As Mother's Day approaches, I think about the stories and anecdotes that moms share to lift us up when we were mad, sad or even at times when we were happy. These stories tend to have similar parallels from when we were little as to when we are creating a business. They expand our perspectives and sense of wonder. Plus, it's nice to pass along such nuggets to our friends, family and fellow entrepreneurs. With that in mind, the following list of favorite podcasts was compiled to help you grow and remain inspired - all out of motherly love.
#1. Sandra
By Gimlet Media
At the top of my list is a new podcast that blurs the lines between artificial intelligence and free will. It makes me reflect how independent can artificial intelligence be without emotion? Each distinctive character adds to this question in the story. As we listen in like a digital fly on the wall to these characters' lives, there is a continuous reminder that this fictional story unfolds more like a commentary on our current digital lives.
https://www.gimletmedia.com/sandra
#2. StoryCorps
Founded by Dave Isay
I remember listening to this (which is a series of recorded conversations) a long time ago and am glad to know that it's still around! StoryCorps is a fascinating concept where real people can record themselves, and their conversations have a chance to be archived at the Library of Congress. They often bring tears when one person shares a memory or simply says to someone they love how much they are loved. It's also a bonus to be able to see a photo of who they are too.
https://storycorps.org/
#3. Parenting Great Kids with Dr. Meg Meeker
By Dr. Meg Meeker
Sometimes you just need that tell-me-the-exact-words advice and this podcast does that for parents/caretakers who are raising kids, especially teenagers. Dr. Meeker takes questions from her listeners and provides the words to say and why you should say them. This podcast is intermingled with guest interviews who provide further context. Parenting is not easy. So for all the parents here, I hope this helps. I definitely needed this type of advice from time to time.
https://www.megmeekermd.com/podcasts/
#4. Where Should We Begin with Esther Perel
By Esther Perel
The previous podcast revolved around kids, now this one addresses communication between adults, especially between marriage partners. Esther Perel is a therapist who provides insights and advice to real couples. We are fortunate enough to listen to their private conversations and possibly learn how we can talk to our closest partner about issues and how therapy can help with communicating clearly.
https://www.estherperel.com/podcast
#5. Business Wars
By Wondery
Though the intro sounds over the top, the meat of the stories is a lot of fun to listen. They take two famous businesses and tell each of their points of view on how they became so big – like Nike vs. Adidas or Marvel vs. DC Comics. There are great re-enactments which support the general narration. It's almost like a Twilight Zone set-up, where there's a host and parts of the story are retold and re-enacted from that time period as well.
https://wondery.com/shows/business-wars/
#6. The Story
By The Mission
At a glance, the cover image lends itself to be a more child-like story, but as it turns out, these stories are about founders of famous companies. This podcast narrates the life story of a famous founder, and at the end, it reveals who this person is. As the audience, I had trouble guessing the identities of these founders. Listening to the narration of these characters paints such a down-to-earth picture of someone and then at the end, you realize that you just learned about the deep backstory of a business superstar. I have to admit that the autoplay feature to the next episode is much appreciated.
https://medium.com/the-mission/the-story-podcast-94246e5963fc
#7. 99% Invisible
By Roman Mars
As one who loves art and design, this podcast is ideal for an audience who appreciates the architecture history or why things are designed a certain way. Roman Mars and his team rocks on with detailed history and thorough reporting, such as surfacing the fact that there are staircases that lead to nowhere or why and where a laugh track came from.
https://99percentinvisible.org/
#8. Reply All
By PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman
If you want insight on what the internet is talking about, this enjoyable podcast dives deep into all sorts of topics that are internet and people-related. Hosted by PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman, this podcast is entertaining and mind-blowing. One episode chronicles a journey where Alex attempts to uncover a phone-based scamming organization that's based across the world (episode #102 and #103). These episodes do an amazing job at revealing the humans behind much of today's internet chaos.
https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all
#9. Radio Motherboard
By: Vice
One of our friends recommended this one, and I'm not sure how I missed it beforehand. In its mellow tone, Radio Motherboard is a wonderful and calm podcast where they dissect tech topics that are relevant to our lives today. For example, they explain why we should care about Net Neutrality and what is bitcoin thru various interviews. One favorite is the episode titled "You Have the Right to Repair Your Electronics". I never thought about repairing your device as a right, but after listening to this episode, it made me more aware of what it means to own something.
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/topic/radio-motherboard
#10. Malcom Gladwell Revisionist History
By: Malcom Gladwell
At the time of this post, I'm anxiously awaiting season 3 which will be released at the end of May 2018. If you haven't already, it is worth listening to seasons 1 and 2. I have always enjoyed reading Gladwell's books and very similarly, he writes or speaks like that in his podcasts. What I love is that you get to understand complex topics in a simple way, such as what unequal wealth is. In one episode, you begin to understand that what seems like an educational endeavor like taking a group of students from one school to visit another may have unforeseen consequences.
http://revisionisthistory.com/
Hope you find this list interesting and maybe even inspiring for your business and family. Feel free to share a podcast you have as well. Our ears are always open to listening and learning!
And..
If podcasts aren't your thing, then maybe take Mom to a popup event, like this one in LA called The Museum of Selfies.
http://themuseumofselfies.com/
