Alternately titled, What I Am Putting in My Ears Right Now.
If you aren’t listening to podcasts much yet and wonder why anybody else is: think radio shows on demand, but with fewer commercials, no traffic reports, and more conversation that you actually want to listen to.
I listen while I’m making dinner or folding laundry or driving. If you’re the kind of person who owns running shoes, I hear you might like to listen to podcasts while wearing those shoes. (I can neither confirm nor deny this one.)
How to listen to podcasts
You technically can listen to podcasts right on your computer, but listening through an app on your device of choice will make your life easier. Try the standard-issue Podcasts app to get started, or try Overcast for some fancier features.
Download the app, search for the podcasts you’re interested in, hit ‘subscribe,’ and they’ll be waiting for you the next time you need auditory inspiration.
Here’s what I’m listening to right now.
The RobCast with Rob Bell
The RobCast is a mix of things: interviews, sermons, stories, and all kinds of reminders that everything is spiritual. My faith in possibility is restored every time I listen in.
Where to Start Listening: Try the episode The Way It Works. Or how about the time Rob interviewed Glennon? Or Oprah? Oh my word, friends.
The Life Coach School Podcast with Brooke Castillo
The Life Coach School Podcast is about learning how to think and how to feel. It sounds like something we would all know how to do — but no, no we do not.
Not every topic is for me, but the ones I do connect with have been fascinating.
Where to Start Listening: Try out the episodes on Creating Confidence or How to Feel.
Becoming Wise with Krista Tippett
Krista Tippett describes Becoming Wise as “an inquiry into the mystery and art of living.” The short episodes are pulled out of the longer interviews you’ll find on On Being (which is also on my must-listen list).
Where to Start Listening: Try We Reclaim Abandoned Spaces, or We Are the Beloved Community (you’ll see it in the list of episodes in your podcast app).
Find the voices that inspire you
Try this trick when you’re wondering what to listen to next. Search your podcast app for people who interest you, even if they don’t have a podcast of their own. If they’ve ever been a guest on someone else’s show, they’ll pop right up in your search results. You might find…
- Shauna Niequist chatting about Enneagram personality profiles on The Road Back to You podcast
- Elizabeth Gilbert discussing the relationship between curiosity, depression, and creativity on The Good Life Project with Jonathan Fields
- Erin Loechner of Design for Mankind on The Slow Home with Brooke McAlary
- Marianne Williamson exploring pain, suffering, and finding peace on The School of Greatness with Lewis Howe
- Brené Brown and Ann Patchett being brilliant on separate episodes of Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert
Your favorites
I asked for your favorite podcast recommendations, and you guys had tons of great suggestions. These were the most popular.
The Simple Show with Tsh Oxenreider
You all like to keep things simple, and I don’t blame you. The Simple Show was your top rec.
For more on simple living, you guys also suggested The Minimalists and The Slow Home Podcast.
Sarah Mackenzie’s The Read-Aloud Revival
Excellent suggestions for the bookish among us (me!).
The Read-Aloud Revival will keep your kids in books for-pretty-much-ever, with interviews about how to read aloud, why to read aloud, and what to read aloud.
What Should I Read Next with Anne Bogel
On What Should I Read Next, Anne plays literary matchmaker, helping her guests figure out what they — and maybe we — should read next.
I end up requesting stacks of library books after every episode.
Happier with Gretchen Rubin
Because who doesn’t want to be Happier?
Especially good for fans of Gretchen Rubin’s books, of course, but you don’t need to read them before jumping into the podcast.
TED Radio Hour
NPR’s TED Radio Hour.
For learning all kinds of things you never knew you needed to know. And aren’t you glad you know them now?
You all have such good taste.