I love podcasts, and listen to them every day. I feel like right now is a great opportunity to listen to even more of them, since many of us are off work right now.
There are literally thousands of podcasts out there; whatever you’re into, there is bound to be a podcast out there for you. And the best part is that the vast majority are free.
For me, podcasts are like personal development; I listen to people who can inspire me and perhaps show me how to have better habits, think more critically, be more creative or just generally how to be a better person. These days it’s so easy to get caught up consuming endless junk content on social media, or feeding one’s anxiety with 24-hour news channels. I try to be more careful about what I allow into my consciousness, and choose podcasts over most other media wherever possible (I do still scroll through social media, but I try to limit that, whereas I try to listen to more podcasts!)
Here are my favourite podcasts right now:
1 Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
I really love this podcast for the wide range of guests and the straight forward, useful information. At the end of each podcast Dr Chatterjee asks his guests for some take-home advice that people can implement straight away which is really useful.
Favourite episodes:
- Coronavirus special with Dr Judson Brewer – loads of useful discussion around anxiety and how to cope with the current shitstorm
- “If this man can turn his life around, so can you” with John McAvoy – this is an absolutely fascinating interview with a man who was a career criminal and ended up maximum security prison, serving two life sentences – and is now a Nike sponsored athlete.
2 Aubrey Marcus Podcast
I find this podcast really interesting and compulsive listening. It’s one of very few where I know what day a new episode is released, and bump it immediately to the top of my (never ending) playlist. Aubrey Marcus is the Founder of US fitness brand Onnit, and this podcast has been going for a while now so there are plenty of old episodes to listen to. Everything from spirituality to health, nutrition, you name it.
Favourite episodes:
- 50 years with Ram Dass with Raghu Markus – I’m a big fan of Ram Dass and I loved this conversation with Raghu Markus. Just beautiful.
- Peter Crone can free your mind – any interview with Peter Crone is worth a listen. They call him “the mind architect” and in this episode he basically works his magic on Aubrey. Very interesting listening with lots of takeaways.
3 Blank Podcast with Giles Paley-Phillips & Jim Daly
This is one of those podcasts where it doesn’t much matter who the guest is; I know it’s going to be a good listen. The premise is that they talk about those “blank” moments we all have in life, whether through writer’s block or forgetting lines or otherwise just being a bit “off.” I love it because they have a lot of creatives who talk openly about their craft, and about times when things have gone a bit wrong.
Favourite episodes:
- David Baddiel – just because I love David Baddiel and this is a brilliant interview
- Michael Rosen – again, I just love Michael Rosen and enjoyed listening to this
4 How to Fail with Elizabeth Day
The premise of this podcast is that Elizabeth Day gets a guest in, and asks them to talk about 3 times they’ve failed. The result is that it doesn’t matter who she’s talking to; the conversation is fascinating and you can go from laughter to tears in a matter of minutes, and perhaps even learn something.
Favourite episodes:
- Mo Gawdat – you may never have heard of him but honestly, this one interview is a life changer. Gawdat developed an algorithm for happiness. And then his son died, and he had to really test the algorithm. It’s just beautiful. And contains things we can all apply to our own lives.
- Deliciously Ella – this interview really made me think about the way we judge each other.
5 Ram Dass Here and Now
Ram Dass died just before Christmas, but there is a huge back catalogue of over 50 years of his lectures and talks. In this podcast his long term friend Raghu Markus chooses a different recording each week and introduces it. No matter how old the talk, there is always something to learn from it.
Favourite Episodes:
- The Still Small Voice Within – a beautiful talk from 1975
- Astral Fun and Games, part 1 – talk about miracles and psychedelics. Brilliant.
6 The Rich Roll Podcast
This is one of the longest running podcasts out there; I think he’s been going around 7 or 8 years now – so there are hundreds of previous episodes to catch up on. I love it because he has a wide range of different guests on, and they have really long, in-depth conversations. Rich Roll himself has an interesting background, going from alcoholic lawyer to vegan ultra marathon runner. I find this podcast compulsive listening.
Favourite episodes:
- Russell Brand – when you get two people together who both talk openly about their journey out of addiction, it’s bound to be an interesting listen. Love this one.
- Wim Hof – if you’ve not heard of Wim Hof before… you’ve probably not had a conversation with me lately! He’s famous for doing things like climbing mountains in just a pair of shorts, but has actually been studied by universities and trained many other people to do similar things.
Have I mentioned your favourite podcast? I’m always open to recommendations; leave me a comment here or get in touch on Facebook or Instagram to tell me about your favourite podcasts.
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