Hi everyone! I have so many podcasts I listen to, it’s not even funny anymore. A lot of these were already featured in my previous podcasts post but I have a few new ones as well! I’ll still go through them all though!

Real quick before I go on, #BirthMay is my month long blogging series for the month of May. I decided to do it in May because my birthday was May 12th. The celebration continues!

All the photos are from the podcast’s websites and not my own. I’ve included links to the podcasts’ websites below. They’re available to listen to online but I listen to them from the Apple Podcasts app. Onto the podcasts!

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Stuff You Should Know

SYSK, as it’s commonly abbreviated, is still my favorite podcast. In this podcast, hosts Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant attempt to explain, well, stuff. Recent podcasts have explained champagne, allergies, poetry, and supervolcanoes. Josh and Chuck have become great friends while podcasting and their stories and tangents are always incredibly funny. I’ve been listening to this podcast since my early college days and still listen to it to this day. That’s how good this one is!

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Missed In History Class

This is basically the sister podcast to SYSK, as they are both run by How Stuff Works. Another educational podcast, hosts Holly Frey and Tracy V. Wilson cover all sorts of history topics. Recent episodes cover Copernicus, the Kentucky Derby’s First 50 Years, and A Brief History of Foreign Food in the U.S.

Stuff You Missed in History

 

Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig

Grace Helbig is the host of this hilarious podcast! Grace is one of my favorite Youtubers and I’ve had the pleasure to meet her twice at book signings for both of her books. She interviews other Youtubers and has a great time sharing stories and learning fun things about them. Recent guests have included Liza Koshy, herself (hosted by Michelle Davis), Lilly Singh, Meghan Rienks, and Louise Pentland. It’s been a great way to enjoy more of Grace’s comedy and also get to know new YouTubers.

Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig

TED Radio Hour

Hosted by Guy Raz, this NPR powered podcast explores different topics such as forgiveness, building better cities, the spirit of inquiry, and more by speaking with different experts on the topics and featuring portions of TED Talks on that topic. It’s very thought provoking and reflective.

Ted Radio Hour

 

Explain Things to Me

This podcast is hosted by Anna Akana and Brad Gage. I haven’t seen a new episode in awhile so I believe they’re on hiatus but they’ve talked to a coroner, seismologist, professional poker player, special effects makeup artist, toymaker, and more. They essentially invite people in careers that are interesting and perhaps not as explored. It’s very interesting and I’ve learned about many different fields.

Explain Things to Me

The History Chicks

This podcast is hosted by Beckett Gram and Susan Vollenweider, and they are two women who talk about women in history! I find a lot of their podcasts can overlap with the History Class podcast from earlier but I don’t mind. Recently they’ve done podcasts on Lucille Ball, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and Eleanor of Aquitaine. It’s so interesting and fun to listen to!

The History Chicks

Hello From the Magic Tavern

This podcast is so much fun. One of the hosts, Arnie Niekamp has fallen into the land of Foon from a portal behind a Burger King in Chicago. He learns about Foon from his new friends Chunt, the shapeshifter who is usually a badger played by Adal Rifai, and Usidore, the blue wizard played by Matt Young, as well as many guests from around Foon. I don’t want to give much away as it’s such a fun story to follow!

Hello from the Magic Tavern

the memory palace

Hosted by Nick DiMeo, this podcast explores history as well, but in shorter and more storytelling-like episodes. I previously stated that DiMeo creates a story of fiction from the real life event but I believe it’s all true with perhaps a few creative liberties. It’s usually unknown or little known stories about how something happened in history rather than what. It’s very soothing and easy to listen to while still educative and entertaining.

the memory palace

The Room Where It’s Happening

This podcast hasn’t had a new episode for awhile but it was a lot of fun when it was going on. Hosted by Travon Free and Mike Drucker, several Hamilton fans and contributors are interviewed about how they found the show, how many times they’ve seen it, and how obsessed they all are. I have mentioned this podcast before in my January Favorites as well as my post on my Hamilton Experience. Each episode features a song from the recording. The two hosts had ambitious dreams to see President Obama and the First Lady on their podcast to talk about the song “One Last Time” but so far it doesn’t look like it’s happened. Fingers crossed for them!

The Room Where It’s Happening

This American Life

This podcast reminds me of TED Radio Hour but without the TED Talks. Hosted by Ira Glass this is a WBEZ (Chicago based station) podcast that presents information on various topics in a very journalistic fashion, complete with sources to back it up. The podcast episodes are split into several segments related to the topic but not related to each other. It’s a very interesting format and really provokes a lot of reflection and deeper thought.

This American Life

 

How I Built This

Another NPR podcast! This is one of my favorites that I’ve found. How I Built This is hosted by Guy Raz as well and Raz interviews entrepreneurs who have built incredible businesses such as Virgin Mobile, Crate & Barrel, Kate Spade, and so many more. I did talk about this podcast in my post about sunglasses when I mentioned Warby Parker (who I partnered with for the post) and talked a bit about that episode. I really find this podcast inspiring and often have been amazed by the history of how these businesses got started, often from nothing but a simple need that someone could meet.

How I Built This

Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!

Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! is a news related podcast that goes over the biggest stories of the week in a comedic fashion. Fun fact, this is another WBEZ podcast as well. Hosted by Peter Sagal, episodes are recorded with a live audience and has different segments where listeners can call into the show to try to win prizes (mostly voicemail recordings and bragging rights). Throughout the show participants have to answer questions, some which have to finish a limerick, others who have to pick the real story amid three possible outrageous stories, and identify who said the presented quote. It’s so much fun and I have a blast listening to it each week.

Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!

First Draft with Sarah Enni

This podcast is also an interview style podcast where host and author Sarah Enni talks to other authors about their projects and lives. I was able to meet Enni when she moderated a talk with author Veronica Roth at a book signing I attended. I also mentioned this one in my January Favorites linked under The Room Where It’s Happening above. This one is so interesting to me as a writer although I don’t listen to it as often because I listen to podcasts at work and therefore can be distracted. This is a podcast I like to focus on when I listen.

First Draft with Sarah Enni

Hidden Brain

This is another NPR podcast I follow. Hosted by Shankar Vedantam Hidden Brain explores our thought processes. This is in a similar format to This American Life and TED Radio Hour where segments are supported and all tie together to the common theme. It’s very interesting and explores human behavior and how we react to life.

Hidden Brain

 

The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast

 

I listen to one more Hamilton podcast and that’s The Hamilcast, which is hosted by Gillian Pensavalle and Bianca Soto. Pensavalle and Soto are fans of the musical and interview other fans as well as cast members and people who work at institutions dedicated to Alexander Hamilton and his legacy. The two are great friends and both were lucky enough to see the musical together after a generous listener gifted them a pair of tickets. They also are going through Ron Chernow’s book Alexander Hamilton which in turn inspired the musical and discuss each chapter as they go.

The Hamilcast

No Such Thing As A Fish

This podcast was recommended by a friend and coworker (his name is John who doesn’t read my blog but insisted I mention him… also Erin another coworker who also wanted to be mentioned) as he thought I would enjoy it. And I do! I’m listening in order even though there are a million episodes (150+) and it’s hilarious! This is a British podcast and brands itself as a football podcast that doesn’t mention football (aka soccer here in the USA). I believe the format is different in later episodes but right now the four hosts, James Harkin, Andrew Hunter Murray, Anna Ptaszynski, and Dan Schreiber, all find and present interesting facts about two countries and then one person selects the winner based on those facts. It’s set up loosely like a soccer game where one country’s facts are presented first with a “half time” where each person has found a cool piece of British trivia (but the answer isn’t presented yet), then the country’s “switch” to present the other country’s facts. At the end the winner is announced and the trivia questions are answered. It’s fun!

No Such Thing As A Fish

Up First

This is the third time I had to go back and remove a line where I’ve promised it’s the last NPR podcast but I’m pretty sure this is actually the last one… Ha! So Up First is a 10 minute podcast with a new episode each weekday that goes through the day’s biggest stories and ideas. Usually it’s politics I believe but can be other news as well. It is hosted by Rachel Martin, David Greene, and Steve Inskeep. Each episode is available by 6am EST and I do try really hard to keep up with it or at least to listen to the episode within 24 hours. I really do love this format and idea, and it has become a podcast I prioritize not just because it really is time sensitive but because I really enjoy it.

Up First

At Home With…

This is another YouTube podcast that I listen to. Two YouTubers/bloggers that I follow host this podcast, Lily Pebbles and Anna Gardner. These two have amazing YouTube channels as well but I honestly didn’t expect much from their podcast. I was surprised when I ended up loving the podcast! Lily and Anna have lifestyle channels and their podcast reflects this and showcases their fabulous friendship. They talk with people whose careers are dedicated to beauty, fashion, culture, business, and more amazing fields. For example their first episode interviewed Jo Elvin, editor of Glamour UK. They only have two episodes so far but I can tell I’m going to enjoy it!

At Home With…

Ctrl Atl Delete

The next podcast is relatively new to me. This one is hosted by blogger and author Emma Gannon. Gannon interviews business people (mostly women I believe) about their careers. It seems very similar to At Home With… in that regard but seems to focus more on social media and how it’s shaped the guests lives as well as their careers. So far I’ve listened to a few episodes and they’re very interesting!

Ctrl Atl Delete

 

S-Town

This podcast is also new to me, and new to everyone as it just came out in March. S-Town follows an investigative journalism style hosted by Brian Reed who travels to John B. McLemore’s hometown of Woodstock, Alabama to investigate a murder crime that McLemore believes took place. I have only listened to one episode and, as I was at work, I was interrupted and distracted so I didn’t really get much from it and need to listen again. It sounds interesting!

S-Town

Song Exploder

This podcast is also new to me and is the final podcast I listen to. Song Exploder is hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway and features music creators who talk about how their music came to be. Often times parts of the song is played to show the progress that was made when the song came to be. Episodes I’ve listened to have included music from La La Land, Game of Thrones, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. There are so many more episodes and I can’t wait to explore more!

Song Exploder

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Let me know if you listen to any of these podcasts or what you might recommend for me. I’m interested to hear your suggestions!

Also, I have gotten quite a few questions on my favorite Youtubers in the comments section. Is this something you’re interested in for a separate post? Let me know!

Thanks for reading!

Pamela