Podcasts I Recommend

Since I started my new job at TripCase, my commute went from about 15 minutes to about 50 minutes – quite the leap. I’ve actually been enjoying it, having finally discovered the time to listen to podcasts again. Over the past few months, I’ve explored quite a few podcasts, and wanted to share the shortlist of podcasts I recommend – these are the ones that I have on automatic download nowadays.

1. The Voicemail – I’ve written about James and Stefan’s weekly show before, and been a guest a couple of times. Even if you don’t know them as friends like I do, The Voicemail is a great, entertaining podcast for anyone wanting to keep up with mobile tech and have a laugh or two. Highly recommended.

2. The Social Pros Podcast – billed as “Real People Doing Real Work in Social Media”, Jay and team do a great job of getting interesting guests on the show, and keeping the conversation real and authentic. Very rarely is there any hint of ‘social media ninja-ism’, and I usually come away with more than one or two thoughts about how to improve my own work.

3. The Art of Manliness – If you don’t already read The Art of Manliness, you should. It’s great stuff, hearkening back to a time when men were real and classy. Not so much Bear Grylls as much as Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant, with a splash of outdoors built-in. The podcast is also great, with an interesting guest each week.

4. 361 Podcast – Another tech one, featuring Ben Smith, Rafe Blandford, and Ewan McLeod. Brilliant brits, no doubt, and a fun conversation all around. The 361 podcast tends to be slightly above the “what’s the latest phone coming out” and instead looks more deeply at the industry itself, trends, and that sort of more higher-level thinking.

5. Marketing Over Coffee – Hosted by John Wall and Christopher Penn, this is another great podcast for anyone working in marketing or social media. Unlike the Social Pros Podcast, this one can dip down into ninja-ism periodically, but those times are rare, and it’s otherwise a great listen.

6. This American Life – hosted by Ira Glass, this one is a little over an hour, and is basically a podcast of a radio show from Chicago Public Radio. Each episode is usually 3-4 stories around a common theme, and they’re typically relatively positive and uplifting to listen to.

7. The Love and Respect Podcast – hosted by Emerson Eggerichs and his son Jonathan, this one focuses on marriage and relationships. If you’ve not read or gone through the Love and Respect program, you should – my wife and I have read the book and gone through the class 2-3 times in our marriage thus far, and would highly recommend it. They’ve just started the podcast recently, and thus far have been mostly recapping their program. I’m anxious to hear them get into other content. Also, they talk slow, so I tend to listen to this one at 1.5x speed.

8. Ransomed Heart Podcast – hosted by John Eldredge, author of Wild at Heart and a bunch of other awesome books. I love his writing, and to be frank, was rather disappointed in the podcast at first. At times, John can sound like a stoned psychiatrist, which is not what I’d imagined. Sometimes, this is a great podcast, but I skip roughly every other episode.

9. One Extraordinary Marriage – hosted by Tony and Alisa DiLorenzo, this one is still growing on me. They spend a ridiculous amount of time at the beginning of each episode with random nonsense before actually getting into the show. Aside from that, I appreciate their frank look at marriage, and things that they’ve learned along the way.

Thus far, I’ve found a healthy balance of mobile tech, social media/marketing, and marriage. I’d still love to find a great fatherhood/parenting podcast, so if you have any recommendations, leave them in the comments below.