Hey party podcast people! Remember way back in January when we shared our goals for 2015? Well, one of mine was spreading the news about great podcasts.  Maybe you listen to them and maybe you don’t, but after reading this you MUST.  Podcasts are pretty nifty. I think of them like blogs for the radio.  Some podcasts have huge budgets and a big staff and others are created by an individual out of their home office (or closet!).  Plenty of podcasts are free and simply ask for donations if you really dig the program, but obviously you don’t have to give any money if you can’t spare it.   Podcasts are really easy to download (for free!) and you can also subscribe to your favorites and they’ll automatically upload to your phone, computer or ipod each time there’s a new one.  I find podcasts through iTunes, but if you use a different music program just do a quick google search and you’ll certainly find a tutorial about how to find, download and subscribe to podcasts.

I loveeee listening to podcasts because radio is awesome, but commercials suck!  It’s also nice to be able to really control what you’re listening to in the car.  I get so frustrated, annoyed and tired if I don’t have something good playing on the radio.  I love music, but sometimes I want to learn something nifty in my spare time and podcasts are perfect for bits of information or unique perspectives on different topics.  Today I’m going to share some recent interesting episodes that have a little something to do with the environment, ’cause ya know, earth day was yesterday and arbor day is tomorrow! Did you do anything special for yourself and our planet yesterday?  I hiked to the top of Mount Sanitas and I won’t forget about it anytime soon – SO sore. Totally worth it of course!

• Freakonomics – Why Bad Environmentalism Is Such An Easy Sell – I cannot sing enough praises for Freakonomics Podcast. Their tagline is “the hidden side of everything” and they really stick to it! I learn something new with each episode.  This podcast really challenges my approach to thinking about different topics too. The episode I linked to is a perfect example.

• The Memory Palace – Lost Pigeons & The Arctic Bowhead Whale – This is a super short podcast, only about three minutes, but that’s one of the reasons I love The Memory Palace. It’s quick.  It’s like a song, but it’s a tidbit about the past.  Again, I learn a lot from this podcast, especially about historical figures that don’t make it into history books.  Usually I fall asleep upon hearing the word history, but each podcast is so short that I stay awake and I pay attention 🙂

• Strangers – Falling Slowly – This episode in particular is really heavy so just know that going in.  It’s definitely worth a listen though.  Strangers took me a little bit to get used to mainly because of the narrator’s voice, I just couldn’t place it, but after hearing that she’s a Denmark native and that she records her episodes in a closet, the tone and sound made more sense and was easier to listen to. Who knows, maybe it won’t phase you at all, but it really threw me off at first.

• Stuff You Should Know – Will We Soon Be Extinct? – This podcast is extremely easy to listen to.  The Stuff You Should Know hosts are funny dweebs and they basically do a bunch of research for you on a specific topic or question.  I love this podcast for its conversational tone and approachability to topics that could seem a little overwhelming if tackled by oneself.  The internet is an enormous resource, but these two hosts dig around, find a bunch of good sources and spell it all out for you.

• Invisibilia – Entanglement – This may be my favorite podcast episode of all time. The Invisibilia podcast is about invisible forces that shape human behavior, which is intriguing because you end up learning a lot about yourself during these podcasts.  Do we really act on our own accord? I’m not so sure.. anyway, this episode talks about how we’re all connected and touches on a story about synesthesia, which is so damn interesting I had to listen to it twice.  I don’t want to give anymore of the episode away, just go listen to it right meow! All the episodes of Invisibilia are stellar so subscribe!

• Radiolab – Galapagos –  Radiolab is like a science and philosophy lesson combined with stories about you and me.  They interview a bunch of great folks and each episode is on a unique topic.  There are actually a bunch of great environmental episodes so if you’re really interested in that type of thing (and you should be 🙂 ) go ahead and subscribe to Radiolab!

I think that should take up a fair amount of your weekly commute!  If you don’t listen to podcasts DOOO IT. It will change your life. Really. You will actually value your time in the car instead of pressing scan a billion times and cursing your flimsy car antenna. If you’re not crazy about the environmental theme than leave a comment about topics you’d like to listen to and I’ll suggest some goodies!