My Podcast Recommendations: If You’re Not Listening to These Podcasts, You Should Be
If you’re stuck at a desk job, taking a boring class or cleaning your room, you might want to give podcasts a try. I don’t think a lot of people in my generation listen to podcasts, but they seriously make mundane tasks more fun and are a great way to learn on the go. Here are a few great recommendations to get you started.
This American Life
The storytelling in this podcast is excellent. Every week they choose a theme and put stories together that relate to it. It tells stories about the tragic, hilarious and happy moments in people’s lives. If you are having a rough day and have some time to listen to their episode entitled “Fiasco!”, I guarantee you will be laughing by the end of it.
Revisionist History
This is Malcolm Gladwell's podcast that covers misunderstood and overlooked things in history. It is one of those things that can make you look at the world from a different perspective, and that’s priceless. There are episodes about the dragon-hoarding psychology of art museums, the story of FBI agents going undercover in a biker gang and why McDonald’s had to change their french fry recipe.
Fictional
If you like books, this one is for you. This podcast takes classic stories and creates original creative adaptations of them for audio. They’ve done episodes on everything from Sherlock Holmes to Shakespeare. The episodes usually range from 30-45 minutes.
Reply All
This is a really fun show about the internet. They have covered everything from hackers to memes. Even though it is described as a show about the internet, it is really more about people and how the internet has impacted them. I would highly recommend their “Yes Yes No” segment which is pretty hilarious and also helpful at navigating the confusing world of Twitter.
Crime Junkies
I have to mention a true-crime podcast seeing as how it is one of the most popular genres. I personally don't have the stomach for them, but a friend recommended this one to me, and I gave it a listen, and it’s pretty good. They cover a wide variety of true crimes, mostly focusing on cold cases to bring more public awareness about them, increasing the likelihood they will be solved.
Streetlights
This isn’t technically a podcast; it’s an audio Bible. But wait, it’s not like other audio Bibles. They did something truly innovative in their recording: the narrator actually sounds human. Yes, that’s right, the Bible is read with emotion and emphasis. Plus, Streetlights adds music in the background fitting with the tone of the passages. They have recorded all of the New Testament and are working on releasing the Old Testament. The books are available in both Spanish and English. Whether you're getting ready in the morning or going on a run, Streetlights is a great way to spend some time in God’s word. I would recommend starting with Romans. You can find these recordings online or in the Streetlights app.
Sierra Lastine is a sophomore
English literature major from
Grand Junction, Colo.