Escapism: Podcastss

In the comments to my post a couple of weeks ago, the topic of escapism came up. I'm a big believer in having some outlet from stress (whatever the source of stress might be), and I figure it's not a bad idea to share some of mine. I'll be making posts with books, movies, TV, and games that I've enjoyed recently, but figure I'll start with podcasts. I'm deliberately limiting myself to ten, because I do not have the patience to write up the 40+ ones I listen to on a regular or semi-regular basis (in no particular order):

Offshore -- This is an absolutely riveting new podcast from Honolulu Civil Beat, exploring (in its first season, at least) two murder cases in Hawaii -- one from a few years ago, one from before it achieved statehood -- with some significant parallels. It's not a whodunit -- the killer is known in both cases -- but rather, an examination on the effect of imperialism on Hawaii and the abuse that Hawaiian natives deal with even today. Really great reporting and storytelling

You Must Remember This -- Karina Longworth's incredible set of stories about old/classic Hollywood has covered everything from Charles Manson's time in Hollywood to the rise and fall of MGM, with major episodes on tons of stars, both eternal and faded. Her most recent series was a six-parter on Joan Crawford, and the show's on hiatus until January, but there's a ton of material to catch up on.

GE Podcast Theatre -- The only fiction podcast I listen to. In spite of the name and sponsorship, this is the only podcast that actually has no ads or interruptions. Season 1 (The Message) was a really well-done story about alien contact and language with a couple of nifty twists. The second (which is only two episodes deep so far) is about a man whose late wife's personality has been recreated from her social media posts (but is nothing like the Hayley Atwell Black Mirror episode), and is very solid and utterly different from the first season so far.

Outside Magazine -- I don't think anyone would confuse me for an outside person, but the magazine of the same name has done really good stuff with their "Science of Survival" podcast series, including a look at how extreme cold would kill you, how the heat index affects border crossing, and a three-parter on an investigation into a Bolivian plane crash that was hampered by altitude sickness. Surprisingly great journalism from a source I'd probably have never noticed if it hadn't been pointed out to me.

Lexicon Valley -- This has now been taken over by John McWhorter, who I know some folks aren't a big fan of, but I've really liked his run on the show. He's done interviews and deep dives into everything from Shakespeare's readability, emojis, spelling reform, and more. He's wonderful at noting that language constantly shifts, and comes down pretty heavily as a descriptivist while still being willing to listen to folks who disagree with him. If you like language, you should listen.

Gastropod -- My favorite food podcast, bar none. Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley do a great job of telling long stories about everything from oysters to mezcal to the revival of Native American cuisine. They're funny, their guests are great, and they recognize that food-related podcasts can dive into subjects beyond just how something tastes or gets made (the same can be said about another of my favorite podcasts, the Sporkful, but Gastropod does it slightly better, imho).

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History -- this is barely a podcast at this point, as Dan's episodes are 3-6 hours long each, and appear every few months or so. He does epic dives into epic topics, including the fall of the Roman Republic, a history of the Khans in Mongolia, etc. Older episodes eventually get put up for sale, but it's worth grabbing new ones for free when they're released.

Presidential -- This one just ended, but was a great podcast from the Washington Post, focusing on each president, one per week, leading up to the election. I still haven't listened to the final episode (on Trump), and might never bother, but the ones leading up to it (including the ones on folks I can't stand) all still offer a huge amount of knowledge. Guests like Karl Rove (on the McKinley one) and John Linnell (on the James K. Polk one) offer a change of pace from more expected (but still great) folks like Delores Kearns Goodwin, David McCullagh, and Bob Woodward.

99 Percent Invisible -- Theoretically a podcast about design, it's really a podcast about whatever Roman Mars and his team of brilliant nerds research, and episodes have covered everything from the way the Shift in baseball has evolved to Legionnaire's Disease to urban foraging. Really just one of the top-notch podcasts you can find, and one I always listen to right away.

Lore: The best way I can describe this is "99 Percent Invisible, but only for local myths and legends." It's great storytelling combined with the sort of hauntings, ghost stories, and local faerie tales I've loved for ages.

I listen to a ton of other podcasts (I have a whopping 95 in my feed, although a few are ones on hiatus that likely will never return, like Movie Date), and am happy to offer other recommendations (and hear yours; I'm always adding more, and occasionally culling some from my feed). But these ten are all good ones if you want something fun to listen to, for whatever reason.

Escapism: Podcasts

In the comments to my post a couple of weeks ago, the topic of escapism came up. I'm a big believer in having some outlet from stress (whatever the source of stress might be), and I figure it's not a bad idea to share some of mine. I'll be making posts with books, movies, TV, and games that I've enjoyed recently, but figure I'll start with podcasts. I'm deliberately limiting myself to ten, because I do not have the patience to write up the 40+ ones I listen to on a regular or semi-regular basis (in no particular order):

Offshore -- This is an absolutely riveting new podcast from Honolulu Civil Beat, exploring (in its first season, at least) two murder cases in Hawaii -- one from a few years ago, one from before it achieved statehood -- with some significant parallels. It's not a whodunit -- the killer is known in both cases -- but rather, an examination on the effect of imperialism on Hawaii and the abuse that Hawaiian natives deal with even today. Really great reporting and storytelling

You Must Remember This -- Karina Longworth's incredible set of stories about old/classic Hollywood has covered everything from Charles Manson's time in Hollywood to the rise and fall of MGM, with major episodes on tons of stars, both eternal and faded. Her most recent series was a six-parter on Joan Crawford, and the show's on hiatus until January, but there's a ton of material to catch up on.

GE Podcast Theatre -- The only fiction podcast I listen to. In spite of the name and sponsorship, this is the only podcast that actually has no ads or interruptions. Season 1 (The Message) was a really well-done story about alien contact and language with a couple of nifty twists. The second (which is only two episodes deep so far) is about a man whose late wife's personality has been recreated from her social media posts (but is nothing like the Hayley Atwell Black Mirror episode), and is very solid and utterly different from the first season so far.

Outside Magazine -- I don't think anyone would confuse me for an outside person, but the magazine of the same name has done really good stuff with their "Science of Survival" podcast series, including a look at how extreme cold would kill you, how the heat index affects border crossing, and a three-parter on an investigation into a Bolivian plane crash that was hampered by altitude sickness. Surprisingly great journalism from a source I'd probably have never noticed if it hadn't been pointed out to me.

Lexicon Valley -- This has now been taken over by John McWhorter, who I know some folks aren't a big fan of, but I've really liked his run on the show. He's done interviews and deep dives into everything from Shakespeare's readability, emojis, spelling reform, and more. He's wonderful at noting that language constantly shifts, and comes down pretty heavily as a descriptivist while still being willing to listen to folks who disagree with him. If you like language, you should listen.

Gastropod -- My favorite food podcast, bar none. Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley do a great job of telling long stories about everything from oysters to mezcal to the revival of Native American cuisine. They're funny, their guests are great, and they recognize that food-related podcasts can dive into subjects beyond just how something tastes or gets made (the same can be said about another of my favorite podcasts, the Sporkful, but Gastropod does it slightly better, imho).

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History -- this is barely a podcast at this point, as Dan's episodes are 3-6 hours long each, and appear every few months or so. He does epic dives into epic topics, including the fall of the Roman Republic, a history of the Khans in Mongolia, etc. Older episodes eventually get put up for sale, but it's worth grabbing new ones for free when they're released.

Presidential -- This one just ended, but was a great podcast from the Washington Post, focusing on each president, one per week, leading up to the election. I still haven't listened to the final episode (on Trump), and might never bother, but the ones leading up to it (including the ones on folks I can't stand) all still offer a huge amount of knowledge. Guests like Karl Rove (on the McKinley one) and John Linnell (on the James K. Polk one) offer a change of pace from more expected (but still great) folks like Delores Kearns Goodwin, David McCullagh, and Bob Woodward.

99 Percent Invisible -- Theoretically a podcast about design, it's really a podcast about whatever Roman Mars and his team of brilliant nerds research, and episodes have covered everything from the way the Shift in baseball has evolved to Legionnaire's Disease to urban foraging. Really just one of the top-notch podcasts you can find, and one I always listen to right away.

Lore: The best way I can describe this is "99 Percent Invisible, but only for local myths and legends." It's great storytelling combined with the sort of hauntings, ghost stories, and local faerie tales I've loved for ages.

I listen to a ton of other podcasts (I have a whopping 95 in my feed, although a few are ones on hiatus that likely will never return, like Movie Date), and am happy to offer other recommendations (and hear yours; I'm always adding more, and occasionally culling some from my feed). But these ten are all good ones if you want something fun to listen to, for whatever reason.