Podcasts for the Weary Soul
Podcasts, radio for the 21st century. For all their ubiquity, podcasts tend to fall into a few major camps. The world of podcasts is filled with True Crime, Politics/News, and comedians interviewing people. Sometimes in various combinations. But what if that isn’t your thing? I, personally, have zero interest in true crime, and while I like politics and politics-adjacent/comedian-adjacent shows – like NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me – it gets exhausting after a while. Not to mention repetitive. So, to avoid that awful fate, here are five podcasts I love that have nothing to do with the standard three flavors of podcasts.
When I first looked into this podcast, I was skeptical – I was not interested in listening to someone retell the same Greek myths and European fairy tales I’ve known since I was in elementary school. Who needs that? But it’s not just story-time. Or it is, but it’s more like “story time meets a college lit/history class but with humor.” The episodes include context, sources, and great commentary, both after the story and in the form of so many wry comments within it. And while it is largely Eurocentric, the podcast does have a global scope. I tend to listen to this one in random binges, partially because some stories are told over the course of several weeks. I got into it with the early episodes on Koschei the Deathless (a Russian Voldemort), but to get an idea of the style, I recommend starting with “The Frog Prince: Warts and All” or the Tale of Sinbad (in three parts).
A History of the World in 100 Objects
About five or so years ago my dad got me the book “A History of the World in 100 Objects” for Christmas. It’s a giant tome, written by the director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, using 100 objects in the museum to discuss all of human history around the world. This book is actually comprised of transcripts from a BBC Radio program of the same name, narrated by Mr. MacGregor, and it can be downloaded as a podcast. The episodes are informative, a bit dense but narrated in a soothing British accent (much like Planet Earth) and are about 14 minutes long each. I’m only about half-way through but I highly recommend looking at it, even if only to learn about one or two specific time-periods/regions you are interested in. If you aren’t sure what to check out and don’t want to go chronologically, I suggest “The Jomon Pot,” which is about one of the oldest clay pot known and is from Japan, or the “North American Otter Pipe” which focuses on a 2,000-year old tobacco pipe from the Ohio area.
This isn’t a podcast so much as a monthly 1 ½ hour lecture on some aspect of modern music history. I love it. I pride myself on my classic rock knowledge, but the Hit Parade has so much information packed into a fun narrative. It always has a focal point, even when it goes deep into the historical influences. The best thing is the music clips though. The host, Chris Molanphy, has clips of music playing after most references to a given song, if only in the background, to elucidate his point. The only problem I have is the fact that half the time I get distracted just listening to the music and ignore his commentary, and then have to rewind. Start from the first episode, which focuses on the song “Red Red Wine.” If you like that one, you will love the whole podcast.
I am a fantasy nerd. So what could be better than an improv-podcast set in a fantasy universe? The host, Arnie (who is also the real-live creator) fell through a dimensional portal behind a Burger King in Chicago and landed in the magical, fantastical land of Foon. From there he sits in a tavern and interviews all the people/magical beings that he can, with his co-hosts: a thoroughly inept wizard, and an animal shape-shifter who is basically always a badger. It’s actually improvised, but they do a good job at world building, created a legit multi-year plot, and have many recurring characters. The best: Flower, the talking Flower. A warning about this podcast. It’s is super ribald and vulgar. Not just the language, but the content. It takes inappropriate and then leaves it a few blocks behind. I think it’s hilarious and love it, but this is definitely not for everyone. It helps to start from the beginning but if you want to jump in, start with “Baron Ragoon.”
Pop Culture Happy Hour is probably my favorite podcast. It is a roundtable discussion about things that have just come out, or are currently The Thing Being Discussed in the pop culture/critics world. And the thing I love about this is that it is actually a discussion. People state their opinions, but there is no bashing, and nothing is pure gushing. The comments are thoughtful, and it is the only place where I’ve heard a critic say, “it’s not for me, but it’s for someone.” Two of these podcasts in this list I discovered via Pop Culture Happy Hour, along with several TV shows and artists over the years. I cannot recommend this highly enough. If you aren’t concerned with current-ness, I suggest start with either their episode on Steven Universe, or on Romance Novels.
