Everyone likes to listen to different things while they work. We each have a different way of getting into the appropriate groove to perform the task at hand. Some people need silence, but others like to listen to music, a certain genre of music, talk radio, or even podcasts. And that is why we’re here. Podcasts are still a relatively new phenomenon, and while most of us know what they are, only 1 in 5 listens weekly. That said, stats show podcasts are becoming more and more popular all the time:
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- 51% (144 million) of the US population has listened to a podcast – up from 44% in 2018 (Infinite Dial 19)
- 32% (90 million) listened to a podcast in the last month – up from 26% in 2018
- 22% (62 million) listen to podcasts weekly – up from 17% in 2018
As it happens, the authors of this blog are all podcast fans. So while putting together our Favorite Songs of 2019 to Listen to at Work, our team decided that we should put together a list of our favorite podcasts. I asked the podcast listeners among us for a few of their favorites and with no further ado, here are our favorites.
Sean Jeffries
- Sports Take Lunch Break – fun, knowledgeable sports fans, local St. Louis flavor, Blues hockey talk (Honorable mention: the best Blues podcast that I’m not part of is: Lets Go Blues Radio).
- Off Menu w/Ed Gamble & James Acaster – hilarious hosts, cool accents, great celebrity guests & they talk about food, my second favorite topic after the Blues.
- Prompt Queens – 2 songwriters, sisters-in-law, both have made & sold albums, sort of a folk/indie-rock bent, discussing their creative processes, they take a prompt each week and write a song for it, occasionally with guest songwriters, my next favorite topic after Blues & food is music.
Hayley Batterson
- Armchair Expert, Dax Sheppard – Excellent dialogue and a unique blend of genuine industry experts and celebrities. Guilty pleasure!
- Finding Mastery, Dr. Michael Gervais – Learn how the best in their fields master their crafts—athletes, business minds, musicians and artists. A wide variety of stories but all with the common thread of how these individuals have connected to their potential and pursue their best—and mastered their own field. VERY inspirational!
- The Gary Vee Audio Experience – Short, concise discussions (usually) that talk about true leadership.
Ellie Dixon
- Crime Junkie – In my opinion, one of the best true crime podcasts! If you’re into the true-crime thing, I think you’d like this one. They do a good job of telling a story that can sometimes be gruesome without leaving you feeling gross or scared.
- Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard – These are pretty long interviews with either a celebrity guest or an expert in a certain field (like a doctor). I normally only listen to ones with celebrities that I know of, but all the episodes I have listened to are great!
- The Thing About Pam/Dateline NBC – Dateline did a podcast on Pam Hupp from St. Louis. I didn’t know the story so it was super interesting to me! Its only a few episodes though. Dateline also uploads the audio from their episodes as podcasts which are easy listens and they upload one every day!
Emily Buerk
- The TryPod – The Podcast of the YouTube channel “the Try Guys”. It is 4 guys who just talk about random topics and tell stories but they are so funny, easy to listen to, and it is interesting to hear behind-the-scenes stories to the Videos I watch from them.
- Monster: The Zodiac Killer – This is a special that they do every 9-12 months that focuses on an iconic crime, in this case it was following the Zodiac Killer. I love true crime, police work, all that good stuff. It is also fascinating to hear the perspectives of the survivors who were attacked by him or the investigators who worked the crime.
- The Bobbycast – This follows radio personality Bobby Bones as he sits down with country music artists and producers and discusses their work, life, etc. For me, it is nice to hear stories and workings of artists I already listen to and love. It is also nice to see a more personal side to them.
Andrew Corns
- The Joe Rogan Experience – This podcast has evolved into one of the most diverse podcasts you can find. It features long-form interviews, sometimes nearing 3-4 hours in length, with a range of people across all spectrums of life. Rogan has a disarming approach to interviewing his guests that allows them to fully articulate their points of view and cover a wide range of topics.
- Cinephile with Adnan Virk – Adnan Virk may work primarily on ESPN and talk sports, but he’s also just a huge lover of all movies like myself. It’s refreshing to hear him talk about the movies that are out each week and speak with the authority of someone who has a rich knowledge of film but is also just a big fan at heart.
- The Rizzuto Show – This is the podcast of the #1 morning show on St. Louis radio. It can be sophomoric in its humor, but it’s a nice guilty pleasure when I’m not in the mood to think too hard. The 4-5 main guys featured on the podcast don’t always agree which is enjoyable and some of the games they play are a riot to listen to.
Greg Bussmann (Me!)
- The Daily – From the New York Times, this is a 20-minute podcast every weekday morning that dives deep into one big story that is dominating the news.
- Reply All – being a tech nerd, this one is right up my alley. It is described as a podcast about the internet. More specifically, the hosts tell stories and provide advice on how to survive it. But it’s so much more than that and so hard to describe at the same time. Is it tech? Yes. Is it investigative journalism? Kinda. Is it pop culture? Definitely. Is it awesome? YES!
- The Moment with Brian Koppelman – This podcast is just one on one interviews about the pivotal moments that fueled fascinating creative careers. Hosted by Brian Koppelman, who writes the popular TV show Billions. It’s always a great discussion about the creative process and I’ve learned a lot from it.
Over to you. What are your favorites?
Please leave a comment here or on Facebook or LinkedIn. We love getting new suggestions to listen to.
