My 10 Favorite Podcasts

February 29, 2016 by Alia McKee

They say you are what you eat. But I also think you are what you listen to.

Consuming great content is a great way to learn how to create it yourself.

Of course, this relates to any kind of content — tv, movies, news articles. But lately, I’ve been completely addicted to podcasts. In that spirit, I thought I’d share my top 10 favorites with you.

  1. This American Life: The podcast gateway drug. If you haven’t heard of this show, come out of your cave, it’s 2016! Ira Glass and his crack team of producers bring you provocative, heartwarming, ire-inducing slices of American stories that more or less follow a broad theme each week. With over 500 episodes, this is a treasure trove of content.
  2. 99% Invisible: This podcast often starts, “Hello, you beautiful nerds…” Roman Mars and his team take a look at the things we don’t often think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shapes our world.
  3. Love+Radio: Haunting, risqué and bold interviews with strange and intriguing subjects including journalists, artists, pedophiles, peeping toms and more…
  4. Song Exploder: Your favorite bands tell the stories of how specific songs came together. This is for music nerds who want to get their hands dirty in bass lines, vocal tracks and lyric meanings.
  5. Pitch: Another one for music nerds, but less in the weeds. This podcast tells the stories behind the noise and music that makes up our every day lives.
  6. Criminal: For true crime buffs, this 20-30 minute weekly gives you a taste of what really went down with Lizzy Borden and other great crime mysteries you’ve never heard of.
  7. Planet Money: These guys make finance and economics interesting to me. That’s a HUGE accomplishment.
  8. Reply All: A podcast about the Internet that isn’t as annoying as that sounds. They tackle stories behind how and why humans use the world wide web.
  9. Radiolab: My only beef with this podcast is that I need MORE episodes. One of the best podcasts out there. They explore the intersections between science, philosophy and human existence.
  10. Serial: You can’t have a top 10 without listing Serial. Sarah Koenig and her team are in their second season of chronicling a story week to week. This season, they are tackling Bowe Bergdahl.

So there is several years worth of awesome listening for you. Enjoy.