Today I’m sharing some of my favorite podcasts that I’ve been listening to lately. Like most people, what I’m listening to changes over time, so I thought it was time to write a post about what I’m enjoying right now.
I have to start off a post about my favorite podcasts by saying that I listen to a lot of them. Typically I download a bunch of them to my phone on Sunday and then listen to them throughout the week. I had a friend ask me how I manage to listen to so many. To be honest it’s all about taking advantage of the little chunks of time throughout the day. I listen to them when I’m driving in my car, at the gym during cardio workouts, when I’m cleaning, and even when I’m working.
In terms of apps that I use, I love Spotify and Pocket Casts. I typically use Spotify when I’m at home and listen to them on one of the Google Home Mini we have in our house (I have one in my room and one in the kitchen/living room).
When I’m at the gym or in the car I use Pocket Casts on my phone. You can subscribe to podcasts and then when they release new episodes you can download them to your phone. It’s super easy to do on the app. I really like that I don’t have to use my data to listen to them when I’m out and about, and I can delete the episodes after I listen to them so it doesn’t take up a ton of space on my phone. If you’re looking for workout playlists, you can find them all here.
I figured I would categorize the podcasts so you can find whatever interests you. I know it’s kind of an eclectic mix of topics!
Yoga
M. B. Om
Amanda Kingsmith is the host of M. B. Om and talks about the business of teaching yoga. There’s so much to cover during a 200 hour yoga teacher training, that it’s hard to fit in everything. Needless to say, I wish I had learned more about the business behind being a yoga teacher. I think we spent one afternoon talking about that stuff during my teacher training and that was it.
There’s so many different ways to set yourself up as a yoga teacher – I honestly had no idea until I started yoga teacher training and really thought about what I wanted my teaching to look like. Who did I want to teach? Where did I want to teach? A studio? On my own renting space? With other teachers? In person or online? The options are nearly endless and it can be a lot to think about when you’re trying to figure out where you fit best.
Amanda is Canadian (and is even from my province), so it’s really great to not only listen to someone local, but also a fellow Canadian.
The Yoga Teacher Resource Podcast
This podcast is hosted by Mado Hasselink. I’ve been listening to it for a year or so now and it’s a podcast that I really enjoy. Some episodes are on air coaching calls with yoga teachers that she works with one on one and others are interviews with people in the yoga community like Leslie Kaminoff, Amanda McKinney, and even Shannon Roche who is the CEO of the Yoga Alliance.
The Connected Yoga Teacher
Shannon Crow hosts The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast. It’s another one that I’ve been listening to for awhile now and I always learn something from each episode. Shannon is also a fellow Canadian (I think she lives in Ontario), so it’s nice to get a Canadian perspective on things when so much of the media even here in Canada is American based.
Shannon covers all kinds of topics of interest to yoga teachers – from how to plan a workshop to making money as a yoga teacher to the business of opening a yoga studio.
Being a yoga teacher can be a very lonely job – you don’t really spend much time with “co-workers”, so it can sometimes feels like you’re doing it all alone. Having these three podcasts as resources to fill that gap and almost be like a kind of continuing education after finishing my 200 hour yoga teacher training has been invaluable.
Current Events
Planet Money
I started listening to Planet Money a few years ago after multiple people recommended it to me. I’m glad that I finally took their advice because I really do enjoy listening to it! Planet Money episodes usually clock in at between 20 and 30 minutes long.
The general theme of this podcast is economics. While I know that you might think that it’s a super boring and dry topic, the way that NPR covers it definitely isn’t. They always manage to bring whatever story they’re covering back to money and economics. They’ve done episodes on employees selling snacks at baseball games, how restaurants can make little tweaks to make a lot more money, and the fairness of wealth taxes. Most episodes I listen to I learn something and am always impressed at how they can make abstract ideas come alive with real life situations.
Up First
Just like Planet Money, Up First is another NPR podcast. I usually play it first thing in the morning when I’m getting up, making my bed, and getting dressed. It’s the shortest podcast I listen to and it usually between 10 and 15 minutes long.
Since Up First is produced by NPR it focuses on the latest news from the US, though they do occasionally do stories on international stories too, such as Brexit, the corona virus, and even the Canadian federal election because Canada and the US are such big trade partners with each other.
It’s a great way to hear about the latest big news stories at the beginning of each day. There’s a new episode of Up First everyday except for Sundays.
Throughline
Also by NPR (are you noticing a theme here?), Throughline takes a deeper dive into current topics to get into the history and nuances of it. I’ve listened to episodes about Putin, vaccination, planned obsolescence, mass incarceration, and even the electrical grid.
As you can tell from the topics, they’re pretty eclectic but it’s so interesting to get a more in depth look at those topics. It’s one of those podcasts where you’re never sure what the next episode will be about but they’re always interesting to listen to.
True Crime
The Vanished Podcast
I’ve been listening to The Vanished Podcast for years now – so long in fact that I can’t even remember how I started listening to it or who recommended it to me. Every week Marissa covers the case of a missing person. She tries to take on cases that haven’t gotten a lot of attention which means that there’s a lot of older cases as well of those of people who live lives that would put them at risk. Marissa always treats the families and the stories of the people that she features with respect and dignity, which doesn’t always happen.
If you like this podcast be sure to follow The Vanished Podcast on Instagram. Marissa will post teasers about new episodes and updates on previous cases when there’s new developments. She posts new episodes weekly and she has an archive of over 200 episodes. Needless to say, there’s lots to listen to. It’s perfect if you’re going on a road trip or traveling and want to download a bunch of them.
Casefile
A friend recommended Casefile to me a few months ago, and all it took was listening to one episode to get me hooked. Casefile is definitely on the longer end of podcasts and typically clocks in at about an hour.
The host covers a new case each episode. I’m usually drawn into them pretty quickly. Although the podcast is made in Australia, it covers cases from all over the world. Just a head’s up that I would recommend listening to this podcast with kids around. Some episodes can get into details that wouldn’t be appropriate for little ears.
Creepy/Mysteries
Lore
Lore is another podcast that I’ve been listening to for years now. Aaron Mahnke brings a story, person, or incident from the past to life in very creepy and mysterious ways. I’ve listened to an episode before and been creeped out by the time it was over.
If you enjoy history and like scary or mysterious stories, this is definitely the podcast for you. Aaron also does a few other podcasts including the Cabinet of Curiosities and Unobscured, both of which I really enjoy.
Conspiracy Theories
These last two podcasts are both by Parcast. I’ve listened to quite a few of their podcasts, but these are the two that I enjoy the most.
Conspiracy Theories is a weekly podcast that has two episodes on each topic. The first one usually goes into the details of a topic, person, or event like the death of JFK or the Illuminati. The second episode then covers the different conspiracy theories that exist about it. The hosts then also rate each conspiracy theory on how likely it is that it’s the truth.
Conspiracy Theories has covered all kinds of topics and is pretty good at keeping my interest. It’s really well produced so it’s easy to listen to too. I love hearing about all the out there theories even though I’m pretty skeptical of them.
Unexplained Mysteries
Similar to Conspiracy Theories, Unexplained Mysteries looks at topics that haven’t been explained completely or are a little bit out there. It also takes on two episodes per topic. It gives the facts (as much as they can) during the first one, and talking about the different explanations on the second episode.
Most of the episodes are between 40 and 50 minutes. It’s a great length for getting a fair bit of detail in each episode. This is actually one of my favorite episodes to fall asleep to. It probably explains some of my weird dreams, haha.
What are some of your favorite podcasts? Leave them in the comments below.