June’s podcasts are all over the place! I didn’t listen to a ton of new shows, but I learned all sorts of things about animation, the college admissions scandal, and pasta shape inventing.
Click here to see the playlist on Spotify!
One of my favorite podcasts to listen to is Planet Money. It may sound like a purely financial, Wall Street-type podcast, but it covers all sorts of topics in economics, which if you think about it, could be pretty much everything. The episodes are usually under 30 minutes, which is super nice. The subjects include current events, like cryptocurrency and vaccines, but also general topics like marriage. Here are four episodes included in this month’s playlist.
- Big Government Cheese (CLASSIC): Starting with Jimmy Carter in the 1970s, the government created such a large cheese surplus that they had to even store some of it in underground caves.
- How Uncle Jamie Broke Jeopardy (UPDATE): One of the podcast hosts is related to one of the biggest Jeopardy winners, James Holzhauer. This episode talks about the strategies James and other big winners have used to do so well on the game show.
- The New Shape of Pasta: Dan Pashman, a James Beard winner and podcast host of the Sporkful podcast, went through a multi-year process to create a whole new shape of pasta which went on sale earlier this year.
- The Even More Minimum Wage: There is a minimum wage for non-tipped employees, and a minimum wage for tipped employees and I could not believe how low it was!
Ep. 61: Shane McAnally | And The Writer Is…With Ross Golan
If you’ve seen the NBC songwriting competition show, Songland, you know who Shane McAnally is. If you haven’t, Shane’s written half of the recent country songs you’ve heard of, including being one of the main writers on Kacey Musgraves’ albums. He talks about his childhood, songwriting (obviously), living in Nashville and Los Angeles, and being a gay man in country music.
Hasan Minhaj | Anna Faris Is Unqualified
I loved Hasan Minhaj’s Netflix show, Patriot Act, which was unfortunately canceled after a few seasons. I think his humor is great and it was interesting to learn about how he grew up and his personal life.
How to Win Friends and Influence People | By The Book
The two female hosts talk about their experiences applying the lessons from the book How to Win Friends and Influence People, to their lives. It was pretty funny, and it sounds like the book has some successful strategies.
JetBlue Airways: David Neeleman | How I Built This with Guy Raz
How do you start an airline? How about 3? David Neeleman talks about all of his entrepreneurial ventures while raising a family that has led him to start three airline companies in the US and South America.
Live Episode! Buzzfeed: Jonah Peretti | How I Built This with Guy Raz
Jonah Peretti knew how to make viral content before social media was a thing, landing him on news shows like CNN and The Today Show while he was in college. His knack for curation is impressive and this was a very interesting episode about starting a media company before the media was what it is today.
Bonus episode: The Secret Culture of Killer Whales | Overheard at National Geographic
This episode is an interview with a wildlife photographer and his experiences photographing orcas all over the world.
21. Pete Docter: “What If Monsters Really Do Exist” | People I (Mostly) Admire
Pete Docter was one of the animators on Monsters, Inc. and has risen to become the Chief Creative Officer at Pixar. He talks about starting his career in animation, his interactions with Steve Jobs, and the process of creating hit movies.
Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’ Breakthrough | Popcast
Three music reporters from different publishing companies give their take on Olivia Rodrigo’s first album. It’s interesting to hear their opinions and how they make comparisons to other artists that came before Olivia.
Olivia Jade Speaks Out | Red Table Talk
I watched Operation Varsity Blues on Netflix and learned about the insane deals going on behind the scenes to get celebrities’ children into the top colleges. Olivia Jade is one of Lori Loughlin’s kids whose admission to USC was paid for. She talks with the women of Red Table Talk and they go over privilege and what she’s learned from the situation.
“37 best sneaker listicles ever” – Buzzfeed’s SPAC. Goat’s $3.7B fundraise. 6 Big Tech Bills | Snacks Daily
This episode of Snacks Daily is mostly tech-focused, and I found the Buzzfeed piece interesting after listening to Jonah Peretti’s interview on How I Built This.
hot girl summer | soul chats
My friend Katherine gets vulnerable and talks about recent events in her life and her plans to bond with herself this summer.
What’s your happiness score? – Dominic Price | TED Talks Daily
There isn’t a true way to quantify happiness, but this episode offers a way to evaluate how much you’re getting out of your life in a few categories.
Day 1: In the Beginning | The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
I’m not religious and never went to church growing up, but I found a few churches in college and I actually liked going. The pastors obviously reference and read from The Bible, and while I have a copy, I’ve found it hard to read it in the same way Shakespeare is hard to read, as there are many ways to interpret it and I don’t have the historical context. This podcast is nice because it’s under 30 minutes and starts with just straight reading from The Bible, and then the host will provide the extra context and analysis.
A Shrinking Society in Japan | The Daily
Japan’s population is decreasing, as fewer women are getting married and having kids. There’s even a town that doesn’t have any kids – very Handmaid’s Tale-esque. This episode explains the gender norms and politics that are contributing to this trend.
Book publishing’s existential crisis – What’s the Story? | Vox Quick Hits
If you were an editor at a book publishing company, would you want your company to do book deals with controversial politicians? Book publishing is dealing with problems of ethics vs profit vs freedom of speech and this episode gets into the messiness.
FUN: What the hell is it and why do we need it? | We Can Do Hard Things
Glennon Doyle is back at it again with another great episode. She and her wife Abby Wambach talk about their versions of fun and the importance of fun even as you get older.
China’s Starring Role in Hollywood | Why It Matters
The U.S. box office will eventually be eclipsed by the Chinese box office, with higher Chinese ticket sales. The international revenue is so important that some studios will add scenes just for the Chinese audiences, and some movies, like Ironman, already have.
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