Because I am an artist, a lot of people tend to think that I only listen to music in my spare time. Would you be surprised if I told you that whenever I am not working on new projects or with my family, I am tuning into podcasts? Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE listening to music, but podcasts can be incredibly informative, entertaining, and most importantly, valuable.
The biggest reason why I listen to podcasts is to continue my education. Once we finish school and join the workforce, it is so easy to stop learning. Podcasts allow me to keep learning from incredibly intelligent people whenever I have free time or a long plane ride. As we move forward, technology will continue to help us learn and audio is becoming more and more important in our changing world. By listening to podcasts, anyone can learn, become more creative and, in turn, become a better person.
Here are some of my favorites on my podcast playlist:
School of Greatness
This fantastic podcast comes from author, entrepreneur, and personal friend of mine, Lewis Howes. School of Greatness is an incredibly inspirational podcast mainly focused on self-development. One of the best parts about this podcast is his incredible guests and collaborators. Whether it’s an All-Star point guard, professional musician, motivational speaker, or anything in between, Howes and his collaborators put on an incredible podcast that helps the audience grow as human beings.
The GaryVee Audio Experience
GaryVee is awesome. GaryVee (real name Gary Vaynerchuk) is an entrepreneur and 4-time New York Times Best Selling Author. His podcast, The GaryVee Audio Experience, allows me to keep up with a lot of social media and marketing trends from someone who I look up to as a leader in the digital space. I must say there is definitely a profanity warning. He speaks without a filter. He just spews golden nuggets of valuable information. GaryVee is about as real and authentic as you can get.
99% Invisible
Another one of my favorite podcasts is 99% Invisible. 99% Invisible is about the thought that goes into things we don’t think about. The show uncovers the history and purpose of things like revolving doors or the origins of fortune cookies. It is one of those shows that gives the listener a fountain of random trivia that all seem to relate back to daily life. Listening to this podcast has given me some awesome conversation starters to have at social gatherings.
Innovating Music
I love this podcast. Innovating Music is all about how innovation changes social connections and human systems around music and with music. The podcaster of the show is the director of UCLA Center of Music Innovation, Gigi Johnson. She is unbelievably brilliant and makes the podcast a joy to listen to.
The Music Biz Weekly
Music Biz Weekly is run by Michael Brandvold and Jay Gilbert. Both Brandvold and Gilbert have been in the music industry for years and know their way around it. This podcast is primarily focused on the history of the music business, as well as their take on where the industry is heading in the future. If you are interested at all in the music industry, I highly recommend this podcast.
NPR Politics
It is incredibly important for me to keep up with the current political landscape. I am very interested in learning more about how our government works as well as other current events. I know that politics is an incredibly polarizing thing in today’s world, but this podcast makes it easy to keep up with all of the important events that have occurred over the past week. In my opinion, knowing more about your respective country makes you a better citizen. If you want to know more about current events, check out NPR Politics, they are witty and straight to the point.
Any Trail Blazer Podcast
I call this section my guilty pleasure podcasts. If you didn’t know, I am a huge fan of my home state Portland Trail Blazers. All year long, I try to get my Blazer fix and learn more about the roster and the upcoming schedule. If you are a sports fan, there are tons of podcasts dedicated to your favorite teams. They can have some great insider information and outlooks! All in all, there is an endless amount of podcasts to explore.
If any of the podcasts on my playlist interested you, I highly recommend checking them out! Most, if not all of them, can be found on Apple Podcasts or YouTube. If you have other interests that I didn’t talk about, I almost guarantee you that there is a podcast dedicated to that interest. Go search the internet for a podcast that piques your interest– there is literally no harm in it! Every time you have some spare time, you can be learning something valuable for your job or hobby. Go out there and find your podcast!
