When I’m not listening to music on Spotify while traveling or organizing my room, I’m tuning into a podcast. My taste has evolved a lot over the years in terms of what types of stories peak my interest, but there are three podcasts that I consistently love and am willing to listen to hundreds of times over. Two are sequenced in chronological order, while the other tackles new themes and figures in each episode. Here are my top three, comprised of elements of mystery, romance, horror, crime, and writer’s insight.
1. "The Longform Podcast"
As a writer and aspiring journalist, this podcast is always my go-to for long car rides. I don’t like to feel rushed when I’m listening to interviews, especially when the questions being posed are useful for me to consider for my own work as well. "Longform" gives me the opportunity to hear some of my favorite non-fiction writers and artists speak candidly about their process and how they got their start. I’ve listened to all three of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s segments at least ten times over, taking mental note of his philosophy that cracking a gem out at the last minute is dangerous––procrastination can kill good writing and comprehensive ideas.
Some of my other all-time favorites are Tavi Gevinson, Terry Gross, Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, and Margo Jefferson. Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah talks about one of her most famous pieces, "A Most American Terrorist: The Making of Dylan Roof," and the raw dangers she faced while investigating Dylan Roof’s background during her time in South Carolina.
2. "Rabbits"
I started listening to this podcast from the Public Radio Alliance last month during my bus rides to and from campus. A journalist named Carly Parker tells the story of her close friend Yumiko’s mysterious disappearance. Carly walks you through the beginning of her investigation of Yumiko’s character transformation and disappearance, from when she first discovers Rabbits, the game that took over Yumiko’s life and placed her in a state of constant danger. The story seems like it could be a Black Mirror episode, as it explores an interconnected world of technology, mystery, and horror––an almost dystopian world. While this podcast keeps me engrossed 24/7, it’s important to know that if you’re anything like me and your attention span while on-the-go is all over the place, this narrative is too detailed and granular to listen to while multitasking.
3. "S-Town"
"S-Town" is an investigative journalism podcast hosted by Brian Reed and created by the same producers who worked on "Serial" and "This American Life." This has been my on-my-way-from- one-class-to-another podcast. What originally captivated me most about this was not the story itself, but the characters. Brian Reed does an incredibly vivid job of characterizing the protagonist, John B. McLemore, an eccentric and forward-thinking antique collector fed up with his slow-moving, closed-minded town of Woodstock, Alabama.
While the story begins with the investigation of a Woodstock murder that John called the producers about, it turns into an even deeper understanding of John and his quirks, passions, romances, conspiracy theories, family history, and mental health. Through interview recordings conducted not only with John, but with regular, working-class people from his hometown, you’re able to get a sense of the deeply embedded feelings, values, and prejudices that make up the complex history and characters of Woodstock.
