Podcasts are a totally new thing for me. You tell me audio entertainment, I tell you either music or radio shows. You tell me fiction, I tell you movies, books, TV shows.
In 2013, in the small creative communication agency I was working for, my friend and former colleague Christelle would put on her headphones and work to the sound of this show called the Ten Minute Podcast. She told me I should listen to it, I tried but didn't get into it (I still suspect she liked it only because she had a crush on Chris D'Elia).
Fast forward to November 2014, all my new friends in California are talking about it, my Twitter timeline is full of references to it. I cannot not listen to it. I'm caught in the Serial storm. I started pretty late in the game but caught up fast enough to be able to listen anxiously to the final episode with the rest of the (English-speaking) world.
Since then, I've added a few ones to my collection according to my own taste, and fellow bloggers' recommendations. I usually listen to podcasts while I'm driving, but mostly while taking a walk in my neighborhood.
As I work from home, I need to get some exercise or, at least, force myself to get out of the house. So I took the habit to go for a walk and create a "fake commute" before getting back to work after lunch.
Here is the list of my past, current and even future favorite podcasts:
1. Serial
My first and favorite podcast which tells one story - a true story - over the course of an entire season. The first season was about Adnan Syed, who was arrested, convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend & a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland.
I cannot wait for the next season and really, really hope that it will be as good as the first one, second seasons can be tricky (True Detective, anyone?).
Category: News & Politics
2. Happier with Gretchen Rubin
A podcast where Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Happiness Project and co-host Elizabeth Craft, her younger sister, bring practical and manageable advice about happiness and good habits.
I started listening to it after finishing Gretchen's book, The Happier Project which progressively inspired me to launch this blog.
Category: Self-Help
3. Limetown
A seven-part podcast where narrator Lia Haddock tries to answer the question "What happened to the people of Limetown?" who all disappeared one night some ten years ago, never to be heard from again.
I've only listened to 2 episodes (the third one came out yesterday), but I'm hooked.
Category: Fiction
4. The Mortified Podcast
A podcast where adults share their most embarrassing childhood artifacts (journals, letters, poems, lyrics, plays, home movies, art) with others, in order to reveal stories about their lives.
I often look like a crazy person, walking alone and bursting out laughing. I seriously sometimes regret not having written a journal when I was a kid, but I'm also relieved because I can only imagine the embarassment I would feel should I re-read it, or, in this case, read it in front of a crowd!
Category: Personal Journals
5. You must remember this
A storytelling podcast exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood's first century.
Right now, I'm focusing on the Audrey Hepburn episodes and even extended my research to finally watching Breakfast At Tiffany's on Netflix. This might turn into an obsession...
Category: TV & Film
I love the diversity of my playlist. From fiction to news, journal reading to story-telling, I can chose episodes according to how much time I have and what mood I'm in.
Also, Creative Mornings launched their own podcast (I already love attending their design conferences, more on this subject later) and I cannot wait for the first episode of #Girlboss radio by Nastygal founder Sophia Amoruso.
Do you listen to podcasts? Any favorites in English, French or Spanish? I'd love to hear your recommendations! Pictures by Octave Zangs for Conscious by Chloé.