Over the summer, I got sick of listening to the same songs over and over again and stumbled upon the amazing things known as podcasts.
They're free and can go anywhere you go (assuming you bring your phone or laptop along). Podcasts cover anything and everything from relationships to court cases to hilarious pop culture news and there's one made for everyone. Listed below are just a small glimpse into the world of podcasts and a few of my current personal favorites.
1. Just Break Up
Just Break Up is designed to "bring understanding and a little understanding to the things that might be hard to talk about: that relationship we just can't get over, the compromise that feels like a deal breaker, the text message left on read."
The host's, Sam Blackwell and Sierra Demulder, met as baristas in 2008 and quickly bonded over their love for sad literature and oddly share the same birthday. They give a surgeon general warning at the beginning of each episode that they have no idea what they're doing but that they're here for all of their listeners. The podcast is based off of submissions asking for advice on all things to do with relationships and is currently my personal favorite.
2. In the Dark
Produced by APM Reports and hosted by Madeleine Baran, In The Dark is an investigative podcast designed to raise awareness and prompt positive change through investigative and documentary journalism. In The Dark has two seasons, each on a different specific case and the information Madeleine Baran can dig up about each one.
It's interesting because she ties different cases from surrounding areas into the main case so you learn about multiple cases all at once. Season one focuses on the abduction of the young boy Jacob Wetterling that gave no answers for 27 years.
Season two focuses on Curtis Flowers, a man who has been tried six different times for the same crime and has remained on death row the entire duration. He's won appeal after appeal but it overrides by the prosecutor each time. The is a great podcast to listen to if you're interested in investigative cases and law.
3. Serial
Created by This American Life and hosted by Sarah Koenig, the podcast tells a true story over the course of one season, similar to earlier mentioned podcast In The Dark. The podcast has won every major award for broadcasting. There's currently three seasons released, each focused on a different case.
Season one focuses on high school senior named Hae Min Lee who disappears one day after school in 1999 in Baltimore, Maryland and a month later her body is found in a city park. Her boyfriend is arrested for the crime and the season toys with the decision of whether or not he's guilty.
Season two focuses on a US Special Operations Team in a Black Hawk helicopter that lands in the hills of Afghanistan and what Bowe Bergdahl has to say about what happened. Season three focuses on the entire legal system in Cleveland to figure out they tackle ordinary cases.
4. What If?
The What If? podcast is directed by the same director as Just Break Up and is designed to ask strange, hilarious, paranormal, tough, and mysterious questions. They then laugh their way through the evaluation until they settle on a conclusion. Hosted by Spencer Wirth-Davis and Ryan Kopperud along with their wide variety of special guests and over 103 different episodes, this is a funny, curious podcast to check out.
5. The Daily
This podcast is run by the New York Times and goes for twenty minutes, five days out of the week and is hosted by Michael Barbaro. The podcast provides a less overwhelming way to keep up with current events, and actually learn a bit of the detail about them.
Each episode is short and focuses on one event in the news that happened instead of blasting you with everything that's going on in the world all at once because let's face it, that can get overwhelming and negative very quickly. Many people listen to this podcast daily and have built it into their everyday routines.
6. The Joe Rogan Experience
The Joe Rogan Experience is run by the Ameican comedian, actor, sports commentator, and television host Joe Rogan and is a free both audio and video podcast. Beginning in 2009, it now has over 1,000 episodes to its name. Each episode features a new guest and he's had everyone from Elon Musk to Everlast to John Joseph.
The podcast is funny and more light-hearted than some of the others mentioned in this list and he interviews such a wide variety of people that almost anyone can relate to it.
7. Chicks In The office
Run by Barstool, this podcast is hosted by Ria and Fran and they tackle the biggest stories in pop culture. Run by 'two chicks in the office' they cover everything from celebrity breakups to reality TV shows to answering fan-submitted questions.
Also a hilarious podcast and much more lighthearted than others in this list, this is one of Barstools few connections with the female population as far as trying to bring them into Barstool. Highly recommend this one and any of Barstools other channels!