Podcasts Recommendations: 2021
Originally Posted: May 1st, 2021
Podcast Recommendations: 2021
Podcast Recommendations: 2021
I love podcasts. I love them so much that I have been listening to music less. There are so many great podcasts out there, everyone can find one they love if they are willing to look. I hope this list helps you find one.
Here are the ones that I love:
Top Recommendations:
Song Exploder
My favorite podcast of all time, and it’s now a Netflix show as well. Musicians get interviewed about how they wrote and recorded a song. If you love music or behind the scenes stuff, start here. Throughout each episode you hear bits and pieces of the song, earlier versions and demos, and at the end they play the finished product. Hearing the song after you know how it was made is always satisfying. Every episode is great. I can’t recommend this enough.
Where to start:
It’s impossible to pick just one. Here are a couple of my favorites.
Maggie Rogers’s big break happened when Pharrell Williams discovered her as a student at NYU. That video is amazing and has some great moments in it, including Pharrell comparing her to Wu Tang Clan and breaking down how great Reese’s cups are. I recommend you watch it before listening. The Song Exploder episode is the story of that song and the time leading up to that moment.
“I felt like it was a parking spot that was already taken, you know, I didn’t wanna encroach on the sacred space that was The Band’s song Ophelia.” I think we’re all glad they did. You won’t be able to un-hear the crack in his voice.
Vocal samples, deep tremolo, drunk guitars, cheesy trumpets and “bombastic” drums all come together beautifully. “I've been underneath the canopy, lost in the spell”
Brittany Howard is the singer in the Alabama Shakes, and she recently came out with her first solo album. “I think it’s an important time right now to make people feel good. It’s crazy out there, man.”
Cortex
I’m a sucker for behind the scenes anything, and this is one of my favorites. Cortex is made by educational YouTuber CGPgrey and podcaster Myke Hurley. They are independent content creators, and they discuss their working lives and how they work. I’ve listened to the every episode at least once, and they cover topics from time tracking to email to productivity to writing. Speaking of podcasts about writing…
Writing and Breathing
“A podcast about why, how, and what we write.”
Hosted by Antony Johnston, an author who wrote Atomic Blonde, Dead Space, and many other great things. On each episode he interviews another writer and they discuss their writing. Most of the guests are fiction writers like Antony, but my favorite episode is the time John Gruber was on. I’ve listened to that episode a few times, and it’s one of my favorite writers-talk-about-writing things that I’ve ever found.
Snap Judgement
One of the most unique shows I know of. Snap Judgment is a radio show which mixes real stories with instrumental music to produce “cinematic, dramatic, kick-ass radio.” Snap’s raw, musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. Filled with great stories, empathy, and well, great background beats. I have to be in the right mood to listen to Snap Judgement, but it’s always a hypnotic listen.
Technology Podcasts: Networking
Wi-Fi Ninjas
The best podcast about Wi-Fi I’ve found. On each episode Mac Deryng and Matt Starling discuss a particular topic about Wi-Fi. They’re both wireless professionals, and they use their experience to teach and entertain. There are a lot of good episodes which dive deep into a particular topic, and a lot of good guests. If you’re interested in Wi-Fi, I recommend checking this out.
History of Networking
Along the same lines, the History of Networking podcast is one of my favorite network-related shows. This series started out on Network Collective and then branched out into it’s own independent show. It’s hosted by Russ White, who’s been in the industry for a long time and written a few great books. I am a sucker for history and background information, and each episode delivers.
Risky Business
The best podcast about computer security, period.
Packet Pushers
It’s not just one show, it’s a whole network of shows, all about networking. I subscribe to the whole feed, but I particularly like Heavy Networking and Network Break. It’s one of the main ways I stay up to date on networking news.
Network Collective
Another network of networking shows, a kind of baby sibling to the Packet Pushers.
Technology Podcasts: Apple
Dithering
Two of my favorite writers, John Gruber and Ben Thompson, talk for 15 minutes twice a week. “Not a minute more, not a minute less, not a minute more.”
John is known for his lengendarily-long The Talk Show podcast (see below) but this is a very different thing. It’s a paid podcast, but to me, it’s very worth the $5/month. They are both very insightful, and the format really works for them. They mainly talk about Apple and related players in the tech industry. I love Ben’s analytical brain, and John’s opinionated takes on things.
20 Macs for 2020
I loved this show so much I wrote a small article to specifically recommend it. The series has Jason Snell going through the 20 most notable Macs of all time. Note that he didn’t say “best” or “greatest”, it’s a list of 20 great stories, narrated by Jason Snell and a great group of guests. Stay after the show for the full length interviews with John Gruber and John Siracusa, which are just as good as the main show to me.
Accidental Tech Podcast
This show started my podcast addiction. Marco Arment, John Siracusa and Casey Liss tried to make a car podcast and accidentally made this weekly show about Apple back in 2013. Since it’s a news focused show, it doesn’t always pay to go through the back catalog, but the funniest segment they ever had was the post show for episode 96 (starting at 1:29:43), when they found out how John Siracusa manages his windows on his computer. To fully appreciate this you have to be a nerd and understand the personalities, but I think it holds up otherwise.
The Talk Show With John Gruber
John Gruber’s commentary track for Daring Fireball. Gruber is famous in the Apple nerd sphere and has been writing Daring Fireball since 2002. The podcast always has a good guest on and if listening to 2 hours of nerds talking about Apple and tech news sounds exciting to you, this is one of the best.
Connected
Three friends talk about Apple. I went through a phase of subscribing to every tech podcast I could find, but this is one of the few that I still subscribe to and listen to every week. Come for the news, stay for the personalities.
Music
Broken Record
A fun series where Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, and Bruce Headlam interview musicians. It bills itself as “liner notes for the digital age”, but to me, it’s just a series of good interviews with interesting people.
Questlove Supreme
Another musician interview podcast. Questlove Supreme is a music nerd’s podcast. Questlove is the drummer from the Roots, and on each episode he and his co-hosts interview their guest about their musical origins, discuses their passion for music, and get into the the weeds of their career. This is a show about musical legends bringing their legacy to life in their own words.
Tiny Desk Concerts - Audio
NPR’s fantastic Tiny Desk concerts in audio form. Also available on YouTube.
You’re bound to find an artist you already like, but the one that stands out the most to me is Mac Miller’s. It was filmed right before he died in 2018. He just released what would be his last album. It’s a great performance, he sounds so happy and open joking around between songs. In context it’s even more remarkable. Plus, Thundercat playing bass (and singing) is always great. Noname did one of the best ones I’ve seen or listened to.
Miscellaneous
The A24 Podcast
A24 is a film production company, and their podcast is basically famous creators talking about what they do. It’s a monthly show with not many episodes, so it’s easy to binge them all. My favorite is still Catch and Release with Ethan Hawke & Alia Shawkat. I love both of them, and getting to listen in on two friends talking about life, their craft and art is my idea of a good time.
Reconcilable Differences
John Siracusa and Merlin Mann “try to figure out how they got this way.” I love their perspectives and in particular, John’s analysis of the seemingly mundane. The most extreme example of that is their nearly 2 hour long show talking about John’s adventures getting a new refrigerator. That episode is a trial by fire if you want to see if this is for you. I still occasionally think about their discussion of ambient pleasure generators.
The Adventure Zone
A few friends play a hilarious dungeons and dragons game. I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you like D&D, just start at episode one and enjoy.
Someone Knows Something
If you like mysteries, interviews, and don’t always need a clean resolution to the story, Someone Knows Something is for you. It’s a Canadian public radio show, and each season goes deep on an unsolved cold case. David Ridgen is the host, and he approaches the stories and people with sympathy and earnestness. I really like the whole series, and you don’t necessarily need to start with Season 1.
Uncover
While listening to Someone Knows Something, there’s a lot of repeated promos for other Canadian public radio shows. Uncover was one of the ones I heard promos for over and over for, and I ended up really liking. Uncover is an investigative series, which is well produced. If you like Someone Knows Something you’ll probably like this too.
Lets Talk About Sets
In case you couldn’t tell, I love interviews and behind-the-scenes things. This is a great series where two comedians discuss comedy and specific bits. Each episode focuses on a topic, and has a guest which helps discuss the comedy bits and their material.
Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out
Another comedy show, where Mike Birbiligia has a guest on to work out new comedy material. I love Mike Birbiglia’s comedy, and he’s a really interesting person and good interviewer. Episode 4 with Matt Berninger, Carin Besser, and J. Hope Stein is really beautiful, I’d recommend you start there.
Podcast App
Overcast
If you’re using an Apple device, I recommend you get Overcast rather than use Apple’s built in Podcasts app. Smart resume, Smart speed, and voice boost all make listening to Podcasts better. It also has a Apple Watch app you can sync episodes to. If Spotify is your jam, that’s OK too. If you’re on Android, well… use whatever is available there.
