The 25 podcasts that got me through 2020
2020 sucked, here are the pods that got kept me sane (with links). With descriptions, in no special order.
3 min readDec 31, 2020
- Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories by Get Sleepy
I use this every night to get to sleep. So soothing - Earth to Linda by Andy Mangold and Linda Eliasen
Two buds catching up. The covid episodes are somehow better than pre-covid. - White Picket Fence by Wonder Media Network
A late entry but wow so good — it’s basically how white women have shaped this country and its politics and what they need to do to make it better. - Hunting Warhead by CBC Podcasts
Hackers doing hacker stuff, taking down bad guys. It’s like an action movie without the guns and such. - The Missing Cryptoqueen by BBC Radio
Cryptocurrency and deception. - No Compromise by NPR
White supremacists and their guns. So fascinating. - Land of the Giants (s1) by Recode
How Netflix became Netflix. - Go For Broke by Vox Media
Chronicles some different companies that failed during dot-com boom in the late 90’s, early 00’s and ties those to some of the companies and trends we’re seeing today. - Motive by WBEZ Chicago
I wanted to better understand white supremacy. I hate that it exists but interesting to see/hear how people get indoctrinated. - California City by LAist Studios
Scam city. Privileged people taking advantage of less privileged people. - Nice White Parents by Serial & NYT
An inside look at how calamitous raising school-aged kids in the city actually is. - The Ballad of Billy Balls by Crimetown Presents
A surprising, dynamic, heart-wrenching tale of a family putting the pieces back together after tragedy. - Floodlines by The Atlantic
The story of Hurricane Katrina you probably didn’t know because you were too busy learning how to be an adult. By “you” I mean me. - Unfinished (s1) by Witness Docs
Season 1 is about an unsolved lynching from decades ago in the deep south. Twists and turns abound. - Tom Brown’s Body by Texas Monthly
Classic whodunnit. This takes place in a sleepy town in Texas and the host has a very comforting Southern twang so that’s a big plus. - The City by USA Today & Wondery
I never knew how weird Reno is. - Reply All by Gimlet
ep. 158 about a song that only exists in one persons head from the 90's, ep. 149 about feral hogs, ep. 127&8 about some broken tech that police use (I listened to this on my lunch break while walking through Chelsea, highly rec), and many more. - Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! by NPR
Delightful and informative weekend fun. - Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX
Specifically the American Rehab series but all their work is top-notch. - Embedded by NPR
There’s a series about Mitch McConnell that will make you have strong opinions about Mitch McConnell. - Design Details by SpecFM
I love design. Design, design, design. - This American Life by TAL
C’mon, classic. - This is Not a Drake Podcast by CBC Podcasts
Only tangentially related to Drake. More about how moments of his career relates to larger moments in the hip-hop/rap culture. - Gangster Capitalism by C13Originals
If you’ve ever wondered how the NRA operates and how greedy they are, here you go. - Fiasco by Luminary, Cadence13, Prologue Projects
I was only 12 when the wild and crazy 2000 election happened. So many similarities to the 2020 election.
