You may be searching for the perfect escapism activity… a podcast to keep you occupied on a long haul flight, or for those quiet moments we pounce on when the weather gets a bit colder.
Many of us don’t get the opportunity to sit quietly, alone with our own thoughts, or with the written or spoken word. To make the most of it, the AWNY communications team have whipped up a shortlist of recommended podcasts to enjoy on your next trip, be that the enormous trip home, or quietly nestled in your living room. We’ve compiled a great selection for everyone (we hope!), but if we’ve missed your favorite, please post it in the comments section below—the more the merrier!
Photo credit: Maxyne Barcel
Podcasts: What’s Trending
One of our favorite podcasts in recent years is Celebrity Memoir Book Club, and with the release of Britney’s memoir dishing the dirt on many of her previous boyfriends, now is a great time to jump on board the celebrity book club podcast train.
Celebrity Memoir Book Club’s mantra is, “We read celebrity memoirs so you don’t have to” and boy are we grateful! From Victoria Beckham, to Matthew Perry (RIP!), this podcast simply summarizes lengthy, and at times boring, accounts of celebrities lives in hour long episodes. Our favorite so far has been “Danny Trejo is Trejo”. Wow, has he lived! You can find more details here.
Another podcast with a celebrity tone is Podcrushed, hosted by Penn Badgley who is known for his roles in Gossip Girl and You. Podcrushed takes a listener-submitted story, narrated by Penn, combines it with a special guest sharing their own unheard story from their teenage years to produce a funny and relatable story.
WTF with Marc Marron invites celebrities to be interviewed, with comedic results.
Desert Island Discs is another celebrity interview type show where celebrities select eight pieces of music plus a book and a luxury item to take to a desert island.
Have you ever wanted to know how the most famous and world-renowned chefs got their start? AWNY Food Correspondent Sarah McLellan Mee recommends binging Beyond the Plate, a podcast detailing stories from world famous chefs, their backgrounds, and their charitable endeavors post fame.
How Other Dads Dad is Hamish Blake’s latest project where he interviews other dads, mainly celebrities, about their approach to fatherhood, hears their most successful hacks and steals these liberally to help all dads dad a bit better.
If you’re looking for a podcast with some Aussie women, Chat 10 Looks 3 is hosted by the lovely ladies, Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb, who share stories and tips on what they’re reading, watching, cooking, listening to, or what’s currently on their minds.
Another proud Aussie women moment, our former PM Julia Gillard, has a women in leadership podcast called A Podcast of One’s Own with Julia Gillard that’s worth checking out as she interviews amazing female leaders.
Can you tell the AWNY team love a bit of celebrity escapism?
What You May Have Missed?
True Crime/Mystery
Most Aussies will be familiar with The Teacher’s Pet, as well as the internationally renowned Serial, which have both made headlines for their ability to reopen these cold cases. A few other popular true crime podcasts include, Dr. Death, Dirty John, and In the Dark.
Parenting
Nice White Parents is a five-part series from the makers of Serial and The New York Times, hosted by Chana Joffe-Walt, that explores the US public school system and the role of white parents in it.
Want to learn something new?
The Retrievals details the horrific stories of five women seeking to be mothers who went to a Yale fertility clinic for IVF.
Planet Money connects every day occurrences with economics in the US to explain the forces that shape our lives.
Hard Fork explains the rapidly evolving world of tech.
And an AWNY favorite, In Machines We Trust, which is produced by our very own Emma Cillekens, and details the impact AI is having, and will have, on our daily lives.
And for a bit of social and ethical pondering, we recommend How Do You Sleep at Night? A podcast hosted by ABC Hack’s Sarah McVeigh. This riveting show asks listeners to slip on the shoes of someone that is facing a quandary, and you’ll find out why they’ve made the decisions they have, and how they justify their moral code.
Audiobooks and eBooks available to borrow from the New York Public Library
For the book and audiobook fans, we wanted to do a PSA. Most popular eBooks and audiobooks are available via the New York Public Library for free via the app, Libby.
The online catalogue and Libby allow you to loan and return books without having to step into a NYPL location, and it also allows you to request a loan, notifying you when it’s available, and remind you when it is due back. Despite having numerous copies of some bestsellers you might have to be organized and request the loan a few weeks out, but there will always be some fallback options available for those last minute packers.
Did we miss your favorite?
Please let us know your go-to podcast or audiobook in the comments below!
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