June 09, 2018

Day 9: My Favorite Podcasts

Once again, I missed a day in my goal of writing daily for June! However, I realized that even if I miss a week's worth, I will still have written much more than I would have had I not made this goal. Last month, I only wrote eight posts in the whole month! This is my seventh post in June, so I'm doing very well.

Anyway, I've been meaning to put together this list for a while, because people ask me all the time to list some of my favorite podcasts. The list changes frequently, because I am always downloading new ones, but there are some that stand out much more than others.

Without further intro, here is a current list of my favorite podcasts...

"This Is Actually Happening" -


This is my VERY favorite podcast, and has been my favorite ever since I listened to the first episode. In this podcast, one person shares a story about him/herself. There are a lot of storytelling podcasts, but I like this one best because there is no host or dramatic effects. It's simply one person telling a story about an experience her or she had. Each episode is titled, "What if ______?" For example, the first episode that I listened to was called "What if your boyfriend lit himself on fire?"


"Another Mother Runner" -

This is my favorite running podcast. The name is a little misleading, because this is a great listen for any runner, mother or not. I really like the hosts--they're funny without being over the top (some hosts try too hard to be funny, and it ends up sounding obnoxious). On this show, they do a lot of interviews--with famous runners and coaches, as well as regular runners (like me!).


"Cold Case Files" -


I love true crime, and I've been listening to a lot of true crime podcasts lately. I really like this one, because there is an actual ending to the stories! I didn't like "Making a Murderer" (on TV) or "Serial" (podcast) or other stories like that, because they didn't have a real ending. You're left wondering what really happened, and that drives me crazy! So, I like Cold Case Files, because they are cold cases that are finally solved.


"Half Size Me" -


This is my favorite weight loss-related podcast. Heather, the host, has lost a lot of weight and kept it off, and she's very sensible about weight loss and dieting. She used Weight Watchers to lose the weight, and she dabbles with other plans here and there; but overall, she made lifestyle changes that she can live with. And she's done really well with keeping the weight off and finding what works for her!


"Risk!" -


This is another story-telling podcast, and it's very entertaining. The stories are more "risqué" than the typical stories you hear on other podcasts. The host is funny (although a little over the top at times) and there are usually a few stories per episode. People share stories with an audience, and the stories they share are embarrassing, hilarious, tear-jerking, horrifying, and/or any other dramatic adjective you can think of. This is definitely a "mature audience" type of podcast, just FYI.


"My Favorite Murder" -


This is another true crime podcast, but it's more of a comedic than a serious show. The two women who host the show can either be really funny or really annoying, depending on the type of humor you like (it kind of depends on my mood, haha!). They discuss real-life murders, both current and past. I really loved the early episodes--the first 20 or so. Once it became very popular, they started adding more and more "stuff" in the beginning before talking about the actual topic of murder, so I don't listen to it very often anymore. But the early episodes were very entertaining!


"Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People" -


On this show, the host chats with an anonymous caller who doesn't know ahead of time that they will be the caller recorded for the show. They talk for an hour, with the premise that the host won't hang up first, no matter what the topic. The callers talk about a huge range of different things. Depending on what the caller talks about, it can be really interesting!


"The Peripheral" -


A story-telling/interview podcast with "real people" sharing about themselves. The host is great in the sense that he doesn't interrupt the guest, but he does share a few personal points of his own that relate to the guest--therefore, the interview sounds more like a conversation about a given topic.


"The Monti" -


Yet another story-telling show... I can't help it, I love listening to others' stories! Even the ones that the storytellers may think are boring are so interesting to me. This podcast is nice for a very short listen. The stories are typically about 15-20 minutes long (and since I listen to podcasts at a 1.5x speed, they are perfect for a short drive to the store or something (or when I'm falling asleep). I also like that the host doesn't go on and on at the beginning--he introduces the show, and then it goes right to the featured story.



I'd love to see what your favorite podcasts are, and why you like them, as well! If it sounds interesting to me, I may add it to my always-growing list. Feel free to comment with suggestions :)


7 comments:

  1. Run, Run, Live!! Host: Chris Russell

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  2. Where should we begin, Strangers, Not by accident, My Dad wrote a porno.

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  3. Thanks for sharing your list- lots of ones I haven’t listened to before!

    Some of my favorites that you might also like:
    1) This is Love- At first I thought this might be solely focused on romantic love, but each episode tackles, through a story, a different kind of love. The interviewer is unobtrusive and they’re always great stories!
    2) The Trouble- The guest talks about a time in their life when things were going wrong. This could be living with OCD, getting convicted of a crime, or something else big and life altering.
    3) Heavyweight- The host helps the guest confront a problem from their past, such as a relationship that soured or something they didn’t understand at the time. Lots of storytelling through interviews. I like some episodes better than others, but you can pick and choose what sounds interesting to you.
    4) Missing & Murdereed- Finding Cleo (season 2). This one is true crime and does have an ending. I also enjoyed it because I learned a lot about indigenous people which I didn’t know before.

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  4. Criminal is good true crime podcast. I like Sword and Scale but beware that it's really heavy. I've had to stop listening to episodes because it was too much. For light hearted listening I like Happier with Gretchen Rubin. She hosts it with her sister and every episode is well thought out and has different segments. There's no mindless chit chat and you can jump in to any episode and be fine. Ooo one that I think you'd really like is Hidden Brain. It talks a lot about psychology but in an approachable and fun manner. And then my last two favorites are Radiolab and Freakonomics. Oh and have you tried The Moth? It's another story telling podcast.

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  5. This is very timely as I have just recently started listening to podcasts! I listen to two so far. Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. He's an actor and he interviews other celebrities - but goes in depth with their childhood and what experiences shaped them. He's rebooting it so I hope you puts up his old podcasts as he had quite a few. I just started listening to Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. He also talks to celebrities in this one. I think I just find it interesting to learn more about the REAL lives of the famous.

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  6. I'm a HUGE My Favorite Murder fan - I went to their live show when they were in town! I'm the opposite of most people, I think I like the show MORE now that they spend more time bantering with each other before getting to the actual stories. Also, even if you don't listen to more recent episodes, you should DEFINITELY check out the recent interview with Paul Holes. It's fantastic.

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  7. I have re-visited this post like 5 times for podcasts when I am at work and tired of music. We are into How I Built this where entrepreneurs talk about how they started their companies, Homecoming which is a fictional story about a caseworker in an experimental facility for soldiers returning from war, and Mortified where people read their old diaries. It's hilarious :)

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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