Podcasts from 2021

I listen to a lot of podcasts. I love audio as a medium. Video is too much for me, and reading requires me to be still. When I can, I prefer audio.

Here are a few podcasts that I was listening to regularly and still recommending at the end of 2021. Fingers crossed that they all still exist in this new year.

• Dear Hank and John - Weekly (M) - Hank and John Green talk about life and also kinda answer listener questions. They are so very real. This podcast is delightful.
• It’s Been a Minute - Weekly (R) - Sam Sanders talks about news and pop culture and interviews people and generally brings his sweet spirit into your ears.
• How to Citizen - Weekly (R) - Baratunde Thurston interviews people and talks about how to make citizen a verb - how we can all participate. This is a thoughtful podcast with action items. How am I citizening?
• Soft Skills Engineering - Weekly (M) - Jamison Dance and Dave Smith talk about all of the people stuff in software development. Their jokes and specific questions sometimes touch on software topics, but most of the discussion is applicable across domains because people are, well, people.
• Marketplace - all of it - mostly daily - Stuff you gotta know about the economy and how what is going on in the world relates to the economy
• Planet Money (and the Indicator) - the regular show is weekly ish and helps make economic concepts real. The indicator is daily ish and gives a little bite of information. The hosts are inquisitive and fun.
• HerMoney - Weekly (T) - Jean Chatzky talks about finances, investing, and planning with a specific focus on how women think about money. She interviews people and answers listener questions.
• Bookworm - Every Other Week (F) - Joe Buhlig and Mike Schmitz talk about self help books. I like the way that they discuss the books live giving their take. They are generally more positive on books than critical, but there is criticism.
• Stuff You Missed in History Class - Every other dayish - I have learned a lot from this show about people and events that, er, were not really part of my history classes. The hosts are entertaining and also give great commentary when they are not sure about things.
• Short Wave - Daily - Short science show. I like the format and how the hosts ask the same questions the listener might ask rather than just telling us the information. It makes it stickier. I’ve learned a bit from this show.
• Sci Show Tangents - Weekly (T) - Funny science game show like platform. I love the poems at the beginning and the way that the hosts talk to each other. I struggle a little bit with games where there is a fake science fact because I don’t always remember what was fake and what was true if I am listening while doing something else.
• Civics 101 - Weekly (T) - Short show that explains something that is probably “common knowledge” that none of us actually knows about how our government works. Fantastic.

I listen to more than this, but I’d definitely recommend all of these to almost anyone. The personalities are good, the shows are consistent, and I find them valuable.

Aside: I notice that I feel connected to my podcasters. This is a one way relationship, like with celebreties. We know all about them, but they don’t know us. When I think about it too hard, this makes me sad. Okay, so I won’t think about how I pretty much know Hank and John Green, Sam Sanders, Baratunde Thurston, and so many others….and they don’t know me.