The podcasts I listen to whenever I’m cooking.
Do you remember when podcasts suddenly became a thing and all you’d hear people talk about was their favorite podcasts?
Back then, I couldn’t stop wondering when exactly people made time to listen to podcasts.
Then, I started to cook lunches every day in the morning (probably my most popular New Year’s resolution I’ve managed to stick to) and realized that I enjoy cooking even more when I use the time to listen to podcasts.
Having been working on a podcast myself, I’ve been reflecting a lot on what I like and what I don’t like. I now know that, for me, a good podcast is:
Short – maximum of 25 minutes.
Well researched – I want to hear stories but also learn interesting details I can add to my conversation capital and talk about over breakfast.
With interesting audio “textures” – I like it when the sounds are mixed up, varied. I’m not a fan of unedited interviews and conversation podcasts. I want the story to be crisp, well-edited, and insightful.
As you can imagine, producing a podcast that ticks all these boxes is a challenge, which is why I’ve been taking so long to figure out how exactly I want my podcast to be.
Now that you know what I like and value about podcasts, here are the shows I listen to every morning:
NPR Planet Money
“Money makes the world go round,” they say, and there’s no better proof of it then the stories you get to hear on Planet Money. Who’d have thought a German man who wanted to save money impacted the spread of solar panels or that “Wiking Sperm” is a thing in the U.S.? Here are some of my favorite episodes:
NPR Indicator
In just 10 minutes, you’ll get compelling insights into the everyday lives of people around the world. It’s humbling and incredibly insightful. I highly recommend taking these 10 minutes every day. These three are my favorite episodes:
99% Invisible
Design is not just the beautification of things. It’s much more about how things work and how people relate to them. Listen to Roman Mars and his discoveries of the things that are often hidden in plain sight. Tune in to some of my favorite episodes:
What On Earth by HubBub
I found HubBub on Instagram and have always loved their hands-on tips on living a more sustainable, conscious life. Luckily, they also have a very insightful podcast where they look at the past, the present, and the future of different environmental topics of our everyday lives. Highly recommended! Start here:
I also sometimes listen to Hotel Matze (mostly when he’s talking to Philip Siefer), Heiliger Bimbam, The Tim Ferriss Show, and Together Apart by Priya Parker.
Isn’t the term “conversational capital” a funny one?
What are your favorite podcasts and why?
