Podcasts
During a recent sermon I mentioned my practice of listening to podcasts during my daily walks. Several people asked me for recommendations, so I’ll share some of my favorites here. This is not an exhaustive list, but these are the ones to which I listen regularly. If you have podcasts to recommend, please let me know. I’m always looking for more.
Stories By and About Real People
This American Life – Each week stories are told around a particular theme, often digging deeply into very real issues and current events from the perspective of particular people and their stories.
The Moth – First-person stories sharing the extraordinary impact of ordinary experiences, each episode is built around a theme.
This is Love – These stories of love are not what you probably assume. Rarely about couples, the stories are about the passions and relationships that bring joy to people’s lives. Work, pets, hobbies and places.
StoryCorps – StoryCorps records and collects first-person stories with the goal of connecting people and building a just and more humane world. Always interesting and often moving.
My Unsung Hero – Brief episodes (four to six minutes) telling first-person stories of everyday, ordinary acts of kindness that have transformative impact.
News and Current Events
Fresh Air – Terry Gross interviews authors, entertainers, politicians and experts in a wide range of fields about current events, systemic issues, the performing arts, life experience and so much more. Terry Gross is probably the best interviewer you’ll ever hear.
Code Switch – Fearless conversations about race hosted by journalists of color. This weekly NPR podcast is an excellent way to listen to voices many of us don’t otherwise hear. Sometimes it is difficult to listen, but I always come away with a broader perspective about injustice in American society.
Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me – NPR’s weekly news quiz. Always entertaining, sometimes enlightening. If the news is getting you down, listen to Wait, Wait for an opportunity to laugh.
Serial – Created by the folks at This American Life, Serial tells one story in depth over the course of several episodes: a wrongful conviction in Baltimore, an American prisoner of war in Afghanistan, a year inside an American courthouse.
Religion and Spirituality
Everything Happens – Kate Bowler, a survivor of stage IV cancer and professor of religion, talks with people about what they’ve learned during the dark times in their lives. Episcopalians will find interesting her conversation with Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Growing Edge – This monthly podcast features writer, speaker and activist Parker Palmer and musician Carrie Newcomer as they talk with poets, authors, non-profit leaders and others about the spiritual and humanistic sides of living in 21st century America.