According to the Gallup StrengthsFinder tool, my number one strength is learning. I wonder what my high school calculus teacher would say about that!
One of the great learning opportunities available to almost anyone in today’s world of smartphones and information technology is the proliferation of podcasts – audio and sometimes video recordings on just about every subject of interest under the sun. I currently have eighteen different podcasts I subscribe to, all free of charge. About once a week, 5-10 new episodes will arrive automatically on my phone to listen to during my daily commute.
Here are my five current favorites:
1. The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish (50 – 90 minutes)
Shane Parrish is the creator of the website, Farnam Street, which is “…devoted to helping you develop an understanding of how the world really works, make better decisions, and live a better life. We address such topics as mental models, decision making, learning, reading, and the art of living.” Shane’s lists of recent guests and topics have included “Luck, Risk and Avoiding Losers” with legendary investor Howard Marks and “The Dying Art of Conversation” with radio journalist Celeste Headlee. Some other remarkable interviews have featured “The Path to Perpetual Progress” with surgeon Atul Gawande, ”Earning Your Stripes” with Patrick Collison, and “Givers, Takers and the Resilient Mind” with Adam Grant.
2. Conversations with Tyler (60 – 90 minutes)
Tyler Cowen is an economics professor at George Mason University, an author of numerous books, a co-creator of the website, Marginal Revolution, on which he blogs about various topics, and a regular contributor to Bloomberg BusinessWeek where he has been dubbed “America’s Hottest Economist.”
The podcast consists of conversations between Tyler and a wide variety of fascinating people from various professional backgrounds recorded in front of a live audience. Some favorite episodes have been his conversations with Daniel Kahneman, David Brooks, and Ross Douthat. Questions range from philosophy, to food, to music, and a quick session of “Under-rated – Over-rated.”
3. Revisionist History with Malcom Gladwell (30 minutes)
Gladwell is one of my favorite authors (Blink, The Tipping Point, Outliers). This podcast features a high production value, along with his narrative style of telling great stories about things most of us miss or misread. The season three episode, “A Polite Word for Liar” will get you hooked.
4. Freakonomics Radio with Stephen Dubner (55 minutes)
Dubner co-authored the highly successful Freakonomics books with University of Chicago economist Steve Levitt. On this long running podcast, Dubner continues to explore a wide variety of topics, from the future of meat, to creativity, to the world of sports and money, and more. The episode “This Economist Predicted the Last Crisis. What’s the Next One?” and any episode in “The Hidden Side of Sports” series are worth the time.
5. Building a StoryBrand with Donald Miller
In his first professional life, Miller was an interesting author, writing memoir-type narratives of his own experiences. Blue Like Jazz became a national best-seller. In his latest professional iteration, he has created a marketing approach based on the structure of good story-telling. You can read about it in his book, Building a Storybrand. The first season of this podcast was really the core of Don’s thinking. Recent episodes feature some interesting people who have great stories of their own, including Tom’s founder Blake Mycoskie, economist Arthur Laffer, and author Daniel Pink.
Here are three other podcasts I just can’t help but mention:
- Hidden Brain
- The Communication Guys
- HBR Ideacast
Maybe your commute is much shorter than my 15-minute morning and afternoon drive. Or there aren’t enough hours in your day to listen to all of these. I regularly start and stop and skip episodes for the same reason. What I have found is that good podcasts are ways to expand the breadth of the subjects I’m learning about. Each of these uses its format to interview people with expertise and experience in areas with which I am often unfamiliar. But the cross-over applications from their fields to mine, personally and professionally, broaden my knowledge base, encourage curiosity, and often lead me to books and sources I otherwise never would have come across. Pick one or two episodes and give them a try. You may find yourself genuinely enjoying learning some things you never thought you needed to know!