We’re not sure about you, but a few of us are really into podcasts. Similar to audiobooks, they’re great for passing the time while sitting in traffic, cleaning, working out, waiting in line in the DMV, or WHATEVER. Really. They’re great for any time you have to do something [that doesn’t require your full brain power] and you want to learn something or be entertained. This is called using your time wisely, people. Work smarter, not harder.
Since you seem to be liking our reading list, we figured we’d also start a podcast list! Podcasts are a little bit trickier to simply list out, since we have some long-running podcasts that we absolutely love; some that we listen to occasionally, but don’t catch every episode; and then there are short series podcasts. So, we’re going to attempt to break things down a bit to explain what we’re listening to and why. Similar to our reading list, we will be updating with notes and additional podcasts as time goes on!
Pro tip: listen to podcasts at 1.5x speed or faster so you can consume more content in less time.
Podcasts we listen to regularly & series we have finished:
- The Lady Gang: Listening to Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin & Jac Vanek is the best way to take your mind off of anything serious/stressful. They’re hilarious, brutally honest and relatable. Do yourself a favor and go back and listen to all previous episodes and then go watch their new show on E! Fun fact: we found The Lady Gang when they randomly liked one of our Instagram photos!
- My Favorite Murder: I [Anna] first tried listening to this on a walk in Austria a few years ago and couldn’t get into it. I recently gave it another shot and have now listened to every episode and it’s one of my all-time-faves. Comedy and murder, what a combo.
- The First Degree: Jac Vanek, 1/3 of the Lady Gang, started this true crime podcast with Billy Jensen and Alexis Linkletter, so naturally we listen to every episode.
- How I Built This with Guy Raz: One of our favorite ways to learn about some incredible companies and their founders. Highly recommend to anyone interested in business & entrepreneurship.
- The Skinny Confidential Him & Her: We love Michael and Lauryn’s witty banter and interview style. Lauryn always talks about loving “a detail” so she gets really specific answers from her guests, which leaves us with real, actionable takeaways. This podcast is our go-to for all things lifestyle.
- The mindbodygreen Podcast: Many of the guests are pretty influential in the health/wellness world. We don’t listen to it all that often, but we’ve liked what we’ve heard.
- Crime Junkie: There are obviously many true crime podcasts out there, but this one is one of our faves. There’s just something about the host, Ashley Flowers’, delivery that makes this one of our must-listens.
- The Morning Toast: We love Claudia and Jackie O. That said, we aren’t the biggest Toasters, mainly because we’re not huge fans of the TV shows they typically talk about. That said, when we need something lighthearted, we’ll definitely tune in.
- Stuff You Should Know: Some episodes are better than others (can’t confirm that it’s all really stuff we should know), but we’d recommend checking out a few episodes.
- Lore: Lore tells stories “about the frightening history behind common folklore,” so you can bet there’s bound to be some interesting content. When you have nothing to listen to and don’t want to overwhelm yourself with more practical information, this is a good one to pass the time.
- Missing Richard Simmons: This story is just odd. I [Anna] cleaned and re-organized my entire bathroom and bedroom listening to this and the time flew by.
- The Dropout: First, we recommend reading “Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup” by John Carreyrou. This story is unbelievable. If you don’t want to read the book, go ahead and just listen to the podcast. We read the book and then listened to this podcast and were totally transfixed.
- Serial: Quite possibly the podcast that introduced many of us to podcasts. Honestly, not our fave in the grand scheme of things, but it’s well done and still worth a listen.
- S-Town: This was interesting. We never really knew where things were going to go. If you liked Serial, try S-Town.
- Dr. Death: OMG. Listen to this immediately. It is such a wild story that results in criminal charges being made against a surgeon.
- Dirty John: Have you seen the mini series they made about this? The podcast was good and so was the show. We recommend both.
- Up and Vanished: We really liked this podcast and Payne Lindsey’s approach to these missing-person cases.
- In The Dark: The first season is about the tragic disappearance of Jacob Wetterling. Really sad, but we felt it was worth listening to since the story is about a MN boy. The second season didn’t hold our attention quite as well, so we have yet to finish it.
- Uncover: Season one was a fascinating story about the cult NXIVM. We haven’t listened to seasons two or three yet, but definitely recommend checking this out.
- Over My Dead Body: This wasn’t bad, but we had higher expectations from Wondery (who also did “Dirty John” and “Dr. Death.”). We listened to it on the way home from the cabin and it definitely helped pass the time, but it wasn’t our fave.
- Root of Evil: This one is still in progress, but it’s pretty captivating thus far.
- Broken Harts: The story about the Hart family and their tragic deaths. Key takeaway: social media can be a total façade.
- The Shrink Next Door: This is a crazy story about manipulation. It’s a good car-ride podcast, because it’s less than 10 episodes.
Podcasts we listen to occasionally and/or haven’t fully dived into yet:
- TED Talks Business
- TED Talks Health
- Almost 30 Podcast
- The Daily
- Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
- Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness
- Revisionist History (Malcolm Gladwell)
- Freakonomics Radio
- The Uncertain Hour
- Believed
- Conspiracy Theories
- Don’t Keep Your Day Job
- I, Survivor
- Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe
- Scrubbing In with Becca Tilley & Tanya Rad
- Business Wars
- Atlanta Monster / Monster: The Zodiac Killer
- Cold
- Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad
- The Generation Why
Podcasts on our “to-listen” list:
- Casefile True Crime
- RISE Podcast
- The Goop Podcast
- Family Secrets
- Conviction
- American Scandal
- A Killing on the Cape
- True Crime Obsessed
- True Crime All The Time
- Monstruo
- Sword and Scale