Podhero Picks: The “New Year, New You” Edition
Welcome to 2020, our beloved Podheroes!
’Tis the season to rededicate ourselves to self-improvement. Whether it’s resolving to eat healthier, move more, or spend time with family, there’s lots of pressure to start the year on ambitious footing. But, as we all know, these lofty expectations can fall by the wayside without the guidance and support needed to keep them at the front of our minds.
Thankfully, as with most things, there’s a podcast for that.
Inspired by Time Magazine’s list of the ten most common New Year’s resolutions, we’re recommending a podcast for each goal. Add these to your queue for some much-needed inspiration if your motivation flags. And go easy on yourself, change is hard!
Looking To Be Less Stressed? Try: The Daily Meditation Podcast
If you anticipate 2020 being a year of more hustle and bustle than your cluttered mind can handle, we recommend this podcast (with a deep archive) to help you redefine your relationship with your thoughts. With series dedicated to topics like Closure, Gratitude, Anxiety, and Change, there’s almost guaranteed to be something for you here. And if you’re new to the practice? Don’t fret- there are sessions as short as six minutes available, so you can ease yourself into the experience.
Looking to Drink Less? Try: Zero Proof Book Club: The Podcast
Happy Dry January to all those observing! Whether your challenge is 31 days, 1 year, or the rest of your life, hosts Jackie and Shelley reflect on their own sobriety journeys in relation to books on addiction and recovery. The canon isn’t limited to alcohol; in addition to covering books like Augusten Burroughs’ Dry and Lit by Mary Karr, they’ve also discussed tech addiction through Catherine Price’s How to Break Up with Your Phone and Marianne Williamson (yep, that one)’s A Return to Love. As we mentioned, changing long-standing habits is much easier with support…and this pod will make you feel like you’re talking through the process with two new friends.
Looking to Eat Healthier and/or Diet? Try: Food in Session
That sound you hear? It’s pantries and fridges all over the world being cleared of their most undesirable contents. A new year provides a natural opportunity to give your body a hard reset, and this podcast will help you do so thoughtfully, safely, and without the rigid confines of any single dietary philosophy. Plus, if you’ll find it reassuring: a recent episode includes ways to “hack” mac and cheese, so you know they’re working from a place of realism :)
Looking to Get Out of Debt and/or Save Money? Try: Teach Me How to Money
With straightforward titles like “Teach Me How to Pay Off My Debt” and “Teach Me How to Feel Okay About My Income,” this Stash app podcast is perfect for those just now dipping their toes into the world of financial literacy. Many of us — your author included — avoid this process because of the intimidating terminology, the taboo feeling that comes with talking about money, or some tangled combination of the two. But these easily digestible episodes (most come in at under half an hour) will leave you feeling, well, if not richer, than at least more confident in the basics of money management.
Looking to Learn Something New? Try: Part-Time Genius
So there are a couple of ways to interpret this prompt: learn new information? Or learn a new skill? We’re recommending based on the first definition, and we’re doing so with Part-Time Genius. Those of us who struggled to retain anything we learned from history, social studies, or the liberal arts, likely did so because we couldn’t connect to the material. Hosts Will and Mango provide factoids on offbeat topics like how dollar stores stay in business, if funny bosses really get better results from their employees, or our hazy nostalgia for breakfast cereals. Think of it as an efficient way to cram for the next trivia night.
Looking To Lose Weight or Get Fit? Try: The Fitcast
The gym might be crowded around this time of year, but this podcast seems like it’ll keep you going back for more long after the crowds have thinned. Like Food in Session, Kevin Larabee’s podcast doesn’t focus on any one type of fitness or workout regimen over any other. Instead, he holds higher level conversations with professionals in the field about, yes, their regimens, but also about larger issues like communicating with your trainer, the psychology behind behavioral changes, and sexual harassment in the fitness industry. And as a bonus? It doubles as a meaningful listen for during your workout.
Looking To Quit Smoking? Try Quit Smoking With Me: A 30-Day Interactive Podcast
Just as we mentioned with drinking less, quitting smoking is a process best undergone in a community. And this podcast, designed to get your head in the right space with “prepisodes” ahead of the titular 30 days, wants to serve in that role for you. It bolsters its effectiveness through a companion online community, where former smokers from over 100 countries can go to interact with one another, support one another, learn one another’s stories, and even calculate the anticipated cost of your habit and — to another prior list item — figure out how to spend the money you’ll save!
Looking To Spend More Time with Family? Try: The Past and the Curious
Profoundly catchy name aside, we love this podcast as a way for kids and parents to learn together about lesser known moments in history and the facts behind them. Billed as a family friendly Drunk History (alcohol-free, of course!), it highlights some of the stories you might not know as well, and includes games to ensure that these anecdotes stick. Past episodes have covered the Lumiere Brothers and the first motion picture, notorious female baseball player Jackie Mitchell, and the tradition of presidential handshakes. Queue it up for your next road trip, family vacation, or even a dedicated night at home.
Looking To Travel to New Places? Try: Travel with Rick Steves
When the best in the game has a podcast, you recommend the best. Rick Steves has broadcast his international travels and associated tips on PBS for decades and in over thirty books, and has brought that wealth of knowledge to a podcast. The show is a blend of guest experts, callers in need of advice, and Steves’ own passion for exploration. You’ll finish episodes with tried and tested guidance on what sights to see, where to eat, and how to stay safe in locations all over the world.
Looking to Volunteer? Try: Pro Bono Perspectives
We’re an app that’s all about helping others out: sharing your favorite listens with friends, recommending podcast picks that would make them smile, laugh, or learn something new. If you want to bring that ethos to your everyday life, we recommend this podcast. Danielle Holly of Common Impact spends each episode talking to people who have chosen to embrace a career path that helps others; and if you like what you hear, take that empowerment and apply it through volunteering for the organization, donating money, and an overall dedication to making an impact on the world.
No matter which resolutions you choose to tackle, we’re wishing you all the best for 2020. Fill up your queue with episodes that will set you up for success…and then let’s make the next 366 days count.
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