Listen and Learn: My Favorite Podcasts

I’ve discovered podcasts in 2013 when someone I followed was a guest at the Unmistakable Creative podcast. It turned out to be a gateway-episode, because since then I was hooked.

I must have listened thousands of hours of audio. On my bike, in the train, when running. It’s not a medium that lends itself for consuming while sitting still. But it’s perfect for those in between spaces, where you’re doing something that requires only a little bit of your attention.

It’s been my third university. I mostly listen to interview-based podcasts. I’ve learned so many things while listening about entrepreneurship, health, psychology and humanity. Here are my favorite shows I’ve listened to all those years.

My Absolute Top 4

1. The Unmistakable Creative Podcast (Srinivas Rao)
   Srini interviews creatives, experts and other trouble makers. You might not know the guests, but he’s such a great interviewer that always results in the most interesting conversations.
2. The Reboot Podcast (with Jerry Colonna)
   The coaching conversations he has with guests (founders) are gold!
3. On Being with Krista Tippett
   A down to earth spiritual journey. The tone of the interviews alone makes you calm and want to be a better person.
4. Akimbo: A Podcast from Seth Godin
   Always a surprising take on marketing, culture and change making.

Rounding out my Top 9

• The Tim Ferriss Show
  The best of the best guests share their insights.
• The Ezra Klein Show (NYT Opinion)
  Nobody goes deeper when debating a topic.
• Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
  Not for everyone. Its episodes run 4 hours long, drop every 3–6 months or so. And a series consists of 3–5 episodes, so spanning 2 years! But always such a riveting take on history. I really like the series King of Kings and the Wrath of the Kahns.
• Heavyweight (Gimlet)
  Surprising, funny and always really touching stories that you don’t see coming.
• Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel
  Such deep coaching/psychology conversations.

New discoveries I’m enjoying

• Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
• Here’s the thing with Alec Baldwin
• The Jordan Harbinger Show
• Systeem op de Schop (Social Enterprise NL, in Dutch)

Specific series I’ve really enjoyed

• De tweede — Op zoek naar het standaardgezin (De Correspondent, in Dutch)
  So well produced! Listened to it when we were expecting our second kid.
• Against the Rules with Michael Lewis (season 1) (Pushkin)
  What happened to fairness and the referees in society?
• Broken Record (season 1) (Pushkin)
  The story behind the songs.
• The Mystery Show (Gimlet)
  Sad that there was only one season.
• Revisionist History (first few seasons) (Pushkin)
  Typical Malcolm Gladwell. There is something surprising that we’ve misunderstood.
• Seth Godin’s Startup School (Earwolf)
  Listen in on a three day event where Seth Godin teaches a small group about entrepreneurship.
• Slate’s Negotiation Academy (Slate Magazine)
  Simply great.
• StartUp Podcast (Gimlet)
  Especially the first season when the show was about their own founding! Such a pure behind the scenes look.
• Homecoming (Gimlet)
  Intense fictional story. Great for a road trip.

Guilty Pleasures

• Een Podcast over Media (Alexander Klöpping, Ernst-Jan Pfauth, in Dutch)
• The Ringer NBA Show and The Bill Simmons Podcast

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Originally published at https://www.studiogeorge.nl on February 2, 2021.