Try-Pod Month

So, March is try-pod month. I acknowledge that March is almost over, but I would be loathe if I didn't get my recommendations and reviews out there in the next 1.5 days. Try-pod = try a podcast. I despise talk radio-- I turn on the radio to listen to music, not commercials and people making lame jokes. Podcasts, however, are nothing like that (except perhaps for the occasional lame jokes).

I first started listening to podcasts (by choice) about four years ago. Prior to that, I had them forced on me over various roads trips to various places with some old friends, volume blaring as people recounted little stories here and there in the nasal tones of Ira Glass.

Then I was introduced to Serial, and I was hooked. I'll start with that one. Serial, season one, is Sarah Koenig telling a murder mystery serially, over twelve episodes. It's the story of then-teen Adnan Syed, who was either framed for the murder of his girlfriend, or a vengeful ex-boyfriend. Koenig hooks you in Dickensian style, along with a plunk-a-plunk piano tune, and draws you in. I listened to this CONSTANTLY-- while I was driving, while I was folding laundry, while I was blow-drying my hair. And then it was over. Season two impressed me less, and I am still waiting for a third.

S-Town just started and downloaded itself to my phone a few days ago-- same people who produce This American Life and Serial, and I am an episode and a half in and already hooked.

The Minimalists is a podcast I've recently gotten into in an attempt to de-clutter my life and get back to basics-- use things, love people, and all that. It's interesting to hear their insights and the ways they suggest going through things. What is stuff, anyway? (P.S. It's harder than it sounds-- I vacillate between hating clutter and being sentimental-- not a good in-between).

Then there's The Moth. I discovered this one accidentally, whimsically. I love its hazy, dreamy green cover, and everything about the concept. The Moth is an hour long, usually 4 stories, and themed each episode. There are story slams in various areas of the U.S., including my own little artsy Pittsburgh. It's done under the guise of the type of stories people used to tell one another just because, on sleepy porches during humid summer nights with slow breezes rolling in and moths fluttering around the glow of lamplight. My responses to these stories are as animated as the storytellers themselves-- laughter, shock, emotion, raw and exposed onstage, over a microphone, over the radio.

In a similar vein is This American Life. Ira Glass hosts this show every Sunday, and it too is themed. The stories are poignant and real-- vague enough that they are relatable but real enough that they still connect to everyone at the same time. That's the power of good journalism. It is inspirational, as a writer, to see people doing the thing you love to do yourself: to tell these stories of ordinary people doing ordinary things in a somewhat extraordinary way. People leave an impact on us, and Glass's narration opens listeners up to one more way of truly connecting with people, in a way that moves beyond news feeds and tweets.

Finally, Stuff You Should Know, whose hosts, Josh and Chuck, are like long-lost friends. They cover every topic imaginable and even some I've never thought of, and they do it in typical How Stuff Works style, making it all relevant, humorous, and informative concurrently.

There you have it. Check out some of my suggestions, and if you do, tell me about it in the comments section below. I'd love to hear from you! :)