HOW TO: Find a good podcast listen
part 3: a guide to podcasts
HOW TO FIND GOOD PODCAST EPISODES
I’m actually trying to listen to fewer podcasts this year because of how much they’ve consumed varying aspects of my life. Whether in the shower, grocery shopping, or lifting at the gym, I’m seemingly always listening to a podcast. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I cannot seem to get by the mundane without someone jabbering about in the background, especially when I love spending time by myself and have a considerable commute. My mind runs a hundred miles a minute and listening to podcasts takes me out of my brain. It’s (ironically) my method of finding peace among the noise.
My specific credentials? I listen to an average of 3-5 hours of episodes each day, usually on 1.25x speed so I’m barreling through content without enough queued up. The worst part about being an avid podcast listener for the better part of a decade is that there’s so much content to filter out. So I have a few tips to help you find your place in the podcast community.
1. Hone down on topics you’re interested in.
With the influx of podcasters over the past few years, there are bound to be a few podcasts that interest you discussing a breadth of topics from sports and true crime to fashion and food. Select the category you’re most interested in wherever you listen to podcasts and hop through the channels, look at the titles, and see what interests you. Personally, I’m partial to cute cover art and captivating titles—I judge my media based on its cover, I can’t help it. And search for specific topics or keywords relating to your interests to find episodes that cover those subjects.
2. Don’t be egotistical, check out the top charts.
They’re highly rated by the people for a reason. And this way, you can still engage in the relevant discussions on forums like Reddit or TikTok.
3. Take recommendations from family and friends.
Especially because we live in such a digital, disconnected age, I think finding podcast episodes and suggestions via word-of-mouth is the most valuable resource to further foster connection among your community.
4. Follow curators who discuss specific podcast episodes.
I love following someone like Miriam to listen to her suggestions and then tune back in to understand the conversations around a given topic. Almost like an artificial community discussion.
5. Exposure therapy.
If you’ve found guests or hosts you enjoy listening to on one podcast, chances are that they will guest on others for exposure. And those will be just as interesting due to the good company, and you’ll be able to judge whether you’d want to listen to the other podcast.
6. Join conversations on Twitter1 and Reddit.
There are so many online communities dedicated to a specific genre or podcast and people will oftentimes share similar episodes and noteworthy recommendations alongside discussing a specific topic!!
And I’ve got so many recs for good podcasts based on your vibe, so stay tuned!!
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