10 Awesome Educational Podcasts
Before the 2019’s out, and we move into a whole new decade of our achievements, let’s agree that it can be a bit difficult to keep up with the latest trends. With endless scrolling through social media feeds, the constant need to be in the loop with the latest happenings, it feels as if it is impossible to take a breather.
Now that we got that out of our chests, we thought we should leave another belated gift underneath your tree. Since it is a season of New Year resolutions, how about you check out these 10 Awesome Educational Podcasts that will teach you science from another angle, tickle your brain with new ideas, help you peer into the future of tech, and keep you entertained. Enjoy!
The Story
The team behind Mission is doing a marvellous job with the series of podcasts which aim to level up our health, wealth, and wisdom. One of them is The Story, which was listed on Apple’s list “Best of 2018”. This podcast has 8 seasons and each contains the stories of trailblazers and game-changers from different fields of life. Every episode is narrated by the famous Alec Baldwin and it includes life lessons and actionable insights from the most courageous and successful people in history. The episode that you should not miss is definitely “Burn Your Plan A” which tells a story of two men who tried to sell a company that nobody wanted to buy. By listening to this one, you will get to hear about the innovative way to get out of the situation. 🙂
Akimbo: a podcast from Seth Godin
If you googled “top 10 ted talks in the marketing field”, this guy inevitably popped up! Seth Godin is an author, entrepreneur, blogger and podcaster, a digital marketing expert and a public speaker.
His podcast, Akimbo (meaning the bend in the river or the bend in an archer’s bow) is a true treasure of marketing wisdom which you need to dive into. His stories about culture, publishing, content marketing, sales, promotion, motivation and ideas are the best first steps you can take if you want to dig deep into the digital marketing industry. We personally love the episode “Opportunity cost“ where Godin is talking about the time we have at our disposal each day.
The Vergecast
If you are interested in the tech industry you will know that the Vergecast is the best one out there! But for those of you who don’t know about it, the latest tech news is what you can find in each of the episodes featured on the podcast. It will give you the “informative look at what’s happening right now (and next) in the world of technology and gadgets”. Having in mind that there are a lot of episodes out so far it can be a bit tricky to know where to start. We recommend playing “Google vs Alexa and the latest 5G delusion” first where you will discover more about the ongoing developments in voice assistant technology, and then continuing on with the rest of them.
IRL – Online Life is Real Life
As the name of this podcast by internet giant Mozilla says, online is as much real life as it is online. We work online, talk online, even meet our love interests online, but we sometimes forget that we shouldn’t be so carefree when it comes to our behaviour on the Internet. Not only this but we are neglecting the dangers we might face while surfing the Internet. In order to tackle the big issues we face in the modern world, this podcast features topics such as privacy breaches, hacking, fake news, and cyberbullying. If you want to be safe and strong online, learn how to keep the internet ethical, safe, weird, and wonderful for everyone – this is the number one pick we have for you today! We urge you not to miss “All Your Data Are Belonging to Us” where the host dives into the issue of leaving our personal details in exchange for the free services.
99% invisible
This podcast is about “the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world”. The host in over 380 episodes is the silky-voiced Roman Mars who explains the design of everyday things the same way as they do in CSI movies. Each episode lasts around half an hour and covers an undersung element of design: from the shape of tugboat hulls to the carefully engineered clicks that keyboard keys make to the work of a blind architect. Start by listening to “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth – Urban Renewal” where you can learn more about the housing project in St. Louis.
FunFact: This podcast got its name from a quote by Buckminster Fuller: “Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable.”
Myths and Legends
Are you a fan of Thor movies? Or maybe American Gods? You are familiar with Hercules but also with the story of King Arthur or Robin Hood? All of these modern movies and shows are based on stories that are centuries old and sometimes are even better and more dramatic. The hosts of this podcast bring you the folk stories, myths and legends from all over the world which shaped cultures throughout history. You won’t lack any of the magical parts as there are over 160 stories about dragons, wizards, fairies, valkyries, knights in shining armour and much more! Since you are probably familiar with the story of a Sleeping Beauty, here is the first written version of it and we bet you are just going to love it!
Science & Futurism With Isaac Arthur
From the Youtube star to podcasting stardom – Isaac Arthur is the guy you’d want to follow if you want to hear interesting things about science! He is discussing a wide variety of topics ranging from the exploration of space to earth science. As he said, this podcast “focuses on exploring concepts in science with an emphasis on futurism and space exploration, along with a healthy dose of science fiction. While we explore many concepts and technologies that are far beyond us now, we try to keep everything inside the bounds of known science or major theories.” You can start by hearing “AI Aliens” where you get to hear Isaacs’s opinion on what artificial intelligence created by aliens might look like.
Stuff You Should Know
Or more commonly known SYSK, this podcast explains how everything around us works. From dating, to haunted house attractions, to police body cameras, to Peyote… Just name it and there will be an episode to satisfy your curiosity. 🙂 We would recommend not to skip the episode called “Vocal Fry and Other Speech Trends” – it tackles the way the Kardashians speak, how Britney Spears sings, and it’s all explained over an energetic discussion between the two hosts.
Ted Talks Daily
You are probably very familiar with the concept of Ted Talks. Well, we are here to tell you that our favourite website and youtube channel, with the countless ideas worth spreading, has a podcasting show that will make your free time or laundry time much more interesting. You will hear and learn the most interesting things and thought-provoking ideas on the vast variety of subjects in the 15-20min talks from professors at universities to scientists and humanitarians. Why not start with the far-seeing episode “What will future jobs look like?” that explores the future of our employability and what we can do to better prepare the next generations for it.
Overheard at National Geographic
This is one of the newest podcasts, aired first on June 4, 2019, and it’s a must-follow if you want to hear more about nature. Just like the rest of their sources, the podcast focuses on the exploration of our planet and features stories from scientists, photographers and experts in all fields. They will walk you through the unbelievable adventure and tell you stories like harem conspiracy, honeybee chop shop or cave of a jaguar god for instance. Start by listening about what lies down beneath Sudan’s sea surface which can change our understanding about ancient Egypt’s 25th dynasty – the episode is called “Scuba Diving in a Pyramid“.
Before You Go
These 10 podcasts can be a nice starting point for further exploration of your own. But in case these inspire you to tell your own story and contribute to society on your own terms we say there is nothing wrong with you toying with the idea to start your own podcast. If you decide to do so, we have prepared a detailed how-to guide that will tell you all you need to know before, quite literally, getting your voice out there.
In any case, we hope you will enjoy listening and learning new things, one episode at a time! 🙂
