Podcast Binge Results: My Favorite Episodes

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Scene: At home on a weekend afternoon. 

Me: Gathering the requisite canine-related items to take Schroeder out for a walk. I tell Jacob I'm taking Schroeder out. 

Jacob: "You just want to take Schroeder for a walk so you can listen to a podcast." 

OK, fine, that is true. But also to get steps. Last Thursday (albeit during my spring break) I reached 20,000 steps. I hadn't hit that milestone on FitBit since our visit to Japan last summer. 

Anyway, with all this podcast listening happening, I'd like to share some of my favorite episodes. The explosion of the podcast as a cultural medium has meant that it's fairly easy for just about anyone to make one. However, it's actually quite difficult to make an exceptionally good one. Perhaps I have just been listening to Terry Gross ask difficult questions for far too long. 

Disclaimer: This list excludes the most famous podcast of all time, Serial, because I haven't listened to it. Yet. The "yet" is actually a "maybe, yet," because I haven't convinced myself that I can sink 12+ hours into a story. Half an hour for pleasure, yes. But hours upon hours? I think that's where my resistance comes in. When I listen to a podcast, I feel strangely compelled to absorb information, knowledge, etc!! 

Here's my list! 

1. The New Yorker Fiction Podcast -- March 2015: Etgar Keret reads Donald Barthelme. I sound like a walking contradiction because this is, indeed, a story. But this podcast passes the "teach me something" test because of the way that Keret and fiction editor Deborah Triesman discuss Barthelme's story, "Chablis," which was published in the magazine in 1983. Also, it's a captivating story, one that held my attention while I walked Schroeder at an unspeakably early hour. 

2. Fresh Air -- March 18, 2015: Daniel Genis. Genis, the son of a Soviet emigre, was convicted of armed robbery back in 2003. He'd gotten addicted to heroin and held people up with a knife to get money to pay his dealer. While in prison, he read over a thousand books. Terry asked her characterisically difficult questions, such as something to the effect of: "You had relatives imprisoned in Soviet gulags. How did it feel to be incarcerated for armed robbery?" Genis has written many articles, including this one on sex in prison that the Woolly Mammoth Theatre referenced for their current show, Lights Rise on Grace, and has a book coming out soon. 

3. RadioLab -- Season 13, Episode 3: How Much Would You Pay For A Year Of Life? RadioLab reporters delve into the controversial buisness of drug pricing and interview both doctors and patients. Another, but weirder, RadioLab favorite is a recent episode called The Living Room. An accidental voyeur discovers something about herself as she peers into lives of neighbors without curtains. 

4. Death, Sex, & Money -- April 8, 2015: In Sickness and In Mental Health. I stumbled across this article via Twitter, quickly taking in the horrors that struck one woman as her husband watched and did his best to help. These people are courageous for sharing their experiences with the whole world. Amazing. 

5. StartUp -- October 2014: How To Name Your Company. Alex and Matt, co-owners of a new media company, tell the story of how they came up with their company's name. It might not sound thrilling, but Alex, a former public radio superstar, tells a story that is both entertaining and informative. 

6. Dear Sugar -- Episode 6: How Do I Survive The Critics? As usual, Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond answer a reader's question and delve deep into the issues that surround the question. This time, however, they invite on George Saunders as a guest. He explains how he faces criticism. Sidenote: Why do people criticize him? I kept wondering how he could feel so confident and composed when dealing with nasty or critical feedback. (I tend to prefer the nasty, since it's easier to disregard.) I felt better about accepting feedback and even criticism after listening to how Saunders does it. 

7. On The Media -- April 2, 2015: Jon Ronson and Public Shaming. After Ronson was the guest on the Daily Show, I looked him up and found this podcast. Ronson discusses his new book on shaming here in much more detail than he could on TV. It's fascinating and horrifying to see how people's lives are indelibly changed by strangers on the Internet. 

Please take a moment and share your favorite podcast episodes! 

What Fills My Head

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Enchanting Podcasts: Or, How I Motivate Myself To Walk Schroeder In The Rain 

I used to judge people who wore earbuds while walking their dogs. However, now that I've found some awesome podcasts that I actively want to listen to, I get why people do it. Not listening to anything can mean that I spend too much time in my own head, which isn't always good, or that I start talking to Schroeder in "Schroed voice," which can make for some embarrassing moments when other humans materialize.

So, here are some of my favorite podcasts, both new and old: 

Being Boss with Emily Thompson & Kathleen Shannon 

These are two creative lady entrepreneurs who talk all about their work and give great advice while being hilarious and authentic. I don't have a favorite episode; they're all SO good. I even listen to the ones about issues that are not at all related to me (like motherhood) because they are just so empowering. Emily does not mince words! Kathleen is so endearing. They make anything feel possible. 

 

Dear Sugar with Cheryl Strayed & Steve Almond 

These two dish out life advice relating to love, identity, etc. They receive and read letters from listeners who ask deep questions and then give thoughtful responses. I always feel like I'm listening in on someone else's therapy session--for free! 

 

Good Life Project with Jonathan Fields  

I've only listened to one and a half episodes so far, but the gist is that Fields interviews fascinating people, people who have endured huge trials or happened upon fascinating discoveries, and asks them hard questions. The podcasts are long enough to delve into tough issues. It's like Fresh Air, but for those interested in psychology and health. 

 

Starr Struck Radio with Mary Catherine & Ben 

What a funny couple! They talk about all sorts of things, but my favorite episodes so far have been about morning routines and motivation. I tried the whole morning routine thing and see its value, but I still cannot force myself out of bed. You can read more about that experiment here. And as for motivation, well, they made me realize a lot of mine is negative. Eeks! 

Two Months of Wilfing Later

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WILFING: It's not illegal or even salacious, not even remotely devious.

I wish I had coined this acronym-turned-word:

This encapsulates much of what I've done the past two months in the little spare time that I've had.

Sometimes I wonder why the English language still has certain synonymous words. Why don't we prune the unnecessary ones? (By the way, I'm pretty sure there's a character out there in some novel that someone told me about a while ago who prunes words as he ages to eliminate the space they consume in his brain.) Why do we have words that mean almost the same thing? Sardonic and sarcastic, OK, fine--we need both. But what about pusillanimous and cowardly? Redundant! Also, probity and integrity? According to vocabulary.com (my very favorite vocabulary site), probity means "complete and confirmed integrity," a definition which implies that the word "integrity" connotes neither completeness nor confirmation. Another case of superfluity.

The term "wilfing," however, captures a phenomenon or activity supposedly bound by our technological era, but which those with wandering minds know all too well. Thanks to Macmillan Dictionary, we have the etymology of this unfortunately obsolete yet still necessary word.

I'm pretty sure I stumbled on this wonderful word by wilfing, and even though I found the entry only a few minutes ago, I couldn't tell you how I ended up on it. I couldn't tell you how I find most of the things I find. While the word originated from people loafing around on the Internet, it applies to my off-screen life as well.

So, I now present the possibly amusing highlights of the past two months of wilfing:

Ginger -- This app/web extension (I have the free version) works as a spellchecker, grammar-checker, and sentence-structure-suggestion-maker. It's very easy to use, as you just paste in the text you want to check, and then it offers suggestions. From the app, you can send email, messages, etc. I'm hoping it will be a game-checker for some of my students for whom a regular spell check will not catch their mistakes.

Georgetown's Mascot, Jack the Bulldog -- This canine rides a skateboard. What else is there to say?

Other than this, that is!

Bad Feminist, by Roxane Gay -- She writes about a feminism that is strong, confident, and accepting, not one that insists on a requirement of "nots"--not shaving, not wearing a bra ... because that's not what feminism is about. I've only read the free sample, but what I've read is challenging and insightful.

Invisibilia, The Podcast -- A new podcast from NPR about all things invisible. Per NPR, Invisibilia (Latin for all the invisible things) is about the invisible forces that control human behavior - ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions. It's conversational enough so that I don't have to work so terribly hard to understand it (because 1. that's annoying, and 2. I'm not good at listening, especially when doing something else, which is usually how I listen to podcasts because there's no way I can ever--barring illness--just sit still and listen) but not so chatty as to seem unedited. There are some podcasts out there in the ether that are on such fascinating topics but cry out so desperately for editing that I can't bear to listen. Seriously, editing out "ums" is not that difficult.

For more, here's a New Yorker article about it.

Massive Headphones (Bose Quiet Comfort 25) -- Ever since massive headphones became a cultural phenomenon, I have judged people who wear them. Seriously, what is so wrong with the ear bud? Well, I was very wrong. This discovery emerged from desperation. Back in November, about to board a Wednesday-Before-Thanksgiving flight filled with rowdy toddlers, I panicked. I walked over the kiosk with overpriced electronics and asked the man which listening device which was the cheapest that would also block out noise. I paid $18 for in-ear buds that blocked out most noise. Bliss ensued. But my ears began to hurt. A little bit of research later, I found these. Here's the thing: I can actually concentrate. I can think clearly in a way that I've never been able to before. You know when you get run-down and then develop a cold, and then you get well, and you realize you've forgotten what it's like to actually be well? These headphones are like being well, only for the first time. I developed an instrumental music playlist on Spotify (how am I just realizing how amazing that is, by the way?) that helps me drown out inanity when I am trying to get work done in a public place. I'm still self-conscious when I pull them out on the bus, but the peace of mind gained is worth a little self-consciousness lost.

Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi — Definitely didn’t find this book just by wilfing, but finally got around to picking it up. And couldn’t put it down. It’s the first novel I’ve read in a long while that I was absolutely absorbed in. It feels silly to say that this book is about race and identity, because that diminishes the nuance of both subjects, but at the same time, it is about both race and identity. But not in an overt or obnoxious way, but instead in a brilliant, enlightening way. I’ll leave you with these snippets.

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