In the weeks since my surgery, I’ve struggled mightily to do anything other than sleep, whine, and listen to podcasts. The good news is, there are lots of great podcasts to listen to. This isn’t a sex post, but it’s a little window into my tastes – and a plea for recommendations. I’m kinda insatiable right now, and am always eager to learn of interesting new things to listen to.
Stuff I already listened to
Before my surgery, I was a fairly regular listener to a number of podcasts:
The Savage Lovecast – Dan Savage’s sex and relationship advice
This American Life* – the awesome progenitor of nearly every podcast
Mortified – adults reading horrifyingly embarrassing diary entries from their teenage years
Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me* – The NPR quiz show, with funny guests
Serial* – This year, an in-depth exploration of the case of Bowe Bergdahl
The Moth* – True stories, told live, without notes. Often hysterical. There’s an overwhelming quantity of these available. Some of my favorites include Al Sharpton (you can watch him here, or find the podcast on your podcast app) and Joe Lockhart (the first President Clinton’s press secretary – watch here, or find the audio on your app).
A bunch of Buddhist podcasts, from audiodharma.org.
- These are ones suitable for the whole family. Dan Savage and Mortified would be if our kid were a little older.
And stuff I’ve recently discovered
Lore – Explores the true history behind various folklore tales. Surprisingly interesting.
The Mystery Show – Starlee Kine, an incredibly charismatic interlocutor, solves mundane, often entirely uninteresting mysteries. If you listen to only one, listen to her episode on the true height of Jake Gyllenhaal. Make sure you stick around ’til the very end, for the flirty phone conversation between Starlee and Jake. Then, go watch them on Conan.
WTF – Marc Maron isn’t, truth be told, my favorite interviewer (Craig Ferguson is, lately), but he gets some stellar guests.
Death, Sex, and Money – lots of fun talking about stuff people aren’t supposed to talk about.
Guys We Fucked – I’m just starting this, by two women talking about the sex they had. Their voices aren’t the kind of voices I most like, so they don’t turn me on, but it’s fun to listen to.
And stuff I want to listen to, but haven’t yet…
The Bugle – John Oliver’s podcast, from before he had his HBO show
Stuff You Missed in History Class
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Invisibilia
99% invisible
What else should I listen to?
I’ve suggested to you before: Dear Sugar. I’m only bothering to say this because it’s a great podcast and people should know. Almost all episodes are good, but NB, Esther Perel was a guest recently.
We’ve discussed this offline. Suffice it to say, here, publicly, “Yes, I like that podcast too, though I’m not sure it’s gonna make my regular rotation, for reasons we’ve discussed. But I’m not giving up on it yet….”
If you’ve listened at all to season 1 of Serial, I highly recommend “Undisclosed,” a companion piece to the investigation Koenig did into the Adnan Syed trial. Undisclosed is much more in-depth, and surprisingly objective considering its source is Rabia Chaudry, family friend of Syed. It’s a fascinating — if depressing — look into the perils and pitfalls of our legal system.
I did listen to Season 1, and I haven’t listened to “Undisclosed.” It’s interesting: I feel kind of… sated… by Season 1. Unlike many, I don’t really hunger to know “what happened.” I thought they did a great job of depicting just how hard it is to KNOW “what happened,” but I don’t particularly crave either more facts or more certainty.
Does this make me a bad person?
I don’t believe you are a bad person, but even if you were, your lack of interest in a podcast would likely not be the determining factor in such a thing.
I think it’s merely a difference in preferences. I suppose I was concerned with what happened, not so much after the fact, but prior to and during the first and second trial. I was interested in hearing the story from different perspectives. Unlike you, I was not at all sated at the end of season 1. I was left with so many questions — mostly those of a “how was this conviction achieved?” standpoint —that I felt compelled to learn more about what went into the prosecution’s case. I’m just a frustrated educator who occasionally wishes she hadn’t abandoned her dreams of going to law school. 🙂
In my regular rotation are Slate Culture and Political Gabfests, Filmspotting, and 99% Invisible, Person, Place Thing (Randy Cohen – who used to write The Ethicist for NYT). If you haven’t listened to 99% Invisible I highly recommend trying a few episodes.
Also I listen to some food podcasts (the sporkful and the splendid table).
The Bowery Boys is a terrific podcast about NYC history.
Occasionally I’ll listen to Tristan Taromino or Tina Horn (Why Are People Into that?) and New York Mag’s Sex Lives is short so sometimes I’ll listen to that. I *dont* recommend Poly Weekly or Erotic Awakening.
You Must Remember This (hollywood history) had a great 10 part series about Charles Manson and Im currently listening to another series about the blacklist.
oh, two other things – Invisibilia – I’ve listened to a couple and they’re interested but long.
and
I recently started listening to Goodfella’s Minute which goes through the movie minute by minute, its a cool idea but I’m not sure if I’m a fan yet.
gg
(aka Maxie)
Thank you!
I have enjoyed particular episodes of the Bowery Boys as they talk about NYC history. The Mae West episode was my favorite and certainly relevant to sex bloggers.
Tank Riot tends to be a little too nerdy fanboy but has done some good ones such as the Mister Rodgers episode.
Thanks!