Gone are the days of the family sitting together in order to tune into the latest radio programming.  Driving down the road listening to educational content on the A.M. radio is also a thing of the past.  However, the podcast is here in our modern world to fill that need.

Since podcasts began rolling out on iTunes around 2004 interest has steadily grown.  I know these are modern, but they are convenient.  My love for podcasts began with my first round of foreign service interest in 2015.  I used podcasts to learn about new things in order to prep for the test.  Now they are part of my regular walking routine.  You can catch me most afternoons walking the neighborhood taking in a podcast.

Any topic you want is available.  However, if you are interested here are my favorites!

how stuf works Stuff you missed in history class

These ladies present history in an informative and interesting way!  The podcast is part of  the How Stuff Works family, and lives up to the standard.  Stuff you Missed in History Class covers history from all over the world throughout pre and recorded history.  My favorite latest episodes were “Three Astonishing Belles” and “Carl Tanzler’s Corpse Bride.”  They also have a wonderful episode about the history of cake with author Anne Byrn that I enjoyed all the way to the last morsel.  Their boldness in covering  topics that are both obscure, relevant, and quirky keep me tuned in every week.

The History Chicks

The creation of The History Chicks is a modern day friend story.  The podcast was created by two mom’s who met on a message board with a love of history and literature in 2011.  As the name suggests, they focus on famous women from history both fictional and real.  I fell in love with their Zelda Fitzgerald episode after watching Amazon’s Z series.  These ladies do not worry about caping out at 30 minutes on their episodes.  They use details and commentary about the time period to have hour long comprehensive episodes.  These ladies still strive to host, and produce these episodes all on their own retaining the show’s original integrity.

Ladies who lunch

Ever have a rough day at work?  Feel like going home to eat ice cream, and drink wine?  This podcast is perfect for those days.  It is produced and run by two awesome ladies from the Youtube world.  Ingrid and Cat take a honest look on relationships, personal development, world issues, and any other topic that catches their fancy.  They take fan letters, and suggestions every episode giving all listeners a stake in the content.  Their episode “When Women Say I’m Sorry” changed the way that I saw myself in the work place, and society.  You can catch these ladies on iTunes every Tuesday for a new installment.  So grab some gummy bears and enjoy!

npr planet money

The subjects I know the least about are philosophy, sports, and economics.  Economics is a component on the Foreign Service Officer’s Test.  In order to fill in that knowledge I began listening to Planet Money podcast produced by NPR.  In just fifteen to thirty minute episodes I have learned so much.  They use easy to understand analogies and situations in order to convey economic topics.  They also touch on laws, business models, and world trends at large.  “The Wells Fargo Hustle” made me double check my own accounts, and “The Wild West of the Internet”had me rethinking self-hosted websites as a whole.

How stuff works foodstuff

I love food as much as history and vintage.  Even better, when the history of food is discussed!  FoodStuff is a year old podcast from How Stuff Works.  Anney and Lauren discuss the history, science, culture, and descriptions of their food topics.  They also cover food related topics such as restaurant culture, alcoholic beverages, and food fads.  They sold me on their pineapple episode and made me a loyal listener with their brunch episode.  Ever wonder the importance of cauliflower?  Find out at FoodStuff!

washington post’s  presidential and constitutional

Presidential began as a one off series by the Washington Post that covered one president a week until the 2016 presidential election.  It is a series I listened to in order to bolster my knowledge of American history.   However, I grew captivated each week learning about America’s leaders.  The series was so popular a follow up series is now running by the title of Constitutional.  Constitutional explores the finer points of the U.S. Constitution as well as the people that are part of it’s bigger story.  I have been holding off beginning this series so I can enjoy all the episodes in sequence without having to wait weekly.

radiolab

First began listening to Radiolab on the ten hour drive back from Savannah, Georgia. The podcast entertained the five of us for over three hours.    Radiolab cover a plethora of topics from human interest to history.  I enjoyed their episode about the German P.O.W. camp in Alabama since I studied that time in history.  The jack of all trades in podcast form supports a massive listening library.  Just search their site and be transported into a land of amazingly interesting topics!

 

Where can I find free podcasts?

Podcasts are free entertainment, and a great way to save money.  Reference my post about “8 Ways to Save in 2018” for more ideas!  All of these podcasts and thousands of others are available on iTunes.  You can download or stream them directly to your device for immediate enjoyment.  Soundcloud is also available for download, and Ladies Who Lunch is available there as well.  All of these podcasts stream directly from their website linked in the headers.  The websites also provide transcriptions of the episode, show notes, and other media related to the topic.  Smartphones, tablets, computers, MP3 players, and home helpers (like the Echo and Google Home) are all devices capable of streaming Podcasts.

What are your favorite podcasts?  What do you plan on listening to next? 

 

Disclosure:  Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission is you click through and make a purchase.