Podcast Guide: Because "The Daily" Sends Me Into A Daily Despair Spiral
I listen to a lot of podcasts. Really, I am a podcast fiend. I’ve all but stopped listening to music at this point. I listen in the car, on walks, while I work out (except for running…I still need a borderline repellent thumping beat for that), when cooking, when folding laundry, while making lists…you name it. I mainline audio content.
And with the Overcast app, I even organize them into topic-specific playlists — “News + Politics,” “Psych,” “Work,” “Stories,” “Feministing,” “Foodie,” “True Crime + Spooky Stuff.” There’s more, but letting you in on this, um, habit is starting to make me self-conscious.
Overcast lets you prioritize your playlists, and in my “Master Playlist,” the one I listen to most, I prioritize my favorite daily news podcasts like the NYT’s “The Daily,” Vox’s “Today, Explained,” “NPR Politics,” BBC’s “The World Tonight,” NPR’s “Up First,” and Crooked Media’s “What a Day.” I also prioritize the non-daily news podcasts. (I warned you…it’s a sickness.)
As you probably are not surprised to hear, all this news is not great for my mental health right now. I mean, it was probably never good for my mental health considering this habit really took hold in November 2016 (a date that will live in infamy). But now it’s really out of control thanks to that pain in the ass, coronavirus.
People are finding their escapes in different ways, whether it be baking sourdough bread, Tik Tok, at-home workouts, or simply staring at the wall and intermittently screaming into a pillow. WHATEVER IT TAKES, GUYS. Do what you gotta do to get through it.
It’s taken me a while to find what keeps me mostly stable (when my hormones are cooperating). Some days it’s waking up with yoga, some days it’s reading, some days it’s crying, and some days it’s binging TV. I’ll tell you what it’s not — binging news podcasts. The sound of a mere syllable uttered by a certain president sets my teeth on edge. I feel my blood pressure rising, my shoulders slowly hunching up around my ears. And yes, I let myself have my rages. Because I believe anger is productive and important.
But all the same, I need breaks. So when I need a break, I put away the political and current events podcasts. I put away the feminist podcasts and the podcasts about productivity and career growth. I put away the podcasts with financial advice and wellness advice. I put away the podcasts I listen to learn all the things I want to know. And I put on podcasts I can just get lost in and enjoy. Of course, there’s still some learning happening and some downer content here and there. But in general, these are the podcasts that engross me, move me, make me laugh, make me smile, and overall, are getting me through. If you’re in need of such similar content during this time, I’m now sharing my list with you.
Fictional
The recent return of “Fictional” is actually what gave me the idea for this post. I LOVE “Fictional” and have missed it during its recent hiatus. In each episode of “Fictional,” the host recaps a classic piece of fiction (think Sherlock, Dracula, The Count of Monte Cristo…) but with delightfully quippy snark. The tagline of “Fictional” is “classic lit with a modern tone,” and it’s such a great way to get your fix of classics as well as a smile and a laugh.
Happier with Gretchen Rubin
I have yet to read Gretchen Rubin’s books, starting with The Happiness Project, but I’m such a fan of her podcast that she hosts with her sister. It makes me…well…happier. A lot of the episodes I’ve noticed tend to gear toward productivity hacks, but they’re also ones that, when I’ve tried them, genuinely make me happier. Plus it’s just refreshing listening to completely benign conversations between two people who are simply exploring the human psyche and what makes them happy.
My Favorite Murder
OK so obviously true crime is not a particularly uplifting genre, but goddamn Karen and Georgia make me LOL for real at least a few times per episode. So even when they recount horrible stories that are genuine bummers, their self-deprecating humor and snarky banter makes me laugh so much I inevitably feel better after each episode.
Our Time of the Month
MY LOCAL GIRLS!!! If you follow a good number of Baltimore ‘grammers, chances are, you follow OTM. And if you follow OTM on Instagram, you know Caitlin and Danielle are HILARIOUS. Their insta is full of great beauty and lifestyle content and they also have an awesome YouTube channel. But as YouTube is not really my thing, I was STOKED to see they started a podcast and within listening to the first episode or two, it was clear they’re natural podcasters too.
Gastropod
I find comfort in food. This is why if I’m sick or feeling down, I immediately turn to “Chef’s Table” or “The Great British Baking Show” on my Netflix queue. So of course there is a heavy rotation of food podcasts in my life, and I’m a longtime fan of “Gastropod,” which dives into the history and science of food. Do you know if the color orange was named after oranges or if oranges were named after the color? I do.
By the Book
Every episode of “By the Book” features a different self-help book by which the two hosts, one a comedian and one a skeptic, live their lives for two straight weeks. It’s mostly funny, though at times it’s also moving, educational, inspirational, and insightful. Plus it’s helped me cross some books off my to-be-read list without wasting my time reading them.
Rough Translation
“Rough Translation” is an amazing NPR offering with stories from around the world — “familiar conversations into unfamiliar territory.” It is great to get out of my American (despair) bubble and hear stories I wouldn’t otherwise about how different people are living their lives in different cultures and places. Recently I listened to an episode called “Hotel Corona” about Israelis and Palestinians recovering from covid together in a hotel in Jerusalem. It was a bright spot amid the bleak pandemic news.
The Sporkful
Like “Gastropod,” “The Sporkful” is another one of my foodie escapes. Host Dan Pashman also considers food through the lens of history sometimes, but more so through the lens of culture. It’s super interesting and informative but also very comforting, like mom’s chicken soup.
Terrible, Thanks for Asking
Grief queen Nora McInerny is a TRUE GEM. I adore literally any content she puts out into the world. Although, like “MFM,” the content of “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” can be a bit of a bummer, the stories are somehow always relatable, moving, and many times, uplifting.
Who? Weekly
“Who? Weekly” is guilty pleasure in podcast form. The hosts basically spend the time gossiping about B- and C-list celebrities — the precise people who, when I hear their names, I go “Who?” It’s been a while since I listened to this, which I was binging at one point, but it’s time to dive back in and laugh my ass off.
You Must Remember This
Because there are a number of multi-part miniseries in “You Must Remember This,” I started listening to this podcast from it’s very beginning and since I am still somewhere amidst the 2016 episodes, I happily turn to it whenever I feel like I am in the mood for the podcast equivalent of a really good book. Host Karina Longworth does deep dives into the back stories of Hollywood’s Golden Age and it is absolutely delightful.
Heavyweight
How to describe “Heavyweight”? Gimlet media describes it as helping people resolve a moment from their past that they wish they could change. This sounds “heavy” and many of the stories are, but host Jonathan Goldstein is so goddamn funny, I LOL at nearly every episode. And the stories of the “moments” are so wide-ranging from a woman confronting her dad who disappeared and started a new family in another country to a guy confronting Moby for never returning the archival tapes he used to create “Play,” the album that arguably made him famous. I binged this one from start to finish in the span of a couple weekends and now eagerly await new episodes.
Keep It
I love the insight and analysis I get from the Crooked Media podcasts, but none more so than the pop culture take I get from “Keep It.” Hosts Ira Madison III, Louis Virtel, and Aida Osman are so funny and just whip-smart. They’re always a great go-to for what I should read, listen to, or watch next, and, as an NYU alumn, I’ll never get tired of Louis dragging Ira for dropping his own NYU alumn status regularly.
Radio Rental
There’s only one season of “Radio Rental” so far and I heard it discussed on another podcast so I gave it a listen. As mentioned, I have a “True Crime + Spooky Stuff” playlist that I lean hard into in the fall, but also turn to every now and then for some good storytelling. This one falls squarely into that playlist since it’s “bizarre, real-life horror stories.” They’re all more or less unexplained and super creepy. If you’re into being creeped out, definitely give this one a listen. Bonus — Rainn Wilson acts as the “host.”
Forever35
IF EVER THERE WAS A TIME FOR SELF-CARE, IT IS NOW, AMIRITE? Enter “Forever35.” It’s…literally a podcast about self-care and I am here for it. Plus hosts Doree and Kate are just soothing to listen to. Give me all the serums and face masks please.
Pop Culture Happy Hour
One of my old standbys for what to watch, read, and listen to is NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour.” Since I am still fortunate enough to be working, I don’t have all the time in the world to stream everything and bake sourdough bread and all that, but with social distancing, I do find myself with some extra time on the weekends and I like knowing which content not to waste my time on, so “PCHH” does that heavy lifting for me.
On the List
I haven’t listened to the following podcasts, but I have them queued up in multiple playlists. I find nothing more comforting than Samin Nosrat’s Netflix series and cookbook of the same name, “Salt Fat Acid Heat.” So of course now that I know she has a new podcast miniseries for the time we’re living in now, I immediately subscribed to “Home Cooking.” I heard a sample of Cheryl Strayed’s new podcast “Sugar Calling” on my NYT feed. It was so good, and as a writer, I am super down to listen to her garner the wisdom of her own writing mentors. And as a long-time Brené Brown fan, of course I added her new podcast “Unlocking Us” to the list to listen to her “explore the universal experiences of being human.”
What’s in your podcast queue? Tell me in the comments or on Instagram!
xo,
S