I’ve listened to podcasts for years…when I’m walking, doing work around the house, making breakfast, and when I’m driving (the radio is generally only on if M is in the car with me). And since I listen to them speed up, I can generally get through several over the course of a week.
I am just coming out of a time when I have been extremely busy, so I was noticing what I continued listening to and what got put on hold. That seems to be a pretty good indication of what I really enjoy and benefit from, and what doesn’t currently make that level.
One last thing…how I play my podcasts. For years, I’ve used a piece of software called Downcast. It worked well enough and had a good degree of customisation. My only problem was, I wanted to avoid paying for a separate desktop app. I never listen to podcasts at my desk, but occasionally, I’ll stick my laptop on the kitchen island when I’m cooking, so it was really a matter of convenience. However, not one I wanted to shell out a few quid for. I have been using Apple Podcasts lately…and it’s okay… But the most recent version has a very frustrating interface. So, I’m not sure how long I’ll be sticking with it. I’m open to finding something new.
So, here’s my list, in no specific order.
The Baseball Hour — Tony Massarotti
Massarotti used to cover the Red Sox for the Boston Herald (& briefly the Globe) but has been on the top Boston Radio Program for years now. Depending on what the Red Sox are doing I may listen to Hardcore Baseball (Matt McCarthy), or anything Rob Bradford doing on the other sports radio station in Boston, but during the baseball season, this is a daily routine.
Mac Power Users — David Sparks & Stephen Hackett
As you may know, or figured out from the preceding paragraphs, I am pretty deep in the Apple ecosystem. Generally, I learn something each week about one of my devices that proves helpful. Sparks also has a couple of other podcasts called Automators and Focused. I’ll listen if the topic or guest seems interesting, but not as regularly as this.
Since we moved to Ireland, McWilliams has been someone I read almost anything I can get my hands on to learn more about the place we now live. The podcast is an economics podcast, which I enjoy, but with a good amount of Irish culture and politics thrown in.
Five ThirtyEight
Once we got to mid-January of this past year, I have thankfully, felt like I can take a break from US politics, where for four years prior I opened my newsfeed asking “What fresh hell?” But I am still interested in politics, and Nate Silver and his team always have an interesting approach. I don’t catch every episode, but usually, there is something each week. When more is going on, and I want to dig in a bit more, my two news/politics podcasts are NPR Politics (US) & Irish Times Politics (Ireland). Here is a good one to try: Americans Are Losing Their Religion. That’s Changing Politics.
Faith Improvised — Tim Gombis
I first learned about Gombis from another podcast in this list, the Vox podcast…every time he was on I found what he had to say fascinating. His podcast is just him talking on a range of topics, but since they tend to be ones I’m interested in hearing about, it has been a good fit.
(Here’s one if you want to check in out: Think Again, Again)
Holy Post — Phil Vischer & Skye Jethani
Yeah, it’s the Veggie Tale guy.
The conversations are usually interesting…and the interviews are consistently good. (And well, there is news of the butt).
This one with John Walton (who you should definitely read his stuff) is worth your time: The Apocalypse Now with John Walton.
Vox — Mike Erre
While I stumbled upon Gombis, from this podcast, I found this one listening to the Holy Post…it’s like synergy. When I listen to this podcast, it feels like they have been listening to and reading the same people I have for the past few years. (Supposedly the name is changing soon, but that seems more like one of those stores that are always running “going out of business sales.”)
Here is a recent one you might enjoy: This Present Darkness.
I’ve connected with the Jesus Collective at the start of the year and always find the conversations worth the time. Here is a recent podcast to sample.
A recent one : Preaching to Post Christian Cultures
2 more to get it to 10
I wasn’t going to do a top 10 list. ThenI hit 8 and there are 2 more that I haven’t listened to lately, but have been in my rotation for longer than anything else in this list (other than the Baseball Hour). They would be:
Theology on Mission — David Fitch
The Bible Project — Tim Mackie and Jon Collins
So, that’s my list, anything I am missing?
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