Podcasts are a hugely underrated medium. They’re free, focused on whatever niche you’re into and fun to listen to. If you haven’t jumped on the podcast bandwagon just yet, let me catch you up with these:
“#Millennial Podcast (The Hashtag is Silent)” – This podcast is basically five old friends chatting about the news, culture and their lives. It’s created by podcasting giant Andrew Sims, who has years of podcast production experience under his belt with “Mugglecast,” “Smartmouths” and “Hypable.com”.
However, “#Millenial” is live-to-tape, so you get an authentic, unscripted end product. After a few episodes, it feels like you know the hosts and you’re just shooting the breeze with some old friends.
“Serial” – If you know anything about podcasts, you know about “Serial.” But just in case you live under a rock, I had to include it. “Serial” is a spin-off of NPR’s “This American Life.” It features reporter Sarah Koenig digging up material on an old murder case, tracking down suspects, getting fresh interviews and trying to see if the justice system got it wrong the first time around.
The first season was crazy popular; It became the most downloaded podcast in history and had Redditors digging up evidence on their own. Season 2 is slated to premiere sometime before the end of the year, so now is a perfect time to get caught up.
“Gilmore Guys” – Kevin T. Porter and Demi Adejuyigbe are comedy writers who watch “Gilmore Girls” and discuss it episode by episode. It’s a thoughtful and sincere discussion about a traditionally female focused show from a male perspective, but the best part is that they’re funny without being mean.
Considering Netflix just announced plans for a “Gilmore Girls” revival, now is the time to tune in and remind yourself what made Stars Hollow so great in the first place.
“How Did This Get Made?” – Like the “Gilmore Guys,” Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas are comedy writers. Each episode, they get together with their funniest friends and watch Hollywood’s worst films. That’s when the mocking begins. This show is trashy, fun and hilarious.
“Song Exploder” – “Song Exploder” is a music podcast hosted by musician Hrishikesh Hirway, but the podcast isn’t really about him. Instead, the show is a chance for musicians to tell the story of how their best songs got made. Hirway doesn’t ask cliché questions about inspiration or muses, instead, he gets the technical details of how the music is constructed track-by-track. The show has a chill, minimalist vibe to it, like your favorite indie band mixed with NPR. It’s smart and cool and makes you think about music in a way you never have before.
