Get Smarter Without Trying: 8 Podcasts We Love
November 04, 2015
We probably don’t have to tell you that podcasts are so hot right now. Whether you’re riding the subway, jogging through the park, or cooking dinner at home, they provide the perfect way to zone out—while still learning something. From the inspirational to the informative, these are the podcasts we love right now.
1. Working
Whether you love or hate your job, you inevitably have moments when you wonder what it would be like to switch careers with someone else. Via Slate’s “Working” podcast, you can get an inside look at a plethora of occupations. Wondering what it’s like to be a casting director? A male dominatrix? A 747 pilot? A book editor? Now’s your chance to live vicariously.
2. The Longest Shortest Time
People often refer to a baby’s first years as the “longest shortest time” for parents, and this podcast is branded as the perfect “3:00am bedside companion.” Host Hillary Frank (a contributor to “This American Life”) proves that raising babies isn’t all beautiful Instagram snapshots as she dives deep into the less glamorous aspects of parenthood.
3. Dear Sugar
Do you love Cheryl Strayed? We love Cheryl Strayed. She’s the author of bestselling memoir Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things, a must-read collection of essays based on her wildly popular advice column, “Dear Sugar.” Inspired by the success of her books and original column, Strayed and co-host Steve Almond now host a “Dear Sugar” podcast on WBUR, where they tackle life’s hardest topics, including why people cheat and how to manage grief and loss.
4. Death, Sex and Money
Speaking of life’s hardest topics, WNYC podcast “Death, Sex and Money” tells stories that are provocative, to say the least. Recent episodes have addressed a devastating breast cancer diagnosis, a marriage tested by mental illness, a woman priced out of Brooklyn (but determined to come back), and a police officer who steals from crime scenes. No topic is too weighty or controversial for this podcast.
5. Happier With Gretchen Rubin
Host Gretchen Rubin left her career as an attorney to explore how to live a happier, more meaningful existence. Following the success of her bestselling book The Happiness Project, she shares what she’s learned, along with her co-host and sister Elizabeth Craft. As one iTunes reviewer wrote: “I feel like I have two new smart and funny girlfriends who give good advice. Just listening makes me feel happy.”
6. Stuff You Missed in History Class
History is a multilayered discipline, and as you get further from your student days, the details can get a bit murky. Enter “Stuff You Missed in History Class.” This podcast touches on topics you may not have even learned in high school—women in STEM, civil rights, and sad royal childhoods. Hosts Tracy Wilson and Holly Frey prove that sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.
7. Awesome Etiquette
In the early 20th century, American author Emily Post wrote the book on etiquette, and her advice is still the gold standard for manners. Today, two of Emily’s descendants, Lizzie Post and Daniel Post Senning, have a podcast where they answer all of your 21st-century etiquette conundrums. Should you post a selfie from the wedding of your best friend’s ex? How should you handle a toddler causing a scene at a restaurant? Tune in to learn artful ways of navigating tricky social situations.
8. 99 Percent Invisible
Although great design, art, and architecture are all around us, we often forget to stop and take them in. This weekly podcast focuses on the aesthetic elements of the universe that are overlooked, from a building’s structural integrity to the global cargo industry to artists’ response to the AIDS crisis in the early 1990s.
