation host John Dickerson, is for the political history nerds. In 2016, it was a show about interesting and important (and often forgotten) episodes of presidential campaign history. Now, it is about interesting and important (and often forgotten) episodes of presidential history. Although it is usually about presidents and presidential candidates, one of my favorite episodes was actually about Betty Ford’s feminism and social liberalism. Dickerson is clearly reading to the audience in this podcast, and it can be kind of dry unless you’re really into the content (which I usually am), but he reminds me of a quirky professor giving a lecture.
6. Lore
This is another storytelling podcast, hosted by Aaron Mahnke, about “true life scary stories.” It’s really about dark folklore, sometimes very old and sometimes more modern, and its roots in truth. One favorite episode that comes to mind was about the Mothman legend in West Virginia. The research is very good, and the stories are told in such a way that it feels like you’re sitting around a campfire. And now it’s a TV show, too!
7. Welcome to Night Vale
One more—this is one of the podcasts I very recently got into. This is Stephen King meets Lake Wobegon. It is set in the fictional desert town of Night Vale, “where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep.” The podcast is in the form of radio broadcast community updates for the town, where something strange is always happening, from mysterious glow clouds hanging overhead to hooded figures to hovering cats to the Sheriff’s Secret Police circling the sky in their blue helicopters. It’s both hilarious and unsettling—perfect for my evening walk or late-night drive.
And so many more...but I’ll stop there. As you can see, I like my podcasts dark, funny, and/or nerdy. What about you—do you listen to podcasts? If so, which ones are in your podcast diet? Feed me!
What do you want to kibitz about tonight?