Encyclopedia of the Podcasts I have Listened to
VIII.) This list encompasses 2014 through the very beginning of 2017
ix. PRELUDE
Please refer to this post as a reference guide/menu of options to look from in regards to podcast listening. This can be read non-linearly where you can skip around. For the purposes of expecting some of my readers to want to only read a few sections exclusively, I have posted some of the same links on more than one occasion in different sections of this post. Of course if you want the full value of this piece, then I’d suggest you to read from start to finish. However you may choose to read this post, please enjoy and feel free to give feedback on what you found to be of most value to you and what you thought could have been improved upon.
AS A REMINDER – LINKS TO PODCASTS ARE IN EACH SECTION OF THIS POST: You can also find these podcasts and mentioned podcast episodes for free on ITUNES AT http://www.apple.com/itunes/ If you don't have an iTunes account you just need an email to create one and follow instructions here - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204034 .
xi. REFERENCE SECTION
ix. PRELUDE (approx. 150 words)
I. Introduction (approx. 150 words)
II. Top 5 Podcasts I go to (approx. 135 words)
III. Top 12 Episodes I’d recommend/Favorites (approx. 230 words)
IV. 10 Other Episodes I’d highly recommend (approx. 190 words)
V. MMVPs - My Most Valuable Podcasts [2] “Oprah of Audio” & “Podfather” (approx. 445 words)
VI. Long-Form Champion Podcasters [4] (approx. 515 words)
VII. Personal Friends who are avid Podcasters [2] (approx. 330 words)
VIII. Podcast Series [4] (approx. 400 words)
IX. Political Podcasts [10] (approx. 450 words)
X. Sports Podcasts [7] (approx. 330 words)
XI. 10 other cool podcasts I have come across/Links listed (approx. 145 words)
XII. Your Brain on Podcasts (approx. 100 words)
XIII. Explanation/Summary of Top 12 Episodes (approx. 600 words)
XIV. Explanation/Summary of the 10 other episodes I’d recommend (approx. 430 words)
XV. Conclusion (approx. 100 words)
I. INTRODUCTION
I started listening to podcasts in 2007 – Bill Simmons (when he was still with ESPN) was the first podcaster that I was really into. Over time my interest in podcasts ebbed and flowed, yet by the time my daughter was born three years ago (spring 2014) I have become an avid podcast listener. I got heavily into podcasts as it was the easiest form of entertainment consumption/reading replacement especially when I went on extra-long walks with my kid or those extended car rides to and from work.
My favorite podcasts have become personal development (“Tim Ferriss” is one of my MMVPs), politics, sports, and various podcast series. As I am always sharing various podcasts with people, and suggesting episodes for people to listen to, I was inspired to write this blog post as a reference point for various podcasts I like and often suggest and share with others.
ENJOY!
II. “MY TOP 5” Podcasts I go to.
1(T) -World Class Performance Expert and Best Selling Author http://fourhourworkweek.com/ “Tim Ferriss Show” http://tim.blog/podcast/ (Full review & other links under MMVPs Section V).
1(T) –HBO/The Ringer's “Bill Simmons Podcast” https://theringer.com/bill-simmons-podcast-d3868264a984#.3cdkai703 . (Full review & other links under MMVPs Section V).
3- Fox Sports Radio Personality “Colin Cowherd” http://www.foxsports.com/watch/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd/video. (Full review & other links under sports podcasts - Section X).
4-Editor in Chief of http://www.vox.com/ “Ezra Klein Show” http://www.vox.com/ezra-klein-show-podcast (Full review & other links under political podcasts – Section IX).
5- http://www.vox.com/ Policy Show, “The Weeds” http://www.vox.com/the-weeds (Full review & other links under political podcasts – Section IX).
*Bonus- Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History http://revisionisthistory.com/ (Full review & other links under podcast series Section VIII). This is a Seasonal Podcast, and there’s only been one-season so far.
III. TOP-12 favorite podcast episodes/ones I’d recommend!
1- HBO/The Ringer’s Bill Simmons interviews NBA Super-Star Kevin Durant (Feb 10 2017) https://soundcloud.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/ep-174-kevin-durant.
2- World Class performance expert Tim Ferriss interviews Movie Star Jamie Foxx (December 06, 2015) http://tim.blog/2015/12/06/jamie-foxx/.
3- Tim Ferriss interviews Sebastian Junger, author of the best-selling book “The Perfect Storm” (May 22, 2016) http://tim.blog/2016/05/22/sebastian-junger/.
4- Tim Ferriss Interviewing Internationally acclaimed “Angel Investor” Naval Ravikant (August 18, 2015) http://tim.blog/2015/08/18/the-evolutionary-angel-naval-ravikant/.
5- Editor in Chief of vox.com, Ezra Klein interviews Ta-Nehisi Coates, best-selling author of “Between the world and me” (December 19th, 2016) http://www.vox.com/conversations/2016/12/19/13952578/ta-nehisi-coates-ezra-klein.
6- Ezra Klein & Sarah Kliff of “The Weeds” interviewing President Obama about the state of Obamacare (January 06, 2017) http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/6/14182458/obama-interview-obamacare-health-vox.
7- Former Chief Strategist to President Obama, "David Axelrod" interviewing former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart (May 09, 2016) http://podcast.cnn.com/the-axe-files-david-axelrod/episode/all/50Eq77MigjcfUg/rofqs4.html.
8- Sports Radio personality "Colin Cowherd" first 5-6minutes of his show on November 9th, 2016 (his post-election analyses) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw2myvtbISw.
9- Podcaster "Matthew McQueeny" interviewing Author of the NY Times bestselling “Bill Parcells Book” Nunyo Demasio (September 05, 2016) http://www.matthewmcqueeny.com/2016/09/187-nunyo-demasio.html.
10- Podcaster "Earnest EJ Christianson" interviewing Podcaster "Matthew McQueeny" (February 18, 2017) http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ejs-sports-rap-podcast/earnestly-speaking-radio-show/e/matthew-mcqueeny-49175445.
11- Best Selling Author and New Yorker writer Malcom Gladwell’s “Revisionist History Podcast”- “Generous Orthodoxy/Episode 9” (August 10, 2016) http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/09-generous-orthodoxy.
12- Best Selling Authors of the “Freakonomics” book series & Freakonomics Radio/Podcast Episode- “Has the Presidency become a Dictatorship?” (September 21, 2016) http://freakonomics.com/podcast/u-s-presidency-become-dictatorship/.
IV: 10 Other Episodes I’d highly recommend!
1- Freakonomics Radio/Podcast “This is your Brain on Podcasts” (October 12, 2016) http://freakonomics.com/podcast/this-is-your-brain-on-podcasts/.
2- Well renown comedian and MMA analyst, Joe Rogan interviews retired WWE Wrestler and former Minnesota Governor, Jesse Ventura (October 13, 2016) http://podbay.fm/show/360084272/e/1476411225?autostart=1.
3- Silver & Bronze Star Navy Seal, Business Coach, Best-Selling Author and podcaster “Jocko Willink” interviewing Tim Ferriss (November 23, 2016) http://jockopodcast2.com/2016/11/23/50-with-tim-ferriss-darkness-how-to-stay-on-the-path-last-days-of-life-what-to-do-back-up-plans-misconceptions/.
4- Tim Ferriss interviewing Gaming Expert Jane McGonigal (July 28, 2015) http://tim.blog/2015/07/28/jane-mcgonigal/.
5- Tim Ferriss interviewing Journalist and Writer at Large for Esquire Magazine, Cal Fussman Part I (March 11, 2016) http://tim.blog/2016/03/11/the-interview-master-cal-fussman-and-the-power-of-listening/.
6- Tim Ferriss interviewing Journalist and Writer at Large for Esquire Magazine, Cal Fussman Part II (August 31, 2016) http://tim.blog/2016/08/31/cal-fussman-the-master-storyteller-returns/.
7- Tim Ferriss interviewing vox.com Editor in Chief Ezra Klein (December 13, 2016) http://tim.blog/2016/12/13/ezra-klein/.
8- Ezra Klein Interviewing the President of public policy group DEMOS, Heather McGhee [Part I] June 29, 2016 http://www.vox.com/2016/6/29/12055272/demos-heather-mcghee-trump.
9- Ezra Klein interviewing Evelyn Farkas former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Obama administration (2012-2015) for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/panoply/the-ezra-klein-show/e/evelyn-farkas-explains-the-crisis-in-syria-and-the-threat-of-48651896.
10- David Axelrod interviewing Indian American Journalist and CNN Host Fareed Zakaria (10/06/16) http://podcast.cnn.com/the-axe-files-david-axelrod/episode/all/J0Rl5qRsbAg07r/g6g264.html.
V. MMVPS – My Most Valuable Podcasts: -“The Oprah of Audio” & “The Podfather”
1st The Oprah of Audio - http://tim.blog/podcast/ “The Tim Ferriss Show” is amazing! It is so relevant to everyday life his whole purpose in doing the podcast is to make it live on forever in his archives. This is different than many other podcasters who are topical and whose older shows, get dated rather quickly! Not only that, but Ferriss has notes for every single one of his episodes. There are links to everything covered (I wish more podcasters did this!!!) When I listen to TF, I always feel like I’m guzzling a protein shake, where I get so much great information that is applicable to my life. I am someone who loves smoothies and shakes, but when I over-do it on TF, it just becomes too much.
I notice myself listening to 2-3 of his episodes exclusively (which often comes to 6-7 hours of audio listening) and then I realize I’m neglecting all the other amazing audio-content and I take a break from him only to come back for more. I realize that Tim Ferriss has designed his Podcast in such a way where he is deliberately making it that most of his listeners are never fully caught up with ALL OF HIS EPISODES. Refer to Sections III,IV, XIII & XIV for my favorite Tim Ferriss episodes; guests mentioned in this post are Jaime Fox ( http://tim.blog/2015/12/06/jamie-foxx/ this one is a great place to start!), Sebastian Junger, Naval Ravikant, Jane McGonigal, Cal Fussman, Jocko Willink & Ezra Klein.
2nd “The Podfather” https://soundcloud.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast “Bill Simmons Podcast on the Ringer” known as “The Podfather”, a term of endearment coined by Jalen Rose. (For more on Jalen refer to Section X “Sports Podcasts). The unintended benefit of Bill Simmons HBO show not even lasting one season, is the fact that his Podcast has dramatically improved back to the time when he was getting A+ guests during his ESPN days.
Most of his episodes are more topical as they relate to sports or current pop-culture. But, he’s just got a great flow, a great sense of humor and his episodes rarely go over an hour. And if they do, he breaks down his show in segments knowing some people will only go to certain parts. However, the draw back to a current events podcast like Simmons is, that his episodes get dated rather quickly sometimes.
I still love it as it’ not too heavy, but his podcasts are not timeless quite like other ones I am referencing in this piece. My favorite Bill Simmons episode is - https://soundcloud.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/ep-174-kevin-durant, (also referenced in Sections III & XIII.)
VI. Great Long form interviewers I wish I had more time to listen to
Joe Rogan http://podcasts.joerogan.net/ – dude is everywhere! He’s a comedian an MMA guy and like an all-around chill dude. I like that he has no pretense. He’s kind of an antidote to Tim Ferriss, where Ferriss likes everything to be dissected and synthesized, Rogan comes across to me as “I’m just going to f*ing do this and have fun. (Refer to Sections IV & XIV for more detailed analyses of my favorite episodes by Joe Rogan - http://podbay.fm/show/360084272/e/1476411225?autostart=1).
James Altucher http://www.jamesaltucher.com/category/the-james-altucher-show/ – aside from him getting an occasional a**-hat, and Trump boot-licker like Ken Kurson from the New York Observer (a paper that is ran by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner), I do have to say that Altucher does an amazing job of getting a diverse mix of guests with very diverse backgrounds.
Folks like former Congressman and Presidential Candidate Ron Paul, to Neil Strauss famous author of “The Game”, as well Daymond John of Shark Tank, along with world famous Producer Russell Simmons. As well as guests like the late great Wayne Dyer and Tim Ferriss.
Altucher is fearless in asking questions and not being afraid to come off as ignorant. Rogan and Ferriss, two of the best long-form podcasts around – have too much of the “alpha-male” thing going on to lower their ego and be as child-like in their question asking the way Altucher is.
Tony Robbins Podcast https://www.tonyrobbins.com/podcast/ – It’s not as regularly recorded as the ones listed above, nor is it the end product for Tony Robbins (or even a feature product for him for that matter), but its Tony friggin Robbins! His podcast is a bit more focused on people’s “WHY” than the others listed above. He was a guest on Tim Ferriss’s show 3x and each one of those episodes were AWESOME! Robbins has dove head first into financial coaching and has a new podcast “Unshakeable” that I have subscribed to, and plan to give a listen in the not so distant future. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/unshakeable-by-tony-robbins/id1207627404?mt=2. (The “Unshakeable episodes can also be found on the Tony Robbins site is referenced above).
Jocko Willink http://jockopodcast2.com/. This one I feel really remiss on missing out on. He’s a military guy to a “T”, almost comically so. But, he’s got a certain confidence, discipline and self-belief that I can’t help but admire. Some people label Willink a Conservative, and in the limited sense of the word he is, but more out of the ‘military mold’ than the ‘Christian fanatical mold’, or the ‘Trump F**k-Boy mold’. He believed in the Iraq War, and still does, and he is a believer in protecting and defending the Constitution of the USA at all costs.
I need to get deeper into his episodes, as when I see new ones uploaded his topics look fascinating. Jocko was a guest on Tim Ferriss Podcast twice, and it was through rave reviews on TF’s show (among others) that Willink decided to start his own podcast. (Refer to Sections IV & XIII for analyses of this Jocko episode http://jockopodcast2.com/2016/11/23/50-with-tim-ferriss-darkness-how-to-stay-on-the-path-last-days-of-life-what-to-do-back-up-plans-misconceptions/).
VII. Personal Friends who are avid Podcasters
Matthew McQueeny’s “Mix-Minus Podcast” http://www.matthewmcqueeny.com/ is truly a remarkable work of creative passion and quiet genius that I cannot say enough about him and the remarkable episodes he churns out on a weekly basis. Where his basement is his own studio/an extra room for his kid to play. Matt has had some outstanding guests on his show such as Nunyo Demasio, author of the most recent Bill Parcells Biography “Parcells: A Football Life”. http://www.matthewmcqueeny.com/2016/09/187-nunyo-demasio.html (also referenced in Sections III & XIII of this post).
Matthew he has also had other tremendous guests from Jonathan Abrams the Author of "Boys Among Men: How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution"- easily one of the best Basketball Books of the Decade, and one of my favorite reads of 2016. Matt has also had prolific sports writer Jeff Pearlman on his podcast, as well as Michael Days, Editor of the Philadelphia Daily News and author of "Obama's Legacy: What He Accomplished as President" (released in September 2016).
I even had the privilege of being a guest on Matt’s Podcast not once, but twice. http://www.matthewmcqueeny.com/2016/11/199-joshua-jacobs.html http://www.matthewmcqueeny.com/2016/12/204-joshua-jacobs.html. Matthew has given me a real look under the hood of podcasting and has been an inspiration/mentor to me to launch my own podcast!
Earnest EJ Christianson http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ejs-sports-rap-podcast/earnestly-speaking-radio-show - another avid podcasters who is a New Yorker at heart, yet has a beat on the whole Miami Sports Scene! Earnest takes podcasting to a whole new level where he podcasts anywhere anytime and is able to strike up a conversation with anyone. His tips and tools for how to podcast on the fly can serve any amateur podcaster greatly. That and he has like 3 different channels. His 1minute podcast take-down is sports center worthy. And I really loved his episode where Matthew McQueeny was a guest on his show. http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ejs-sports-rap-podcast/earnestly-speaking-radio-show/e/matthew-mcqueeny-49175445 (Also referenced in Sections III and XIV).
VIII. Podcast Series
Malcolm Gladwell’s “Revisionist History” (Season 1: 10 episodes) *AMONG MY TOP 5* http://revisionisthistory.com/. I cannot wait for Gladwell’s Season II to come out. He had 10 episodes in season one each episode running 45 minutes long and tying really well together. Really tremendous job by Gladwell. (Refer to Section III & XIII for review of Episode 9 of his show, link also here http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/09-generous-orthodoxy).
Freakonomics Radio http://freakonomics.com/archive/. For quality production alone, this podcast is an A++. For uniqueness of episodes, it’s an A+. For an over-all amazing podcast and product, I wish I had more hours in the day to devote more time and listen to more episodes they produce. I loved the Freakonomics books, and I am so appreciative of what they do in the written world and the audio world. (Refer to sections III, IV, XII, XIII and XIV for a review of two of their episodes, links also here http://freakonomics.com/podcast/u-s-presidency-become-dictatorship/ & http://freakonomics.com/podcast/this-is-your-brain-on-podcasts/).
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History http://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/. Carlin is a fascinating human-being who devotes a lot of time to creating a kick-ass product. Each time Carlin comes out with a series it’s like an audio book. So many topics he has covered. One minus with this podcast is that after one of this series has been for free on iTunes for some time (like a year or two) he charges you to download it. Obviously he’s pretty darn good if he can archive his stuff and charge you for accessing it. But, don’t worry if you are cheap and don’t want to buy there is hours and hours and hours of free content available.
Reliable Sources: Toobin Talking OJ (10 episode series) http://rss.cnn.com/services/podcasting/pvo/rss. When the people v. OJ Simpson American Crime Story came out in the spring of 2016, I actually did not want to watch it. I was still pissed that the OJ Care Chase bumped the Knicks v. Rockets 1994 Finals Game 5 off of the Television. But, my wife implored me to watch it, and I heard Cuba Gooding Jr. interviewed by Colin Cowherd, and I gave it a shot. Well, that became one of my favorite shows, where I ended up buying and reading Jeffrey Toobin’s book “The people v OJ” and I still needed more, so I found this podcast series which analyzed each of the 10 episode series of the American Crime Story.
IX. Political Podcasts:
Ezra Klein Show *AMONG MY TOP 5* https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show. His podcast has taught me so much about policy and politics. He has gotten some really remarkable guests a number of whom I mentioned in this post from best-selling author Ta-Nehisi Coates, DEMOS the public policy group President Heather McGhee and Evelyn Farkas the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Obama administration (2012-2015) for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia ( guests & links also referenced in Sections III, IV, XIII & XIV).
Ezra Klein also co-hosts “The Weeds” *AMONG MY TOP 5*. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/voxs-the-weeds which goes even deeper into policy with Sarah Kliff and Matthew Yglesias two of the feature writers on www.vox.com. One of my favorite episodes they ever done by them was when Ezra and Sarah interviewed President Obama on the State of “Obama-Care” just a few short weeks before Obama left office. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7eqoL18zwg. (Also referenced in Section III & XIII).
David Axelrod http://rss.cnn.com/services/podcasting/axe/rss. The former Chief Strategist for President Obama has a really tremendous podcast. One that I can’t always keep up with, but he brings out such prolific guests from both sides of the aisle, along with some notable sports figures who dabble in politics too. I loved his episode with Bill Walton as well and enjoyed his episode with George W. Bush Master-Mind “Karl Rove”. There’s also the episode with Jon Stewart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da5VYSPsoE0, which is also referenced in Sections III and XIV.
Pod Save America https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/pod-save-america. I was really into this show when it was on The Ringer Podcast Network and was then called Keepinit1600. https://soundcloud.com/keepinit1600. I consider it the political podcast of choice for your “Progressive Frat Boy” who wants to be kept up on current political news in a fresh insightful, and incisive way.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/tag/politics-podcast/ Nate Silver and company’s podcast. Really good stuff here. I was listening to this podcast religiously prior to the 2016 election. I learned a lot from these guys here, but given so much audio content out there, unfortunately I no longer subscribe to this or Pod Save America.
There is so much political stuff out there. You could literally download Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now https://www.democracynow.org/pages/help/podcasting .
You could also download Rachel Maddow’s show onto a podcast. http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/msnbc-rachel-maddow-audio .
Even "Real Time with Bill Maher" could go into a podcast. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/real-time-with-bill-maher-49758.
Chuck Todd even has a podcast to compliment his show “Meet the Press” -“1947: Meet the Press Podcast” http://meetthepress1947.nbcnews.libsynpro.com/.
So much good content out there. And for the record here was a popular conservative podcast that played well prior to the 2016 election http://radiofreegop.com/. One of the few conservative voices that went hard against Trump. (I believe this podcast is now defunct).
X. Sports Podcasts
Colin Cowherd *AMONG MY TOP 5* http://foxsportsradio.iheart.com/media/podcast-the-herd-with-colin-cowherd-The_Herd_Hours/. It’s really his radio show sliced down into a daily 45 minute podcast. I do not listen to it regularly, but every day Cowherd has at least one segment that I believe is worth listening to. In a way I have cheated on this one because some weeks I skip his show all together and I just catch his top-5 1-2minute clips on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheHerd/.
But, when something really big happened, I want to hear what Cowherd has to say, like the day after the 2016 Presidential Election https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw2myvtbISw (also referenced in Section IX & X of this post).
Zach Lowe “The Lowe Post” http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/10528553. This is my NBA news source or choice (2nd to Bill Simmons). I don’t listen to Zach Lowe as frequently as before, but I appreciate what he puts out.
“Duncd on Podcast” https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/duncd-on-basketball. I really enjoyed the breakdown during last year’s 2016 NBA playoffs. These guys geek out on Pro Basketball big time, and cover so much. I don’t listen to it too much anymore however, but maybe I’ll check out some of their episodes when the playoffs roll around again.
Jalen and Jacoby http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/9545077. I enjoyed this one for a bit. They got so big they have become a nationally syndicated radio show that comes on daily. If you want a fresh take on all things sports, with cool pop-culture references, this is a show for you.
There’s a lot of amazing sports content out there. I’d suggest for those interested to give Bomani Jones a look up http://www.bomanijones.com/podcasts/ and also tune in to Dan Le BaTard http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/9941853 as well. A man who has some really fresh takes and really showed his bonafide credentials as a champion of immigrants in a recent segment on a show of his a few weeks ago http://www.businessinsider.com/dan-le-batard-rips-espn-trump-immigration-ban-sage-steele-instagram-2017-1.
For an NFL/Football Podcast, look up The Ringer NFL Podcast, they often have some pretty interesting episodes https://soundcloud.com/ringernflshow.
XI: 10 other cool podcasts I have come across/Links List
“2 Dope Queens” featuring Jessica Williams from "The Daily Show". http://www.wnyc.org/shows/dopequeens/play=591992&gclid=Cj0KEQiAlsrFBRCAxcCB54XElLEBEiQA_ei0DDq8Gy44ifnAt8jt_2cQ2NU8EdWSbZnTvBKcO1WsMNYaAo1X8P8HAQ
2."Bodega Boys" 2 Dudes from the Bronx commenting on life and culture. https://soundcloud.com/bodega-sushi
3. “Marc Marron”, another popular long-form podcaster. http://www.wtfpod.com/
4) “Motley fool Money” an interesting & engaging weekly show (approx. 30min long) on the stock market in America. https://www.fool.com/podcasts/motley-fool-money
5) “Ted Talks” in Audio! http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510298/ted-radio-hour
6) “This American Life”, quite possibly the most popular podcast happening in America! https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast
7) “Startup Podcast”, an inspiration for anyone launching their own startup. https://gimletmedia.com/startup/
8) “Radio-Lab,” I have not listened to any of their episodes yet, but I have heard such great reviews I have to include them here. http://www.radiolab.org/series/podcasts/
9) “The Nerdist Podcast Network”, another great podcast outlet. http://nerdist.com/podcasts/nerdist-podcast-channel/
10) “Jonah Keri” the baseball writer, has an interesting sports and pop culture podcast. http://nerdist.com/podcasts/jonah-keri-podcast/
XII. Your Brain on Podcasts
"Neuroscientists still have a great deal to learn about the human brain. One recent MRI study sheds some light, finding that a certain kind of storytelling stimulates enormous activity across broad swaths of the brain. The takeaway is obvious: you should be listening to even more podcasts" – Stephen Dubner. http://freakonomics.com/podcast/this-is-your-brain-on-podcasts/
“Listening to music may make the daily commute tolerable, but streaming a story through the headphones can make it disappear. You were home; now you’re at your desk: What happened? Storytelling happened, and now scientists have mapped the experience of listening to podcasts”-Benedict Carey. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/29/science/this-is-your-brain-on-podcasts.html
XIII. Explanation/Summary of Top 12 Episodes
1- https://soundcloud.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/ep-174-kevin-durant . Already lauded as one of the best podcast episodes of the past number of years, it was remarkable! It turned me back into a Kevin Durant fan (kind of) after he left the OKC Thunder unceremoniously to go to the Golden State Warriors. Durant’s honesty and candidness was awesome! One big take-away for me was when Durant said that going from having nothing to being a millionaire at 19, was quite the adjustment. I mean “DUH!!” But how many celebrities actually admit to this?
2- http://tim.blog/2015/12/06/jamie-foxx/ . Tim Ferriss calls this one his “The Sugar pill” episode. He’s right. If I want to hook someone on Ferriss, I suggest this one. Jaime Foxx is an amazing interview, and Ferriss is among the best interviewers out there. (Need I say more?)
3- http://tim.blog/2016/05/22/sebastian-junger/ . If you have ever done any type of over-seas service (be it military and/or peace corps), I can’t recommend this episode highly enough. Junger talks at length about America’s need to re-establish community and help heal our brave military veterans after they come back from combat.
4- http://tim.blog/2015/08/18/the-evolutionary-angel-naval-ravikant/ . An episode for all of you book-lovers out there! This episode was the first time I heard about “Sapiens” or “Influence”, two books I got instantly off of Amazon after hearing this interview. I felt like I was in the most fascinating history lecture in college, but it was better than that!
5- http://www.vox.com/conversations/2016/12/19/13952578/ta-nehisi-coates-ezra-klein. What is it like being a “Best-Selling Author” for a book that had an intended audience for African Americans? Well, you have to listen to the interview to find out.
6- http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/6/14182458/obama-interview-obamacare-health-vox . Here is the episode where President Obama went at length to explain why he thinks Obama-Care will remain intact. So far his prediction looks like it just might hold up (fingers crossed, praying every day that Millions of Americans don’t lose their health care due to Republicans shortsightedness/greed or Trump “F*ck-Boyness”).
7- http://podcast.cnn.com/theaxefilesdavidaxelrod/episode/all/50Eq77MigjcfUg/rofqs4.html . The election is over, but this interview was still utterly fascinating. David Axelrod is as smart as they come, and Jon Stewart still ran circles around him. Incredible!
8- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw2myvtbISw. Colin Cowherd would be a political pundit if he wasn’t a sports-caster. He always has an interesting take. And the first 10 minutes of his show talking about the (tragic) election results of 2016, was about as good as he gets!
9- http://www.matthewmcqueeny.com/2016/09/187-nunyo-demasio.html. What’s it like for a previously obscure sports-writer to land the book-deal of a lifetime? Or how about how a once obscure basketball staffer for the NJ Nets can say something innocuous and off-hand, and sports journalists will laud it as “insider information”. This episode has that and so much more!!
10- http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ejs-sports-rap-podcast/earnestly-speaking-radio-show/e/matthew-mcqueeny-49175445. The latest addition to my top-podcasts! If you want to know what it’s like to launch a podcast, and the fear and trepidation that is often involved in it, yet see what courage under pressure looks like, listen to this one! It’s an honor to call Matthew and Earnest both personal friends of mine. And to be a fly in the wall for their conversation was such a privilege.
11- http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/09-generous-orthodoxy . Generous Orthodoxy is when a Christian Pastor conducts the wedding for his gay son because the love he has for his son means more to him than any biblical text or any amount of shame his “former” congregation can throw at him. Incredibly profound episode!
12- http://freakonomics.com/podcast/u-s-presidency-become-dictatorship/. If you want to geek out on how much power the President actually has, and learn about the mechanics of the Executive Branch, this is it!
XIV: Explanation/Summary of the 10 other episodes I’d suggest
1- http://freakonomics.com/podcast/this-is-your-brain-on-podcasts/. Go to Section XII for commentary on this episode.
2- http://podbay.fm/show/360084272/e/1476411225?autostart=1. Did you know Jesse Ventura had a beef with the American Sniper guy? I didn’t either. For that alone it was worth the listen. Aside from the fact that Ventura is in favor of legalizing marijuana or that he’s just a thoughtful and engaging guy.
3- http://jockopodcast2.com/2016/11/23/50-with-tim-ferriss-darkness-how-to-stay-on-the-path-last-days-of-life-what-to-do-back-up-plans-misconceptions/. Jocko interviewing Tim Ferriss was fascinating. They spoke a lot about the human-condition, and essentially embracing our dark-side as people, as opposed to trying to avoid it. There was a whole segment of this episode where Ferriss and Willink went at length discussing what drives people to contemplate and even commit suicide. It was some heavy stuff.
4- http://tim.blog/2015/07/28/jane-mcgonigal/. Video Games can help combat PTSD. Video Games can help combat PTSD! Have a listen and find out why.
5- http://tim.blog/2016/03/11/the-interview-master-cal-fussman-and-the-power-of-listening/. Commentary combined here with # 6.
6- http://tim.blog/2016/08/31/cal-fussman-the-master-storyteller-returns/. Cal Fussman a master story teller! Wow! What a fascinating man. I almost think I liked the 2nd interview better than the first. But, just google Cal Fussman if you don’t know about him. Better yet, just take my word for it and listen to these two episodes.
7- http://tim.blog/2016/12/13/ezra-klein/. I loved this episode for the fact that Tim Ferriss was getting a tutorial by Ezra Klein in Political Science 101. I appreciated Ferriss’s candidness in admitting not only his ignorance, but his incredibly strong aversion to politics.
8- http://www.vox.com/2016/6/29/12055272/demos-heather-mcghee-trump . After listening to this episode, I felt optimistic and hopeful about our Democracy and the diversity of our country. Of course this was pre-election talk. Heather McGhee was on this show again shortly after the 2016 election (12/01/2016), and it wasn’t quite as sunny of a conversation, but still quite good http://www.demos.org/audio/heather-mcghee-ezra-klein-show.
9- http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/panoply/the-ezra-klein-show/e/evelyn-farkas-explains-the-crisis-in-syria-and-the-threat-of-48651896. A fascinating episode on Geo-politics, this time with Evelyn Farkas former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Obama Administration for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia (2012-2015). I learned a lot about how Brexit happened, the consequences of Obama’s “Bright red line” remark in regards to Syria, and the over-all view of what to be concerned about internationally as the Trump Presidency gets under way.
10- http://podcast.cnn.com/the-axe-files-david-axelrod/episode/all/J0Rl5qRsbAg07r/g6g264.html . Remember The Iraq War? GW Bush’s epic crusade in the spring of 2002. Yeah…that one. Well, this episode brought me back to that time, and as Zakaria noted, he too supported the war initially, and he also said it was the biggest mistake of his career. Really just a fascinating episode on America’s Geo-Political present and its’ future.
V. Conclusion:
All in all I mentioned thirty-nine different podcasts in this piece. I currently subscribe to 17 of the 39 podcasts mentioned (and have a select few episodes from 3 other podcasts). I cannot even keep up with all of the ones I’m subscribed to, but I enjoy them coming up anew when I download episodes (almost like a FB newsfeed). I hope this piece provided some insight for you in regards to what podcasts you might want to delve into or even just check out.
Thanks for reading!
-JPJ