What’s a YouTube? 5 Podcasts to Listen to this Reading Week

By: Allison O’Brien

Why have podcasts grown exponentially in popularity over the past three years? Is it because we’re tired of reading articles on screens?  Or are we attracted to them because they can be downloaded and listened to while commuting? Either way, we all have a favorite niche podcast that makes us feel intelligent.

Here are five podcasts to check out next week while staring at your unopened textbooks.

1. Small Town Murder: A true crime podcast about murder in small towns across mainly North America. The hosts are comedians and the content is well researched, and I promise that you’ll laugh and be hooked after just one listen.
   
2. Til Death Do Us Blart: Once every American Thanksgiving, two New Zealand brothers and their three American friends get together and watch Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, and then record their thoughts and feelings about it. Each viewing reveals a rich layer of depth not discussed in the previous episode. The podcast is slated to last until the end of eternity, as protocol dictates that each host must choose a replacement who must also choose a replacement, etc., should they pass away. 
3. Twenty Thousand Hertz: This podcast is simply fascinating and needs to be listened to with quality headphones. Host Dallas Taylor, founder of Defacto Sounds (a sound design team dedicated to making film, television, and games sound really cool) shares with us the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds. Because Taylor is a sound mixer, this podcast is audibly stunning and so cool to listen to. Some sounds explored include the Windsor Hum, Space, and Hearing Loss. Seriously, go watch it. 
4. Ear Hustle: Stories of life inside San Quentin State Prison, California. Two of the three hosts are currently serving long-term sentences at San Quentin, and here they share their stories of life in an American prison, “sometimes difficult, often funny, always honest.”  Topics discussed include solitary confinement, aging, and prison romances. 
5. The Joe Rogan Experience: JRE Podcasts are easily approachable and take on the style of a casual conversation about a wide array of topics, featuring guest speakers from all walks of life such as biochemistry, nutrition, history, and the social sciences. I recommend episode #502, discussing serotonin and brain function/dysfunction with Dr. Rhonda Patrick. Most of the things you’ll hear on JRE are things you’ve never thought about before that will guarantee to blow your mind.