I guess I like 'Podcasts' Now. Here's a few shows you should check out

I had avoided Podcasts for many years after they surfaced because of what they were called. Words derived from commercial products just seem gross to me. They're lazy.Maybe I also just didn't enjoy listening to people yap, instead preferring all the music that became so limitlessly available around 2008.But, times change. For the past few months, I've been listening to several ....Podcasts.... (the term still makes me cringe) and gathering information, insight, and entertainment. Here's a roundup of what's been in my queue:

Longform

Longform has been great to hear writers talk about their craft. It's an interview show that spends an hour or more asking good writers great questions. So far, I've heard Josh Dean, Malcom Gladwell, and Carol Loomis.Listening to Josh Dean sent me careening down the David Foster Wallace rabbit hole, since some of his stories were edited by Dean for the New York Times Magazine. After reading DFW's piece about Wimbledon, I fell into watching Federer videos on YouTube - listening to a writer talk for an hour can lead the mind to all kinds of places. Dean's story also made me think about how NYC-centric magazine writing is, how being 'in' the industry is critical.What clicked for me while listening to Malcom Gladwell was his perspective of his work being "optimistic," and how he doesn't believe in 'gotcha' journalism, and how if someone says something you think they wouldn't say again, you shouldn't quote them on it. His sense of ethics is curious when thinking about how popular his work is - being nice makes for repeat customers, I guess. He said something about how you can only make so many negative statements before you turn your reader against you.Carol Loomis had a very interesting story - she's one of Warren Buffet's best friends, and had a 60+ year career writing for Fortune Magazine. Her longevity in the industry is monumental, and when she started, being a female writer covering finance was taboo. There's much to be learned from her approach to owning a subject and sticking to a beat.http://longform.org/posts/longform-podcast-131-josh-deanhttp://longform.org/posts/longform-podcast-62-malcolm-gladwellhttp://longform.org/posts/longform-podcast-152-carol-loomis

The Candid Frame

The Candid Frame is similar to Longform, but focuses on photographers. Almost an identical format. I've listened to two episodes so far, neither were people I'd previously heard of.The first was Matt Sweeney, who spoke about photographs he took of Los Angeles in the 70's and 80's. His story was as much about his own life as the work he's done, and how the photographs were an artifact of his lifestyle.The next I listened to was Jenna Close, a photographer who started with alternative energy and launched a successful industrial photography business. She spoke about the importance of business and domain knowledge, and gave examples of 'sticktuitiveness.' In general, I found The Candid Frame seems to go deeper into the history of its subjects than Longform, or maybe encourages more 'origin' storytelling.http://ibarionex.net/thecandidframe/2015/7/26/the-candid-frame-284-matt-sweeneyhttp://ibarionex.net/thecandidframe/2015/4/19/the-candid-frame-274-jenna-close

The Tim Ferris Podcast

The Tim Ferris Podcast is one that I decided to listen to after hearing Tim Ferris give an interview on Longform. Ferris is a writer I'm familiar with, and I've written about his book, the 4 Hour Workweek. The book was OK, but not as good as his Podcasts. He does a great job reaching into different areas of interest for what he calls 'top performers,' and he grills them to uncover the habits that lead to their accomplishments. His guests are typically famous in their own right, and so far I've listened to Kevin Kelly (founder of WIRED magazine), Jon Favreau (director of the Iron Man movies, actor), Tara Brach (PhD, author, and popular meditation teacher), Jane McGonigal (author, speaker, and expert on Games).Kevin Kelly was somewhat bland, since the episode I listened to was him answering reader questions and not engaging with Ferris. He briefly spoke about how important 'AI' will be in the future, without going into detail. Artificial Intelligence is a really broad subject, and he didn't specify exactly which part of it he was talking about. Kelly did make a suggestion to 'read 10 books a year' and how doing so would transform anyone's life, so I can appreciate that.Jon Favreau's interview was wonderful, and spanned everything from how he finds ways to relate to people who don't work in the movie business, to what his life was like before he started writing scripts. He talked about how trying out an office job revealed how little time people get to pursue their real interests, and how he was moved to get away from that. His comments on why he enjoys cooking were interesting - because it's such a universal thing, and his world is so different from most people's, he's found it's a great common bond to share with others.Tara Brach and Jane McGonigal were both great interviews. Brach's thoughts on mindfulness, especially the two-step process of recognizing a feeling, then 'inviting it to tea,' were interesting. She also stressed the importance of unplugging from time to time, something everyone should really try to practice more often. McGonigal's citation of studies on how gaming is beneficial were good - particularly that visually intense games can decrease cravings for things, because the brain stays 'distracted' by them. McGonigal talked about her new book 'Superbetter' which has an accompanying iPhone app that's worth checking out.http://fourhourworkweek.com/2015/04/14/jon-favreau/http://fourhourworkweek.com/2015/07/31/tara-brach/ 

A few more Podcasts I recommend exploring:

- Lexicon Valley: two guys talking about language. Topics include everything from the origin of the word 'seer-sucker', to the pitfalls of translating Russian literature, and the American female's tendency to adopt a 'vocal fry' in speech.- The Moth: live storytelling on a stage. Dramatic recounting of stuff like being interviewed by Martha Stewart, being a member of the 'Blue Man Group,' and being a chaplain in the Forest Service. Kind of like TED talks, but without all the politics and pretension of 'saving the world.'- Planet Money: Probably the most popular Podcast around. Produced by NPR, explores all the ways money interacts with and influences the world. Recent episodes question why people don't work less than they did a hundred years ago, where the people of Greece are hiding their money, and whether or not robots will ever be able to fold our laundry.- HBR Ideacast: Harvard Business Review's brief interviews with business leaders. A recent episode with the CEO of Evernote was fascinating, but some guests are dreadfully lacking 'listenability.'- Talking Code: Software development topics. Presented in an interview format, and with just enough explanation to make it consumable for people who don't work in the industry.