New to Podcasts?… They Deliver Inspiration, Creativity & Escapism!

All schools, all colleges, have two great functions: to confer, and to conceal valuable knowledge.

– Mark Twain

By – Jaunty Staff

2016… As my slog through traffic inched forward, the news station droned on in the background. I’ve come to accept that LA & traffic jams are forever intertwined and, yes, I’m aware that I’m not “in” traffic…I am the traffic”.  Anyways, in that moment of tedium, it occurred to me just how mind numbingly repetitive news channels can be: Pundit re-spins news (not exactly uplifting news) every 15 minutes; new pundit spins same news every hour, 24 hours a day. Wake up, repeat…  I’d reached a tipping point, which thankfully led to my obsession with podcasts. After three years, podcasts are still a source of inspiration, broadening my worldview & the perfect compliment to many routine activities

Why invest time in podcasts?

Creativity & Inspiration

Great podcasts deliver well researched, thought provoking, unique and compelling topics. Sometimes a fresh perspective from another point of view leads to mental reset & an avenue for creativity

Escapism

Have a belly laugh, be moved, dig deep into something fascinating or utterly ridiculous. The healthy distractions that podcasts deliver make one a happier, more well rounded and inspired citizen of the planet

Less Routine Routines

The commute, the gym, the walk to get coffee, before bed, from your desktop at work are just a few ideal times to pop in your earbuds & catch a podcast. The addition of a good podcast makes the routine less routine!

Strapped for time?

Podcasts come in all sizes to fit your schedule. Plus, much like a book, you can always come back to it later

Free’s cool

With few exceptions, podcasts are free. Successful podcasts will have a couple advertisements inserted within the episode, to pay the bills.  If you subscribe to a podcast and it doesn’t suit you: No problem… delete it & pick a new one

Mix it up

Disrupting the news carousel is never a bad thing & the “latest breaking news” will always be there for you later.

Unlimited content

There are a never ending list of podcast topics to choose from. Go bold with something completely foreign & outside your comfort zone!

Where do I get them?

How do I play them?

Apple’s iphone & Google Android phones ship with a built in podcast app, which is a good place to start. You can search and subscribe to podcasts, within the apps. There are also several free or premium service Podcast apps available for IOS & Android with a variety of features. I prefer the free version of “castbox” on my iphone, but it’s just one of many great podcast apps. Head online to the App store for Apple & Google Play to download your favorite podcast app

If you use music services like Spotify, Google play or Sound Cloud you can also use those apps to subscribe to podcasts

Plus, podcasts are accessible & playable from your desktop. Many Podcasts have their own web site from which you can launch your episode

Best Podcasts of 2019?

We think so….

Revisionist History

Revisionist History podcasts never fail to generate lively conversation with friends.  I’ve referenced Gladwell’s podcasts more than any other. Ever heard the 10,000 hours of practice rule, to gain expertise? That’s from Gladwell’s Outliers book. He’s authored 5 NY Times best sellers, including The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and David & Goliath. 4 seasons (season 4 just dropped) of Revisionist History, are already available!

Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell’s journey through the overlooked and the  misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past—an event, a person, an idea, even a song and asks whether we got it right the first time. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance.

– Malcolm Gladwell and Pushkin Industries

The Drop Out

How does a Stanford prodigy, founder of Theranos & self made billionaire end up facing a 20 year jail sentence? The Drop out  chronicles the inconceivable true story of Elizabeth Holmes rapid rise to success & eventual nosedive. Rebecca Jarvis, from ABC news brings this podcast to life with captivating detail and 1st person interviews of those involved, including recorded testimony from Elizabeth Holmes. Episodes are about 45 minutes in length.

Money. Romance. Tragedy. Deception. The story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos is an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. How did the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire lose it all in the blink of an eye? How did the woman once heralded as “the next Steve Jobs” find herself facing criminal charges — to which she pleaded not guilty — and up to 20 years in jail? How did her technology, meant to revolutionize healthcare, potentially put millions of patients at risk? And how did so many smart people get it so wrong along the way? ABC News chief business, technology and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis, along with producers Taylor Dunn and Victoria Thompson, take listeners on a journey that includes a three-year-long investigation. You’ll hear exclusive interviews with former employees, investors, and patients, and for the first-time, the never-before-aired deposition testimony of Elizabeth Holmes, and those at the center of this story.

– ABC News & Nightline

TED Talks Daily

Started in 1984, TED (technology,entertainment & design) speakers cover a diverse array of topics, that have spawned into several formats: TED Talks Daily, NPR’s TED Hour, The TED Interview and several more. Experts from Science, Business and everything in between deliver an endless variety of interesting content. How to lead a conversation between people who disagree, How to Revive your faith in democracy, The Surprising Connection between brain injuries and crime, How hip-hop helps us understand science, are examples of some recent topics.  TED talks daily podcasts average about 18 minutes in length.

Wait Wait… Don’t tell me

NPR’s long running, comical news hour, features celebrity panelists & guests. Recorded live each week in Chicago,  Wait Wait… Don’t tell me generates lots of laughs with recurring segments such as “Whose Bill this time” “Bluff the listener” (think two truths and a lie) and Panel discussions on current topics. A light hearted, fun listen…

Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! is NPR’s Peabody-award-winning weekly hour-long humorous quiz program. Each week on the radio you can test your knowledge against some of the best and brightest in the news and entertainment world while figuring out what’s real news and what’s made up   – NPR

Over My Dead Body

A good, old fashioned, who done it, “Over My Dead Body” details the true story of a prominent Florida couple, both successful attorneys, as they battle through an acrimonious divorce. Yep.. someone doesn’t come through the divorce alive!

In “Tally,” the first season of OVER MY DEAD BODY, Dan and Wendi are two good-looking attorneys whose wedding is featured in the New York Times. But when this “perfect” couple falls apart, it leads to a bad breakup, a worse divorce, and a murder case involving a menagerie of high-priced lawyers and unexpected co-conspirators. From Wondery, the team that brought you “Dirty John” and “Dr. Death,” “Tally” is a story that says as much about love and marriage as it does about justice, revenge, and the lengths some people will go to get what they want. Hosted by Matthew Shaer.  -Wondery

Mobituaries

Mo Rocca, formerly of CBS Sunday Morning, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, broadway etc… hosts Mobituaries. Through detailed exploration Mo examines the literal and metaphorical death of people & things, throughout history.  A few of this season’s episodes include: The death of a famous Auburn University Oak tree by an Alabama fan, Sitcom deaths and disappearances, the death of the career of a JFK impersonator to name a few

Mo Rocca’s long love of obituaries has him led to create Mobituaries, an irreverent but deeply researched appreciation of the people (and things) of the past who have long intrigued him—from an unsung Founding Father to the first Chinese-American superstar, from Neanderthals to the station wagon.

– Mobituaries podcast site

Fall of the House of Sunshine

Part old radio show, part Podmusical, completely ridiculous! This podcast just makes me laugh. The Fall of the House of Sunshine describes itself as “A serialized podcast musical adventure” I’m halfway through season 1 and looking forward to season 2!

I’ll let the creators description of season 1 do the talking…

Season 1: Brushee Sunshine is the host of the children’s’ tooth cleanliness show – The Sunshine Smile Hour. But suddenly he’s murdered via bullets fired through a rip in space time. Detective Dankent is called in to help solve the mystery. The suspects:  Flosso, Brushee’s older brother who was relegated to second banana; Braceletta, the buxom beauty with the braces on her legs and her teeth and also fiance to Brushee; Elsa, Bracletta’s assistant who acts like a loyal dog. And that’s only the beginning. Join us as we take an audio adventure of musical proportions.

Against the Rules

Did you enjoy Moneyball, The Blind Side & The Big Short as much as I did? Then you’ll love this podcast!  In one of the most divisive eras ever, Michael Lewis’ Against the Rules couldn’t be more timely.  His podcast series takes us on an in depth look at what we consider fair or just, across a multitude of storylines in society today. Which side of the argument you may land on is always open for debate, but Against the Rules is never dull!

Journalist and bestselling author Michael Lewis (Liar’s Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short) takes a searing look at what’s happened to fairness—in financial markets, newsrooms, basketball games, courts of law, and much more. And he asks what’s happening to a world where everyone loves to hate the referee.

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