I am somewhat technologically challenged. I realize that sounds ridiculous: I live in the Bay Area epicenter of the tech world, I cut my teeth as a lawyer doing tech IPOs, and I spend probably 70% of my waking hours in front of a screen of some sort (yikes!). But it’s true. I have a love/hate relationship with technology. So I was way late to the game in discovering podcasts. Consistent with how I reacted initially to much of the technology that inundates our lives today (facebook, smart phones, you name it), I held out on adding another distraction to my life. I gave in and finally downloaded the podcast app so that I could listen to Serial, which everyone was raving about. But here’s the thing: podcasts are amazing! Why did I wait so long?! … Same thing my college roommate said when I finally signed up for Facebook. So anyway, now I’m hooked. I’m listening to podcasts on my walk to and from work, or on my bus ride if I get lazy and don’t walk to work, and basically any other time I’m walking or commuting somewhere, which is often.
For those of you out there who don’t like to read (I do not understand you but I will attempt to sympathize with you), or those of you with long commutes, or even those of you who get tired of TV and music at times, podcasts are a magical thing. What I love most about podcasts is that they are such an easy and quick tool for learning new things. I am that nerd who loved school because I love to learn new things. Yep, that girl. If I could go back to school I most certainly would but R. Swig has put the kibosh on that idea. What a killjoy (just kidding – love you!). So I will just have to satisfy my quest for learning new things, mostly random things, through reading and podcasts. And podcasts are particularly wonderful if reading isn’t an option.
So, here are a few of my favorite podcasts lately:
TED Radio Hour
I find the Ted Radio Hour podcast so fascinating. You probably all know what TED is, but in case you don’t, it’s a non-profit organization devoted to “Ideas Worth Sharing” and TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. Ted Radio Hour is a collaboration between TED and NPR (National Public Radio), another love of mine. Each episode is centered around a common theme and the host discusses this theme with a few different speakers who have previously given TED talks related to the theme. Part of the episode is an interview between the host, Guy Raz, and the speaker, and part of the episode is composed of snippets from the related TED talks that the guests previously gave. I’ve recently listened to an episode that discussed cancer and how to fight it – not only how to cure it but also how to live with and treat cancer. The speakers talked about how to identify cancer sooner, how to use open source science to help develop treatments for cancer, the connections between healthy eating and cancer, and what it means to be a cancer survivor. I learned an immense amount about cancer that I hadn’t known before. But more intriguing to me was to listen to these different speakers and the innovative ways in which they are looking at and studying cancer and the affects that it has on each and every one of us. SO interesting!! And then I proceeded to tell everyone that I saw for at least a week thereafter about what I learned in this one hour podcast about cancer. Beware: if you see me you may get an earful of what I’ve learned in my most recent Ted Radio Hour episode. A while back I listened to a podcast on Maslow’s Human Needs and couldn’t stop (and still haven’t stopped) talking about how important it is for us to get enough sleep, and why on Earth are we trying to get less of it?! … a topic for another post perhaps!
This week’s episode on Ted Radio Hour just so happens to be called The Meaning of Work and is focused on finding meaning and value in the work that we do. Sounds familiar, given my thoughts on just this subject from just last week, here. I haven’t listened to this episode yet but you better believe that’s what I’ll be doing on my next walk to work, and perhaps I’ll have to take a couple extra laps around the block to let it sink in a little bit.
The Lively Show
Another podcast series that I love is called The Lively Show. The host of the show, Jess Lively, does a podcast each week devoted to living with values-based intentions and different concepts of how to find your values (she calls this “values with a capital V”) and how to live by them. Each podcast features a guest interview “designed to uplift, inspire, or help you add a little extra intention to your everyday” – her podcast mission statement. Jess Lively’s podcasts are part of a larger website and coaching program that she has been very successful with, but which I haven’t explored. Mostly I love listening to the podcasts because she is so personable and relatable and she discusses real and very relevant topics with real people who have ultimately (not without their challenges) figured out how to live with intention in whatever that means to them personally.
I may not be doing a great job of explaining this, so I’ll give you some examples. I listened to an episode today in which Jess interviewed a woman named Ashley LeMieux who started something called the Shine Project. It is a business that employs inner city youths to make beautiful accessories and jewelry, and which not only gives employment and encouragement to these youths but also provides scholarships for college. Ashley talked about her business, about how she found her purpose in this venture, how she balances her family life with a growing business that she has started from the ground up, and also how she struggles with the anxiety of it all. It is inspiring to listen to the stories of (usually women) who have made a conscious and concerted effort to find what really drives them and pursue it. Another episode I listened to recently was an interview with a woman named Bea Johnson who has altered her lifestyle and that of her family to the point that they live as close to a zero waste life as is conceivable – all of their trash from an entire year (that is non-recyclable) fits into a single mason jar. I think this woman is probably pretty nuts, but it was so fascinating to listen to how she has done it and how she is coaching others to cut down on the waste in their lives, and for me a way to get some ideas for how I too can cut down on the waste that I produce each and every day.
Serial
Podcasts are not all so serious, I just happen to be in a mood for serious, deep-thinking, soul searching learning lately. There are podcasts to fit your every need, mood, genre and personality. I mentioned that I started listening to podcasts because I wanted to get in on Serial. Serial is a series of episodes narrated by a journalist who investigated a murder trial that occurred in Baltimore in 1999-2000. It is compelling and listens like a fiction crime novel. And it is relevant – the wild popularity of the podcast Serial and the media attention that it received has apparently gotten the attention of people in the justice system and the person convicted of the murder was recently granted the right to send his case back to the lower courts so that he can petition to reopen the case for new evidence. Many believe it is the Serial podcast that brought about this turn of events for him. It is really so intriguing to me and I cannot get enough of listening to these usually one hour episodes of random goodness.
What podcasts are you listening to lately?
Ted Radio Hour
The Lively Show
Serial
BY Jackie
LOCATION San Francisco, California
