PODCASTS TO SHARE || January 22, 2020

I have a friend with whom I am constantly trading podcasts and it’s the bomb. It’s like a millennial book club (we share actual book recs too, because duh) and since we’re into a lot of the same kind of stuff, it’s the perfect funnel for hearing about every podcast I missed. Use your resources, you know?

But you know what I was thinking would be even cooler? A bigger funnel. More people, more recommendations, more feelers in the podcast world, reaching and grabbing and dishing great episodes.

So I’m going to start. Here’s what I’ve been obsessed with this month, but I give with full expectations to receive. What’s on your playlist right now? What podcasts are you loving?

So, I’ve been following the A Beautiful Mess blog for a handful of years now, and these chicks already had me hooked. When they launched their podcast late last fall, I was all in. If you’re into home renovation and female entrepreneurship, that seems to be two main themes and they definitely know a lot in these fields. They talk about a lot of other stuff too, from motherhood and adoption to building an AirBNB empire so it’s kind of what a lifestyle blog would sound like if it actually talked.

ABM on Spotify
Episodes to start with: Our App Story || New Year's Goals

Okay, I’m admittedly late to the party. Everytime I peruse podcasts on Spotify, this one pops up as a recommendation, and mostly I’ve just shrugged it off with like, an eyeroll. I’m not into Dax Shepard, whatever, scroll, next.

I TAKE IT BACK. I started rewatching Mad Men a few weeks ago and there was a January Jones (Betty Draper) episode of Armchair that I decided to give a listen to because I’m into her right now. And I’m hooked. You guys, Dax Shepard is a really great, humanizing interviewer. He doesn’t pander to his guests which is so nice and so rare. You know how sometimes in some interviews, the guest is just totally obnoxious and the interviewer rolls with it? I mean, I guess there’s a time and a place, but it doesn’t feel like an authentic conversation, right? Dax doesn’t do that, but it never feels like a conflict or uncomfortable. Just really sincere conversations with interesting folks.

Armchair Expert on Spotify
Episodes to start with: Jim Jefferies || January Jones (I had to)

 

Red Alert: This is definitely a niche podcast. If you didn’t obsessively read The Babysitters Club books when you were a pre-teen, this might not be your thing. But if you did, and you can still remember the girls (I’m a Mary Anne), you’ll be so into it.

So to back up, the hosts, Tanner and Jack, are a.) men and b.) in their 30’s. So that’s unexpected, right? Well, Jack read the books when he was a kid. He blames his cousin, but obviously he was into it, so whatever. And then Tanner is reading through the books for the first time now, as a grown man. Both are Buzzfeed editors / presumably co-workers turned friends so the commentary is exactly what you’d expect from anything coming out of Buzzfeed. Each episode is a book discussion on a singular book (going right in order) and basically I just laugh and laugh for an hour while they discuss the merits of Claudia’s outfit and how Kristy is “insubordinate”. It's light and funny, but often veers into the surprisingly smart. I’ve considered re-reading a book or two just to see how differently my adult brain processes the series.

The BSCC on Spotify
Just start at the beginning: Kristy's Great Idea

I started following the Career Contessa on Instagram maybe three months ago and basically it’s just really great career advice for young (in my case, ish) women covering everything from how to ask for a raise to how to pivot into a totally different industry. So you know, pretty wide spectrum that’s probably important for everyone woman to know, regardless of where she is in her career.

The podcast is along the same lines, but there’s some interesting guests with career paths and expertises that I would otherwise not be likely to run into in my normal life. And it’s not all famous people. It’s authors, it’s researchers, and my favorite, former NPR hosts. Even if you’re not looking to make changes in your work life, its engaging and inspiring.

The Femails on Spotify
Episodes to start with: Quitting Your Job with No Plan B || I Want to be Rich -- And I’m Not Sorry || I Saved 100k in 3.5 Years on a 54k Salary -- Here’s How.

So now lets talk politics, but I promise we won’t fight because this podcast is not about how you feel about politics. It’s just the factual play by play of two of the biggest political scandals in modern times.

Season 1: Watergate 
I was not living when this happened, so basically I knew nothing about it beyond that two minute snippet in Forest Gump. I mean, I’d heard of it, but didn’t know a thing about it. This season details the scandal from start to finish and I feel totally qualified to talk about it in an informed way. It’s also interesting to see how many Nixon apologists there were even when it was clear that the president was a criminal. I guess hindsight is 20/20, but it definitely gives some perspective to the way people fall all over themselves loving Trump. For some folks, criminal activity doesn’t necessarily mean that a president isn’t good at the job they hired him for. Which is, you know, disconcerting.

Season 2: The Clinton/Lewinsky Affair
Okay, I actually listened to this season first and that’s what hooked me. I was alive when this happened, but not quite 10 years old and mostly oblivious to the details at the time. Finally understanding the minute details of a story I’ve always kind of known was a true delight. Obviously Monica and Bill don’t interview in this podcast, but that snake Linda Tripp does and man, what a piece of work.

Slow Burn on Spotify
Season 1, Episode 1: Martha
Season 2, Episode 1: Deal or No Deal

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So there we go! Everything I’ve been consuming for the last several weeks. So….watcha got? What have you been listening to?