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Podcast Recommendations

Joe Thompson

As a result of Coronavirus the current recommendations from many governments is social distancing and/or total self isolation. These are two things I’m so good at I haven’t actually noticed any difference yet (I’m only half kidding), and one of the things that I’ve found to be a far more convenient replacement for real interactions is podcasts. So for those of you who have suddenly become hermits without wishing to be, here are my recommendations:

Top 5

And broken down into categories:

Pottery



Comedy (Mostly UK Based)

  • Off Menu - Comedians James Acaster and Ed Gamble talk to (mostly British) celebrities and comedians about food. Very funny, especially if you like James and Ed’s style of comedy.

  • Shagged Married Annoyed - Chris and Rosie Ramsey chat about everything (lots of discussions about bodily functions, so not child friendly) with questions and stories from the public. Worth starting at the start as there are a lot of meta jokes later on.

  • The Adam Buxton Podcast - Follows far more of a conventional interview format, but without taking itself too seriously. Highlights are the episodes with Joe Cornish and Louis Theroux as the three of them are friends from school, but they’re all good.

  • No Such Thing As A Fish - QI elves discuss their favourite facts from the last week. A similar mix of interesting facts and humour to the TV show.



Business

  • Letters from a Hopeful Creative - Letters From A Hopeful Creative is a fortnightly podcast brought to you by Sara Tasker and Jen Carrington. In each episode they answer a letter from a hopeful creative who is looking for some guidance, support, and encouragement in their journey, and share some of the lessons they have learned along the way as creative coaches and online business owners.

  • There are Other Ways - A weekly podcast for people brave enough to explore a less well-trodden path in life. Each episode I have a conversation with someone who is living life a little differently, and offer support, insight and inspiration for listeners who are keen to do the same.

  • Hashtag Authentic - Hashtag Authentic is a weekly podcast exploring the secrets to online success for dreamers, makers and creatives. With practical tips and inspiring stories, Sara Tasker of 'Me & Orla' (Instagram: @me_and_orla) guides you through the lessons and strategies she used to grow her 300k+ audience and six-figure business online.

  • Grow With Soul - Grow With Soul is the podcast for creative business owners and dreamers who want to grow soulfully, sustainably and slowly in their work and life.



Psychology/Human Interest

  • The Hidden Brain - Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.

  • Where Should We Begin - Step into iconic couples therapist Esther Perel's office and listen as real couples anonymously bare the raw, intimate, and profound details of their story

  • The Happiness Lab - Yale professor Dr Laurie Santos will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will forever alter the way you think about happiness.

  • Honestly Podcast - From sex lives to salaries, gender to race - influencer, powerhouse and curator of hugely popular 'Mother Of All Lists' blog Clemmie Telford releases her first podcast that refreshingly tackles issues that we, as a society, often shy away from.

  • How To Fail - How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is a podcast that celebrates the things that haven’t gone right. Every week, a new interviewee explores what their failures taught them about how to succeed better.



Factual

  • Reply All - Despite the name, ‘Reply All’ isn’t a podcast about technology — it’s a podcast that tells gorgeous, painfully human stories that happen to have bits of technology sprinkled in.

  • Stuff You Should Know - Join Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant as they get to the bottom of odd questions, like how Twinkies work and if zombies exist.

  • Beyond Today - Beyond Today is the daily podcast from Radio 4 that asks one big question about one big story in the news - and beyond

  • Radiolab - A radio show and podcast weaving stories and science into sound and music-rich documentaries.

  • More Or Less - Tim Harford and the More or Less team try to make sense of the statistics which surround us

  • 99% Invisible - Design is everywhere in our lives, perhaps most importantly in the places where we've just stopped noticing. 99% Invisible is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture.

  • 50 Things That Made The Modern Economy - Tim Harford tells the fascinating stories of inventions, ideas and innovations which have helped create the economic world.

  • Cautionary Tales - Stories of human error, of tragic catastrophes and hilarious fiascos. Oil tankers crash in broad daylight, vital military ideas are carelessly given away to the Nazis, and a shouty man in a uniform pulls off an audacious heist. Alongside the drama, each story has a moral that emerges from psychology, economics, even design. Each story will make you wiser.

  • Revisionist History - Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell's journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past



Top Suggestions from Instagram (bracketed number is total votes for them):

  • My Favourite Murder (6)

  • Ologies (4)

  • This American Life (3)

  • Serial (3)

  • Crime Junkies (3)

  • The Adventure Zone (3)

  • Welcome to Night Vale (3)

  • Critical Role (2)

  • Sawbones (2)

  • Armchair Expert (2)

  • Criminal (2)

  • Every Little Thing (2)

  • The Anthropocene Reviewed (2)

  • You’re Wrong About (2)

  • My Brother, My Brother and Me (2)

  • Conan Needs a Friend (2)

  • All Killa No Filla (2)

  • S Town (2)



All suggestions from Instagram. There are so many here that it might just be worth picking one at random and giving it a go. They all come recommended by at least one person

  • The Leviathan Chronicals

  • Tracks

  • Desert Island Discs

  • Passenger List

  • Serial

  • My Brother, My Brother and Me

  • The Adventure Zone

  • Critical Role

  • Thinking Sideways

  • Sawbones

  • Shameless

  • Armchair Expert

  • The British History Podcast

  • Criminal

  • Every Little Thing

  • The Anthropocene Reviewed

  • Marie Forleo

  • Gastropod

  • Urgent Care

  • Comedy Bang Bang

  • Chillout

  • BryanReevesInsight

  • Crowdscience

  • You’re Wrong About

  • My Favourite Murder

  • Dateline

  • Crime Beat

  • Dirtbag Diaries

  • Lore

  • HMH

  • Cabinet of Curiosity

  • Rabbits

  • True Crime Garbage

  • Crime Junkies

  • The Moth

  • Ologies

  • Conan Needs a Friend

  • I Got One

  • My Dad Wrote a Porno

  • Last Podcast on the Left

  • Super Soul Conversations

  • Your Mom’s House

  • Greenhouse Rants

  • This Podcast Will Kill You

  • All Killa No Filla

  • Joe Rogan

  • Welcome to Night Vale

  • Three Point Perspective

  • Food Psych

  • Preston and Steve

  • Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me

  • S Town

  • Dungeoncast

  • Good Job Brain

  • Solve

  • Ed Mylett

  • Meat Eater

  • The Dollop

  • The Secret History of the Future

  • Lore by Aaron Mahnke

  • This American Life

  • The Spitballers

  • Office Ladies

  • Root of Evil

  • Stop Podcasting Yourself

  • Home of the Brave

  • Dope Labs

  • Family Secrets

  • Beautiful Stories

  • Ear Hustle

  • A Way With Words

  • Morbituaries

  • West Cork

  • Josephine Brooks - Make a Plan

  • Swindled

  • Business Wars

  • Potterless

  • The Gravy Train

  • Being Heard

  • You’re Dead to Me

  • Behind the Bastards

  • Invisibilia

  • Love + Radio

  • Snap Judgement

  • Under the Influence

  • Startalk

  • More Than One Thing


Any other suggestions? Add them in the comments, or let me know what you think of the suggestions above!