10 Podcasts (x3) to Listen to in 2018

PODCASTS! I can't get enough of them! It has only been about a year since I started listening and I am back with 10 more of my favorites! Making that 30 total podcasts. 4 Months ago, I released 10 More Podcasts You Should Listen to Today. About 6 months before that, in April of 2017, I wrote a post called, "Top 10 Podcasts To Listen To Today".

Both of these posts were all about my suggestions of the best podcasts I had been listening to. I have received suggestions from friends and I still continue to drive around, so here are my 10 favorite podcasts I have been listening to lately. Don't forget to check out 1-10 and 11-20! Now it is time to listen.

Update: Check out the fourth installment from October 2018

Update #2: Check out the newest 20 at Let’s Talk Podcasts #6 and Singular Story #5

10. KEXP Song of the Day 

"KEXP's Song of the Day podcast features exclusive in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent musicians that KEXP thinks listeners should hear along with songs from more well-known artists."

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Seattle radio station KEXP releases a new song every Monday thru Friday. A great way to listen to new music and hear some new sounds. The genres of music vary week by week, from all around the world. KEXP also has a fantastic Youtube channel with tons of live performances. This is where I initially found out about this station. Check out one of my favorites of theirs lately. Deer Tick in the studio!

9.  Spooked

"Spooked features true-life supernatural stories, told firsthand by people who can barely believe it happened themselves. Be afraid. Created in the dark of night, by Snap Judgment and WNYC Studios. "

Real stories from real people, Spooked has it's good episodes and it's great episodes. Some of the stories from across the globe will give you goosebumps. Highly suggest to listen during the night, especially on a drive home or when around the house. Each episode is a stand alone story and there are only 13 episodes out from season 1 right now, so go get spooked! 

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8. Dirty John

"Debra Newell is a successful interior designer. She meets John Meehan, a handsome man who seems to check all the boxes: attentive, available, just back from a year in Iraq with Doctors Without Borders. But her family doesn't like John, and they get entangled in an increasingly complex web of love, deception, forgiveness."

A six episode, true crime podcast series written by Christopher Goffard of the LA Times. It was initially a true crime story in the LA Times about a deceitful man who goes by the name of Dirty John. I didn't realize it until looking it up halfway through the podcast, but it is based on a true story. You can't trust just anyone. Fantastic story telling with thrilling scenes and descriptions. If you are in to crime story telling or crime podcasts, give it a listen. Plus, it's only 6 episodes, so go for it!

7. 30 for 30 Podcasts

"Original sports audio documentaries and more from the makers of the acclaimed 30 for 30 series by ESPN."

I am a big fan of the short film series 30 for 30 by ESPN. While not as good as the short films, the audio spin of these sports stories are a intriguing listen. I recommend checking out some of the stories, as there are currently only 2 seasons with 4 episodes each, so skim through and see which episode interest you most. Maybe you will find one of the stories that is close to home for me, the Lights at Wrigley. 

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6. Planet Money

"The economy, explained, with stories and surprises. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, "Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy." Now imagine that's actually a fun evening. That's what we're going for at Planet Money. "

NPR goes in to discuss current events and things that effect the market with Planet Money. The economy and money all based around stories and events. Since I am trying to stay hip to the financial market and learn a little bit more about investing and budgeting, I have been enjoying this economic podcast. Episodes are stand alone, only about 20 minutes, and happen 2-3 times a week usually, check one out! 

5. What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law

"Professor Elizabeth Joh teaches Intro to Constitutional Law and most of the time this is a pretty straight forward job. But with Trump in office, everything has changed. Five minutes before class Professor Joh checks Twitter to find out what the 45th President has said and how it jibes with 200 years of the judicial branch interpreting and ruling on the Constitution. Hosted by acclaimed podcaster Roman Mars, this show is a weekly, fun, casual Con Law 101 class that uses the tumultuous and erratic activities of the executive branch under Trump to teach us all about the US Constitution."

A Radiotopia podcast by the creator & host of my favorite podcast ever, 99% invisible, Roman Mars. What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law discusses things that Trump has been doing and how it can teach us about the constitution of the USA. They are only 18 episodes in, and each covers a different amendment or constitutional article. If you are you like me and can't stand what Trump is doing, maybe this podcast can help you understand what he can and can't do.

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4. Atlanta Monster

"From the producers of Up and Vanished, Tenderfoot TV and HowStuffWorks present, ‘Atlanta Monster.’ This true crime podcast tells the story of one of the city’s darkest secrets, The Atlanta Child Murders. Nearly 40 years after these horrific crimes, many questions still remain. Host Payne Lindsey aims to find truth and provide closure, reexamining the disappearance and murder of over 25 African American children and young adults."

This new podcast is by the creator of Up and Vanished and former Youtube (Right Side of the Tree) star, Payne Lindsey. Atlanta Monster is a crime/mystery podcast that goes into detail about the 25 missing children of Atlanta during the early 1980s. It's story telling and Stranger Things-esque music has kept me drawn in during the first 7 episodes that are out so far. Be sure to listen starting at episode one since it goes in chronological order. 

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3. More Perfect

"Supreme Court decisions shape everything from marriage and money to public safety and sex. We know these are very important decisions we should all pay attention to – but they often feel untouchable and even unknowable. Radiolab's first ever spin-off series, More Perfect, connects you to the decisions made inside the court's hallowed halls, and explains what those rulings mean for "we the people" who exist far from the bench. More Perfect bypasses the wonkiness and tells stories behind some of the court’s biggest rulings."

"The Honorable, the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States and this Honorable Court!" This kind of stuff was so boring to me when I was reading a textbook back in middle and high school. But now that I am an adult and I can see how it all shaped the history of the USA, it is pretty darn interesting. More Perfect, hosted by Jad Abumrad, is a podcast all about the supreme court and the cases that helped shape the United States of America. Each of the 19 episodes is stand alone, although they do reference older episodes sometimes, but feel free to pickup wherever you like. Shoutout to John for showing me this one.

2. Showcase

"Showcase, from PRX's Radiotopia, features original series of all stripes, from emerging and leading producers around the world. "

Showcase is currently on the third season. Each season is 7 episodes about that are based aroudn a specific topic. My favorite season had to be season two. If you are at all into old arcade games, or mysteries, I suggest you start there. Season two is the story of the Polybius Conspiracy, an urban legend surrounding an arcade machine in Portland, Oregon where children supposedly were abducted. Season one, Ways of Hearing, is also very unique and insightful. It discusses all the different ways that humans hear and how audio has changed over the years.  The current season, number three, is about Secrets. "The secrets we keep in our lives, and the overwhelming complexity of being human." These episodes need to be listened to chronologically by season, however, the seasons do not connect. Enjoy!

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1. Serial Killers

"Every Monday, Serial Killers takes a psychological and entertaining approach to provide a rare glimpse into the mind, methods and madness of the most notorious serial killers with the hopes of better understanding their psychological profile. With the help of real recordings and voice actors, we delve deep into their lives and stories."

And my number one podcast that I have been listening to as of late 2017 and early 2018 is.... Serial Killers. Creepy, I know. This podcast, as the title states, takes a deep dive into serial killers. Each killer gets two episodes about him/her. No need to go in chronological order, just look up one of the 25 killers they have covered, and give it a listen. They have covered killers from Jack the Ripper, to Ted Bundy, to the Zodiac Killer, and even the man who almost took my dad when he was a kid, John Wayne Gacy (Haven't heard the story? Ask him about it some time!) It's kind of weird I am in to this stuff, and I know that many people are not, but I find the psychological aspects fascinating. Some of the material is definitely disturbing, but if anything, I am learning how to not raise my kids to be a killer! 

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On top of Serial Killers, if you haven't checked it out on Netflix yet, I highly suggest Mindhunter, which goes into how the term serial killer was coined. 

Hopefully you can take some time out of your busy life to listen to these podcasts. Remember podcasts are FREE! So download on itunes, listen on their websites (links provided above) or be like me and use the Podcast app on your phone.

That brings the total to 30 great podcasts that I listen on the daily. Remember, if you haven't already seen, check out my first 10 podcasts to listen to: Top 10 Podcasts To Listen To Today, or check out 10 More Podcasts You Should Start Listening To (Fall 2017).

As always, let me know what you are listening to! What am I missing out on? Tell me in the comments! 

Get your headphones and get listening.

Josh

10 More Podcasts You Should Start Listening To (Fall 2017)

About 6 months ago, in April, I wrote a blog post called, "Top 10 Podcasts To Listen To Today". It was all about how I had just started this new hobby, and included my suggestions of the best podcasts I had been listening to. From that post, I received a few suggestions from friends and I still have been driving in my car just as much, so I began to listen to even more Podcasts. If you like podcasts just as much as me, do yourself a favor and read the first post before reading this one! Now get listening and read about 10 more podcasts to start listening to.

Update: Listen to 10 more podcasts I found interesting in early 2018!
Update #2: Check out the fourth installment from October 2018
Updated #3: Check out the newest 20 at Let’s Talk Podcasts #6 and Singular Story #5

10. Revisionist History
"Revisionist History is a new podcast from Malcolm Gladwell and Panoply Media. Each week for 10 weeks, Revisionist History will go back and reinterpret something from the past: an event, a person, an idea. Something overlooked. Something misunderstood."

Many of you may be familiar with the name Malcom Gladwell, as he is a famous author of the best-selling books Outliers, The Tipping Point, and Blink. Even though I think Malcom Gladwell is kind of a "know it all who thinks his opinion is always right," he makes some interesting points in this 2 season, 10 episode per season podcast. A lot of the topics covered in this podcast include racism, sports, rich vs poor, and even McDonald's! Now you only have twenty, 30 to 45 minute episodes to listen to, so get on it and start to question moments from history!

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9. Convicted
"In 1996 Richard Nicolas was accused of the murder of his two year old daughter. He was convicted and is now spending the rest of his natural life in prison. The thing is - what if he didn't do it?"

This new "serial-esque" podcast is only 11 full episodes and reminds me of two of the podcasts on my last list of 10 Podcasts to Listen to, "Serial" and "Up and Vanished." Serial in the sense that it is about trying to prove a man's innocence, and Up and Vanished because it is a new podcaster going at it for the first time. In fact, this was recorded in the closet of the author, Brooke Gittings. So if you liked Serial, you should enjoy this podcast, although it got somewhat repetitive at the end, I suggest you give it a try.

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8. Up First
"NPR's Up First is the news you need to start your day. The biggest stories and ideas — from politics to pop culture — in 10 minutes."

Don't have time to read a bunch of news articles or watch the news on TV like my parents? Try out this Monday-Friday podcast from NPR. Up First delivers the daily news in 10-13 minute segments that usually cover how dumb the President of the US is lately, all of the natural disasters that have been hitting the US, and other worldly news. I highly recommend for those who are fans of NPR.

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7. Hidden Brain
"Hidden Brain helps curious people understand the world – and themselves. Using science and storytelling, Hidden Brain reveals the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, the biases that shape our choices, and the triggers that direct the course of our relationships."

Another NPR podcast on the docket, no surprise here as they always are putting out great content. This podcast hosted by Shankar Vedantam really gets you thinking about certain trends and styles from a psychology and neurobiology standpoint. With most episodes coming in around 25 minutes every week, you'll be thinking and using your brain regularly.

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6. Sword and Scale
"Sword and Scale is an internet radio show and website covering the dark underworld of crime and the criminal justice system’s response to it.  The show features stories of murder, abduction, rape and even more bizarre forms of crime.  It’s the purest form of true-crime where nothing is off the table.  Everything from 911 calls to court testimony, interviews with victims and sometimes with perpetrators give listeners a 360 degree look at the entire story.  Told from the narrator’s point of view, Sword and Scale goes beyond the news clips and the sensationalist headlines to give listeners the whole story and deeper insight into the cases it covers than any other medium."

Shout out to Adam for getting me hooked on this podcast. These hour long episodes usually come every 2 weeks and never disappoint. Providing new stories of crime, mystery, and murder. Some episodes are definitely better than others, but my crime junky friends definitely need to give it a listen or two.

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5. Song Exploder
"Song Exploder is a podcast where musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made."

This is a super unique podcast that I came across over the past 6 months. It takes a song from a specific artist and breaks it down literally instrument by instrument, lyric by lyric. The latest post was about the song Sober by Lorde. This podcast is also released every 10-14 days and covers a wide variety of music genres. I highly suggest quality headphones for this one as sound quality is key! The best part about Song Exploder is that you hear all the reasoning and details behind the song straight from the source, the artists themselves. 

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4. Ear Hustle
"Ear Hustle brings you stories of life inside prison, shared and produced by those living it."

Ear Hustle is one of the coolest podcasts I've come across, as it takes you inside the walls of San Quentin State Prison in California. The podcast is produced almost entirely by inmates in the media lab there, although it always needs to be approved by the guards of course. It gives insight, knowledge, and fantastic stories about what goes on behind bars of a prison. Soon enough, you'll be waiting for every new informational episode every two weeks, just as I do. 

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3. S-Town
"S-Town is a new podcast from Serial and This American Life, hosted by Brian Reed, about a man named John who despises his Alabama town and decides to do something about it. He asks Brian to investigate the son of a wealthy family who’s allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. But then someone else ends up dead, and the search for the truth leads to a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure, and an unearthing of the mysteries of one man’s life."

Even though S-Town is only 7 episodes long, it was one of my favorite podcasts, episode to episode, I've listened to over the last few months. It is produced from the same people as Serial and This American Life. Both featured on my last blog about 10 podcasts to listen to. This podcast immediately caught my attention and covers the story of a man named John B. McLemore. He is definitely somewhat autistic, fixes clocks for a living, and is tired of the town he is living in, which he names Sh!t Town. Although I don't deal directly with the same issues John has, he makes many statements that epitomize the entirety of the US. This podcast was downloaded a record of 10 million times in 4 days on its release, so why not join the masses and give it a listen?

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2. Radiolab
"Radiolab is a show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience."

After a little bit of research, I discovered that Radiolab was started in New York in 2002 by a guy from a school I played in lacrosse back at Adrian, Oberlin College. Quite different from the 3 hour episodes that aired on the radio back in 2002, most episodes now are around 45 minutes and cover a variety of topics through stories, interviews, and experiments. There are pretty much an endless amount of episodes, so start listening to the fun today!

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1. Reply All
"Reply All features stories about how people shape the internet, and how the internet shapes people."

Coming in at number one right now is Reply All. Shoutout to Megan for introducing me to this hilarious podcast. This is one of the only podcasts that makes me laugh out loud almost every episode. Hosted by PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman, this Gimlet Podcast is focused on internet trendy stories and very nerdy. The regularly have a section called, "Yes, Yes, No" where they explain confusing and complex tweets which is super helpful to those of us who don't understand the internet slang of today. They also cover a variety of topics and often do some intense reporting/journaling on those topics. One of my favorite episodes I listened to recently (#102 & #103) was about investigating a scam call center in India, where Alex Goldman ends up going to India trying to uncover the scam they are running. If you like the internet, or want to know more about the things that go on there, check Reply All out, my number one podcast of the second half of 2017.

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Just as I stated the last time I made a post about podcasts, I hope that you can take some time to listen to these wonderful podcasts. Each production crew does an amazing job to make the stories unique and an enjoyable experience for their listeners. The best part about podcasts though... they are FREE! Just download them on itunes, listen on their website links which I provided above, or listen through a Podcast app on your phone like me.

I now have a collection of 20 great podcasts that I listen to regularly. And if you haven't already, check out my first 10 podcasts to listen to: Top 10 Podcasts To Listen To Today

Do you know of any other top notch podcasts that I didn't mention? Please don't be shy and let me know about them in the comments below!

Thanks for reading, and maybe listening.

Josh