Sometimes I feel like I drive and send emails for a living.
Being a musician is a different life than I thought it would be. Sometimes you drive all day, wait around a venue for hours, check into a hotel room, all just to play a little set of music. It can be a strange process sometimes.
I’ve grown to enjoy the driving. Often, it’s just me, alone in the car. One thing that has made this entire job that much more joyful is podcasts.
Podcasts are a game changer. They have brought me so much joy, entertainment and knowledge. I couldn’t imagine doing this job without them.
I’m always on the lookout for new podcasts, I would love some suggestions. Some I listen to religlously, while some I listen to casually, from time-to-time.
Here are my favourite podcasts at the moment. I’ll be breaking this blog up into two parts so that I can give you a quick description of each and explain why I enjoy these.
In no particular order.....
WTF with Marc Maron Podcast
I have to be honest, I never thought I would enjoy this podcast. It’s a straight-up interview podcast between comedian, Marc Maron, and a variety of guests. The guests range from directors, to athletes, to musicians, to actors. What makes it special is that Marc doesn’t suck-up to anyone. It feels like two friends chatting. It is strangely sentimental and honest. He gets interviews no one else does.
Key epidsodes
-Jason Schwartzman
-Paul Thomas Anderson
The Moth Podcast
This is a podcast of a live event that encourages people to share stories, live and without a script. This involves real people telling their greatest life stories. Some are hillarious and some are painfully morose. You never know what you are going to get.
Key episodes
-Alex & Me (Oct 22, 2012)
-Hatpin Mary (Re-Added Jan 14, 2014)
Planet Money
A quick and quirky economics podcast. This is a short and digestible podcast about stories involving commerce. What makes it great is the amazing team and production
Key episodes:
#600 - The People Inside Your Machine
This American Life
The mother of all podcasts. This set the bar for quality, long-form, investigative stories of the human spirit. I feel like this podcast revolutionized radio. As good as it gets.
Key episodes:
468: Switcheroo 06.29.2012
502: This Call May Be Recorded...To Save Your Life 08.09.2013
New Yorker: Fiction
Well known authors read pieces from other authors from the New Yorker magazine. The best part is that after the excerpt is read the author offers his insight as to why he likes the piece and what it means to him/her.
Key episodes:
David Gilbert Reads Steven Polansky