Yearning to learn something new? In today's information age, there are so many means of delivering stories and media. From traditional news publishers to digital feeds to social media. It can be overwhelming and time consuming. Nonetheless, the importance of story is and will always be vital. Navigating through it all becomes worthwhile when you find the gems.
My favorite platform now are podcasts. It seems like an older means to discover content, but it allows me to listen to stories as I work on projects. Oddly enough, it’s a way for me to use both sides of my brain. These daily audio treats help me appreciate humor, financial advice, and most importantly life stories from others. There’s always something to be learned from each episode. With that, I've assembled a list of my top five favorite podcasts for you to check out.
Why these five? There are a gazillion podcasts to choose from but the following five touch upon key real world nuggets:
- how to start a business (Startup)
- how the economy works (Planet Money)
- how money principals can be applied to your personal finances (Dave Ramsey)
- history behind architecture and design (99% Invisible)
- learning the art of persuasion when presenting (NPR Intelligence Debate).
I hope they will inspire you as much as they consistently do for me. Enjoy!
Startup – First Season
Alex Blumberg (left), Matt Lieber (right), photo ©Gimlet
For those of us who are starting our own businesses, this podcast is an encouraging series. Alex Blumberg intimately shares his struggles and fears with his own startup, Gimlet Media. It helps to hear that many of the thought patterns one encounters as an entrepreneur are common – even for a Peabody Award winner and veteran of two other successful podcasts.
Look for Season 1: 14 episodes total
Episode duration: 30 minutes
Each episode is released once a week or once every two weeks
General rating: G
What is nice about each episode is that there will be a warning to let parents know of any expletives, in case you listen with your budding young child entrepreneurs.
Gimlet Media: Startup
Planet Money
Curious about why our world sometimes doesn't make any sense? Planet Money weaves together how economics plays a role in basically everything manufactured. We are exposed to places typically untold to most, such as understanding the actual cost of a tshirt to producing a summer hit song.
There are plenty of episodes to choose from in this series. Last I checked, Planet Money is at episode #638! But no need to get overwhelmed because you don’t need to listen to these in a linear order. Each episode is its own standalone story and doesn’t necessarily link to the previous episode or the next.
Episode duration: ~ 20 minutes
Each episode is released twice a week (Wednesdays and Fridays)
General rating: G
They too warn you if there is violence or expletives before the podcast begins.
99% Invisible
Roman Mars
This podcast brings me back to 1999. (Hey, and that's a good thing!) Its simple yellow square logo in a grid reminds me of an album cover that Depeche mode would have used. :) What I find interesting is that the stories produced are about design and architecture. Ever wonder who and why staircases that lead to nowhere were created? Roman Mars and his team cover these type of topics that exist in our physical world.
Up to 172 episodes
Episode duration: 30 minutes
Each episode is released every Tuesday
General rating: G (unless otherwise stated)
99percentinvisible.org
Dave Ramsey: Take Control of Your Money
Dave Ramsey
On a daily basis Dave Ramsey, financial guru, covers multiple personal finance topics from life insurance to home ownership to retirement funds. Really sexy topics :) All of these point to the goal of getting out of debt and creating true wealth. It is encouraging to hear how people’s lives are affected by this simple principal. Each daily episode acts as a constant reminder to stay focused on a path toward financial freedom and generosity – always a good thing.
Episode duration: 40 minutes (who knew that someone can give the same financial advice for twenty-five years and for someone like me to continue listening to it!)Each episode is released on a daily basis, around 5:30pm
General rating: G
daveramsey.com
NPR: Intelligence Debate
This is a curated debate between two teams, one on each side of an issue. Intelligence Debate has an interesting format for it feels like you are sitting in the audience listening to academics and professionals debate a single topic. What’s also intriguing is hearing the statistics on how the audience feels at the beginning of the debate as opposed to how they have (or have not) changed their minds at the the conclusion.
There aren’t any numbered episodes; each podcast is shown by title
Episode duration: 30 minutes
General rating: G (unless otherwise stated)
intelligencesquaredus.org
Wait, there's a bonus!
Here is another article that features inspirational podcasts for entrepreneurs. A couple of podcasts that I already mentioned are featured here too – which goes to show that these are worth listening to. Enjoy!
12 Inspirational Podcasts for Entrepreneurs
