15 Podcasts To Feed Your Mind and Soul
The Wired PR team is always on the lookout for good stories, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise we’re very dedicated podcast listeners, too. In fact, besides helping our clients develop, launch and produce podcasts, listening to them has become among our favorite pastimes.
Here are some of our team’s favorite pods (and they’re as varied as our personalities!):
Beth Cochran, CEO
It’s so hard to choose just three. Depending on how I’m feeling or what I need that week, I float between more business-related podcasts like “Build a Better Agency” or inspirational like “The Tim Ferriss Show,” “The Tony Robbins Podcast,” or Oprah’s “SuperSoul Conversations.” And, of course, I love almost anything from Gimlet.
Marketing Over Coffee –– This one has a soft spot in my heart. It was the podcast that got me into podcasts way back in 2008! Don’t tell the hosts (Christopher S. Penn and John Wall), but they’re celebrity status in my world. This is how I stay connected to what’s happening in the marketing world. They talk about the latest news impacting the world of marketing, but also interview authors and notable marketers.
The FlipMyFunnel Podcast –– Aside from being an inspiration to listen to, host Sangram Vajre incorporates a great mix of content in this podcast. Naturally, it will most always hinge on some marketing-related (more specifically ABM) topic, but he also interviews guests about their journeys and challenges they’ve overcome along the way. In one interview he did with someone on his team, the person shared a mantra she lives by that has stuck with me since, “It’s not if, but how.”
SuperSoul Conversations –– When your soul needs a recharge, this will most certainly do the trick. I can’t say enough about this podcast. Oprah pulls in some of the most amazing guests who share stories about rising up from defeat, inspirations and philosophies they live by, and how they inspire themselves and others. It’s incredibly uplifting.
Morgan O’Crotty, Sr. Account + Content Manager
Revisionist History: Geeking out doesn’t begin to cover just how much I love Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast about things overlooked and misunderstood. This summer marks its fourth season, with new episodes about taking the LSATs for fun and why we need to overhaul how people approach getting a legal education. It’s riveting! Since there’s no risk of overselling this, it’s basically your new favorite podcast if you have two ears and like interesting things.
92Y Talks: When I’m on a long drive or stuck on the highway, I go straight to this podcast because it’s a sure thing everytime. I like how they pair two guests together, with one assuming hosting duties, although the interviewing usually ends up going both ways. It feels like eavesdropping on two spectacularly cool people having lunch at the table next to you. And speaking of Malcolm Gladwell, his episode with Michael Lewis is a great place to start.
Bachelor Party: It’s embarrassing to admit but after a decade of not watching reality TV, I’ve recently become a full-fledged member of #BachelorNation. Each week after The Bachelorette has aired, Juliet Lipman and various members of her superfan friends analyze this ridiculous show in what can only be described as in extreme detail. It’s become a hilarious ritual for my husband and me over breakfast the following morning, and it really brings the laughs. Needless to say, we’re “here for the right reasons.”
Sarah Gray, Sr. Account Manager
ReplyAll – This is definitely my all-time favorite podcast. Their tagline is “a podcast about the internet” but it is so much more than that. Hilarious hosts, PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman explore internet culture and how technology influences our lives in the most unexpected ways. They cover everything from serious investigative topics like dark UX patterns on TurboTax that tricked customers out of millions of dollars to the real story behind pizza rat.
Planet Money — I never thought I’d look forward to listening to economics podcast but Planet Money explains the economy in an entertaining way. Produced by NPR, this podcast takes complex (and somewhat dry) topics and breaks them down for listeners in a way that is engaging and applicable.
Invisibilia — This is a great storytelling podcast that explores the “invisible” forces that shape human culture. It sounds kind of abstract, but Invisibilia is definitely worth a listen. One of my favorite episodes is “Outside In” which follows the first all-female debate team in Rwanda.
Bre Krager, Account Coordinator
NPR’s Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me – By far my most-listened-to. The multi-talented Peter Sagal –– along with a rotating hodgepodge of hilarious panelists –– hosts this weekly, hour-long quiz program. Highlighting the week’s biggest events, the show’s hosts test audience members on which news stories are real, and which are fake. To add to the merriment, the crew interviews a special celebrity guest at the end, formulating a separate –– and highly amusing –– quiz for that person. I never know which direction the show will take each week, which only adds to its charm.
Armchair Expert – I’ve always loved Dax Shepherd, both for his authenticity and Michigan (my home state) roots. In his podcast, he conducts one-on-one interviews with celebrities, discussing the messy, human moments of their lives. These can get pretty long due to Dax’s propensity to overshare, but his digressions are what make the podcast feel genuine. Much to the podcast’s point, there’s no shortage of detours in life.
S-Town – Although not a recurring podcast, the story Brian Reed –– the show’s host –– reports about a man from an Alabama who is convinced his town’s (what he calls “Shittown”) police officers are helping cover up a murder is entirely too captivating. And what happens after Brian actually visits this Alabama town for himself is unbelievable.
David Rozul, Account Manager
The Daily – The NY Times daily news podcast, I love not only being kept up to date on the latest news but the in-depth storytelling and journalism quality of the NYT shouldn’t be missed.
Tim Ferris Show – A business/ leadership podcast that interviews leaders in different industries and deconstructs their routines, habits, and past experiences, allowing the listener to cherry-pick and apply new habits into their own lives.
The Dirt Bag Diaries – A creative narrative podcast in which one person an episode, shares their personal story about a single event or a pivotal moment in life that has shaped their relationship with the outdoors. The podcast explores struggle, vulnerability, joy, love and everything in between.
We can’t leave this list without tossing a bone to our own podcast, The SuccessLab Podcast. But only because of the amazing guests we’ve had the privilege of interviewing (not because we’re in the business of promoting or anything). What are your favorite podcasts?
