The Podcasts I Listen To: 2019
Originally Posted: September 28th, 2019
The Podcasts I Listen To: 2019
I love podcasts. I love them so much that I have been listening to music less and less. There are so many great podcasts out there, I bet you’ll find one you love if you are willing to look. Here are the ones that I love:
Top Recommendations:
Song Exploder
The best podcast I know of. 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. Can’t recommend this enough.
Where to start:
It’s impossible to pick just one. Here are a couple of my favorites.
Maggie Rogers - Alaska
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 unhear the crack in his voice when he sings “I, I got a little paaaaaaycheck”
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.”
The Hilarious World Of Depression
Comedians and other artists discuss their lives and struggles with depression and mental health. “Is depression funny?”
Where to Start:
Gary Gulman Is a Brilliant Comedian and an Ineffective Offensive Lineman
This is my favorite normal episode. Gary Gulman is a hilarious and respected comedian. A comedian’s comedian, so to speak. You’ve probably heard some of his bits. In this episode he talks about growing up, how he became a comedian and has a really honest discussion of his mental health issues. Makes you realize people that look like they have it all can still be struggle. There are lots of good episodes, but this is the one that’s stuck with me the most.
Ana Marie Cox Is Not Really Edited Much At All
This doesn’t follow the normal format but it’s a fantastic conversation. Funny at times, devastatingly honest and dark at others. I wish he did more like this.
My Dad Wrote A Porno
Three friends talk about and read aloud the erotic novel one of the host’s dad wrote. Utterly hilarious.
Where To Start:
Episode one. If you don’t laugh at that, you can skip it. But know that you are dead inside.
Reply All
They describe it as a “podcast about the internet” but that’s not a good description. They have a few different formats for their episodes, but the ones I like the most are the where they dive deep into a topic. The hosts are funny and they have a way of getting you interested in something you’ve probably never thought of. One of the best examples of this is episode 102 and 103, a two part episode where they start with a scam phone call one of the hosts received, and end up in India. Episode 130, The Snapchat Thief is similar. Those are Reply All at it’s best.
Where To Start:
Tiny Desk Concerts - Audio
NPR’s fantastic Tiny Desk concerts in audio form. Also available on YouTube.
Where To Start:
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. Noname is good for the soul.
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.
Where To Start:
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.
Technology Podcasts:
Accidental Tech Podcast
This is the show that started my 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, not available in Apple Podcasts), 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.
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. I love their history of networking series.
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.
Vector With Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie’s nearly daily Apple analysis. This dude pumps out so many videos and articles. I don’t know how he does it. I prefer the audio format, but the episodes mirror his YouTube channel if you’d rather watch.
Miscellaneous:
Reconcilable Differences
John Siracusa and Merlin Mann “try to figure out how they got this way.” My wife can’t stand John’s voice, but I absolutely love their perspectives and in particularl 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 haven’t been able to stop thinking about their discussion of ambient pleasure generators since I heard it last week.
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.
The Rachel Maddow Podcast
I don’t have cable TV, so listening to her show has been my respite during the past few years of political chaos.
Startalk With Neil Degrasse Tyson
I struggle with this show sometimes, since Neil can be kind of a prick, but there are a lot of good educational episodes. If you’re into space and science it’s one of the best ones out there.
Podcast App: Use Overcast
If you’re using an Apple device, I highly recommend you get Overcast rather than use Apple’s built in Podcasts app. Smart resume, Smart speed, voice boost all make listening to Podcasts better. It even 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.
I hope this list helps you find a podcast you enjoy, that is more important than the app you use. Happy podcast hunting.
