I love listening to music while I work. It sets the mood for all the projects I am developing. Music has a transformative ability. It can make a grueling commute a bit easier or inspire an impromptu kitchen dance party. Sometimes music just isn’t enough. When I need to be entertained and my horizons expanded, I hook up to my favorite podcasts. Whether your special podcasts are informative, comical, or conversational, podcasts come in all shapes and sizes to pique all of our moods and interests. You know I love to curate and share with you the best of all things (I am not just a design diva). Here are five of my favorite podcasts to pump up a few empty moments on your next long road trip or fill up a lazy Sunday.
The Black List Table Reads
“The Black List Table Reads” podcast bills itself as the home of “movies for your ears”. While on vacation, a Hollywood assistant decided to reach out to his colleagues to get the best scripts that had been submitted that year. In exchange for their cooperation, Franklin Leonard, the founder, compiled the best 100 and gave the group access to the final list. The percentage of these scripts that go on to be made and win major recognition (Golden Globes, Oscars) is staggering. A new script is selected each month and a group of talented actors bring these scripts to life and create an “ear movie” out of it. If you are a movie buff like myself, this is an inside track to a film that might be heard by you before appearing on the big screen. Instead of plopping down in front of the TV, I love sitting in the garden with the fire pit going, pouring a glass of something dark and red and having some “me” time while listening to an intriguing story.
https://blacklist.wolfpop.com/
Get Up On This
To keep up to date, the “Get Up On This,” podcast is like having lunch with the cool kids at your high school. You know, the ones who always knew about some obscure band that was about to get huge or what new store had the latest clothes trends. Each week Jensen Karp (owner of Gallery 1988) and Matthew Robinson (screen writer) sit down with a new guest. These two guys showcase what’s new in music, TV and apps and all things in between that have not hit the mainstream or have been overlooked. With their sterling record for spotting trends, I am addicted to this podcast for keeping me informed and enriching my “party talk” repertoire.
https://getuponthis.wolfpop.com/
This American Life
I can hardly type those words without hearing the singular voice of Ira Glass of “This American Life.” This long standing popular radio show has been adapted into podcast form. Like “Serial,” this is an NPR production. Each week, Ira and his team put together a theme for the show. Although the stories (usually 3) center around a central hub, they are wildly different. I love that this is a look into the quiet moments of life to reveal some connections that we all share. “This American Life” has been in my home and in my heart for years and is the gold standard for personal storytelling.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/
Slumber Party
I remember first hearing about Ali and Georgia for their self-described culinary abomination “McNuggetini”. These two women are hilarious and amazingly talented best friends and cocktail connoisseurs. Ali and Georgia are the girls that we all secretly pray to show up at stuffy parties to break the ice and who our friends buzz around as the best prey to find. Along with their podcast that can be found over at Feral Audio, they have a huge YouTube presence. Ali and Georgia are fun, outrageous, but honest foodies who will instantly become your best friends.
https://www.feralaudio.com/show/slumber-party-with-alie-and-georgia/
Serial
“Serial” has been billed as “the podcast that brought back the podcast” (now that’s meta). The first season followed a single story of a highly controversial murder that was reported in detail by Sarah Koenig through multiple episodes, so you do need to listen in order. If you like a good investigative story, you will be enthralled by this look into a homicide investigation by the Baltimore PD and the human emotions at its core. I went into this podcast thinking I could use it as a bit of background noise. By the time the first episode was over, I realized my fingers had not touched my key board for 10 minutes and my mouth was agape. Ok, so it’s probably not the best thing if you are trying to be productive, but it’s well worth a listen and the real story continues today in the news.
Let me know if you have podcasts to share as we all have dull moments in the day where we need a bit of intoxication to stir our imaginations or make us laugh.