The 12 Best Podcast Episodes You Need to Hear
This is a different kind of Weekend Reader. YOU became the curators when I asked for your favorite single podcast episodes. I couldn’t include every suggestion, but here are the top twelve. Each of these is worth a listen. Some are funny. Some are tear-jerking. They are all exceptional. Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Load up your playlists and enjoy.
Listen widely. Listen wisely.
Max
Recommended Shows and Episodes
1. Kohn — by Andy Mills
Andy Mills (8 minutes)
SUMMARY from Tim:
My favorite single podcast episode is a piece produced by Andy Mills called “Kohn.” It is an amazing story and the narrative itself is uniquely linked to the audible component of the production. I don’t think the story would be nearly as good in writing or even in film. The episode is also special because it was written by a job hopping Denverite (who many knew for years as their favorite Cafe Europa barista), and eventually led him to Radiolab, and then on to co-creating The Daily at the NYT. More on Andy:
https://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/person/andy-mills
2. The Callout
Invisibilia (55 minutes)
SUMMARY From Andrew:
Check out “The Call Out” …..David Brooks referenced it in an article I read a few months ago…….what does society look like when there is no room for error and this group of interesting 20-something punk rockers feel a deep need for grace, but are so distant from that concept they can’t even articulate what they want….but are immobilized by the ramifications of Call Out.
This is the beginning of the Brooks article with a link to the podcast and a bit more info about it…..
A number of months ago, I listened to a podcast that has haunted me since — because it captures something essential about our culture warrior moment. It was from NPR’s always excellent “Invisibilia” series and it was about a woman named Emily.Emily was a member of the hard-core punk music scene in Richmond, Va. One day, when she was nearly 30, she was in a van with her best friend, who was part of a prominent band. They were heading to a gig in Florida when the venue called to cancel their appearance. A woman had accused Emily’s best friend of sending her an unwelcome sexually explicit photograph.
His bandmates immediately dismissed her allegations. But inwardly Emily seethed. Upon returning to Richmond, she wrote a Facebook post denouncing her best friend as an abuser. “I disown everything he has done. I do not think it’s O.K. … I believe women.”
The post worked. He ended up leaving the band and disappeared from the punk scene. Emily heard rumors that he’d been fired from his job, kicked out of his apartment, had moved to a new city and was not doing well. Emily never spoke with him again.
3. Lucy
Radiolab (59 minutes)
SUMMARY From Peter:
My favorite podcast ever is a Radiolab episode called “Lucy” from 2010. It’s got everything — nature vs nurture, science experiments, chimps and humans, and the universal ties between animals and humans… and it’s the only podcast to ever make me cry! When I first heard this, I realized the power of the medium.
4. Conversations with Tyler: Michelle Dawson
Conversations with Tyler (51 minutes)
SUMMARY From Derek:
Huge fan of long-form interview podcasts, the most compelling (ie not just a venue for book tours and standard talking points) is Tyler Cowen’s Conversations with Tyler.
As for specific episodes, I love his conversations with David Brooks and Ross Douthatdue to their subject matter being close to my heart, but in terms of most fascinating is an episode with Michelle Dawson, an autistic academic in the area of autism research who compellingly discusses the value of thinking in a fundamentally different way than the “typical.” I found it an arresting perspective.
5. This American Life: Cars
This American Life (1 hour)
SUMMARY From Michael: This American Life’s focus on car sales. The interviews of the car sales people, highlighting the emotional roller coaster that sales goals create was amazing! Totally worth a listen!
6. EconTalk (2 episodes)
1. Mary Hirschfeld on Economics, Culture, Aquinas, and the Market
2. Taubes on Fat, Sugar and Scientific Discovery
EconTalk
SUMMARY
I got two separate recommendations for EconTalk, but two different episodes so I’ll include them both.
From Matt:
The single podcast episode I’d most recommend: The recent Econtalk eposide with Mary Hirschfeld on Economics, Culture, Aquinas, and the Market. Why? Because it’s a brilliant discussion of one of the more important issues we all face: what is the role of material things in making us happy and how does our modern economy bias us toward counterproductive behavior. This episode demonstrates why this podcast is so great: Russ is an incredible interviewer, asking intelligent questions, providing the right level of pushback, dealing with really stimulating ideas and interesting guests.
From Dan:
I’d recommend EconTalk (in general) and in particular the episode “Taubes on Fat, Sugar and Scientific Discovery” Why?
Important topic (Is calories in versus calories out true? Is fat bad? How could a false idea grip the establishment for 40 years?)
Skilled interviewer (many in podcast land are not)
Engaging interviewee
Teach us not only the topic (health) but also about causality, a crucial topic in health, economics, history — just about any field. The body is a complex system and determining causality in it is hard (e.g. if you do X to the body, then Y will happen).
7. The Problem We All Live With
This American Life
SUMMARY From Wendy:
This episode takes you deeper into Ferguson, MI to better understand the de-facto segregation in public schools and how the efforts to integrate races expose real human tragedy — the overt categorization into groups that we don’t know but don’t want to associate.
Personally, it made me re-evaluate my own philosophy toward parenting. Am I willing to send my own children to less than stellar public schools b/c ultimately that’s better for society when we opt-into helping to improve a community versus sequestering my kids into academically higher achieving schools? Still not sure what the right balance is…
8. Revisionist History: My Little Hundred Million
Malcolm Gladwell — Revisionist History
SUMMARY From Wendy: Gladwell discusses the philanthropic absurdity of giving millions to higher-education universities that don’t need the money and poses the question of what role these organizations should have in social inequity given we all subsidize the untaxed endowment gains.
9. Montessori Academy of Colorado
Robin Hoch (usually 4 minutes)
SUMMARY
This is an unusual one, but such a cool idea that I wanted to share it. If you want to talk to Robin, shoot me an email
From Robin:
I have also been super into podcasts for a few years now, Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert being my current favorite. This prompted me to have an idea last year to put a weekly “podcast” together as a marketing and communications tool for my school. We have a lot of career-driven, fast-paced parents and many were missing important announcements that had previously only been shared via email so why not get those messages across in something they can listen to while hurrying to their next meeting?
However, it has now become a great community-building project that also doubles as an exciting learning tool for my kiddos. They are involved in all aspects of the production, from interviewing peers and faculty to choosing segment music and writing scripts. My upper elementary kids also help me edit and are learning the tech side of media production and it has now become an impressive enrollment incentive for prospective parents when they tour. With all of the positive feedback I’ve received from parents, I hope to seek opportunities to educate other schools on how they can add a podcast to their curriculum soon.
Most episodes include weekly news and events as well as a special segment, sometimes an interview with the community or an audiobook, as well as a weather report :)
10. Founders 15: Mi Golondrina
Kevin Lavelle of Mizzen+Main (1 hour, 27 minutes)
SUMMARY
Interesting — he asks the same 15 questions in every episode.
From Will:
The Mizzen & Main founder Kevin Lavelle hosts a podcast called Founders 15, and I liked it as a compliment to the more popular “How I built this” because it deals more in smaller businesses that are on a path towards being great/big. I liked the one interviewing Cristina Lynch who founded Mi Golondrina.
11. Michael Lewis: Ref You Suck
Against the Rules (37 minutes)
SUMMARY
From Justin:
It’s his first podcast and it shows, but the content is amazing. Lots of variety but basically about the loss of referees in society and how people hate but need those who create boundaries for society.
12. The Cathedral
Reply All (37 minutes)
SUMMARY
This one is my own recommendation.
When Ryan Green’s son was one-year old, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He responded by creating a video game about the experience. If that strikes you as odd and possibly inappropriate, know that I felt the same when I first heard about it.
But know also that this story is heartbreakingly beautiful. Know that these parents were wrestling with how to cope with an unimaginable situation. Know that this is a story about death, but also about grace and enduring love. I can’t hear it without falling into tears.
This article about the same story is also amazing. “Playing for Time” by Jason Tanz in Wired.
POSTSCRIPT
I got lots of other suggestions for shows and podcasts, including: “What it Takes” from the Academy of Achievement, “The Porch” from Watermark, “The Eric Metaxas Show”, “Start-up” by Gimlet, “The Tim Ferriss Show” and others. My friend Henry suggested not even an episode, but a four-minute clip from his podcast about Faith Driven Entrepreneurs (minute 26:30–30:30 of the interview with VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer).
I also got tons of feedback on the idea of doing a Weekend Reader podcast. The vast majority of people I heard from liked the idea a lot. Some suggested just reading the Reader for the podcast so folks could get the same content delivered via audio. Others imagined doing interviews with the authors or subjects of the pieces each week. A couple of you said “Don’t do it!” because you think the printed word is what makes this special or that you feared I don’t have the time to add this in. I appreciate all the feedback.
Dan F shared an interesting link: “On the heels of your ‘podcasts are growing’ letter, you might like this blog post, “What’s wrong with books?” (link). He argues that finishing books (non-fiction) has low ROI. They take a lot of time relative to how much people retain. Whether you agree or not, it’s an interesting point of view. In his view, podcasts in his view are mixed. (I personally find that many podcast hosts don’t know how to stay on track.) However, the opportunity cost is low, he argues, because unlike books you can listen while doing something else.”
I’ll share my thinking on doing a podcast as it evolves, but I don’t have any immediate plans. Just getting this email out is enough work for now. Thanks for reading!
Max
