Day 102: Some Podcasts I Simply Can’t Recommend Enough

I have received some wonderful words of gratitude and thoughtful feedback on the 100th post (on the 44 books that changed my life). So, in this post, I want to turn the spot light to some of the podcasts that have the same impact on my life. As I mentioned in my last post, I easily get in the “state of flow” — a mental state of complete absorption in the current experience — when I engage in my beloved activities such as cycling, writing, teaching, and writing.

What am I reading right now? Here you are:

I love to move between books — both to avoid boredom and over-immersion into just one single topic. Over immersion in just one topic creates, what the psychologist Daniel Kahneman calls, “focusing illusion,” making you feel as though whatever you are immersing in is more important than other, and worst, the most important thing ever. “Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you’re thinking about it,” said Kahneman. This is the reason why most professionals will want to solve problem their ways. It’s not because they do not have the knowledge beyond their immediate fields, it’s because they’re too focused on the “illusion of importance” in which they’re immersing themselves. Maybe you have heard the saying that “If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem will be a nail.” That’s the core of focusing illusion. So, snap out of it.

So, at any point in time, I would have 4-5 books on my desk, all with bookmarks, ready to be read inconsequentially. I know, it’s not the most efficient way to read but it works for me. I do enjoy switching between subjects and connect dots presented in both key and minor ideas among them. So, here’s the answer to one of the questions from a reader: “How can you bring in so many ideas to discuss a single subjects?” The answer: I read a lot of books at the same time and the lines connecting those dots are very obvious. Knowledge is knowledge, it doesn’t matter what the field is. I don’t think it’s a special power to see the connections. You just have to let you mind travel into different realms and keep it, completely completely, open.

Oh, I forgot to mention that usually accompanying in those process (with an exception of writing as I need to primarily hear my own voice in my head) is the act of listening to a constructive podcast.

My cycling duration, for instance, could easily be from an hour (30 kilometers) to about two hours (60 kilometers) — both of which are great for one or two concise podcasts that end with me once I step off the pedals. I also listen to podcasts when I walk to work, drive a car, take a bus or a metro, make coffee, work out in a gym, etc. These are activities that can take place simultaneously with careful listening. To make sure that I don’t just have a lot of “lost time” during those activities, I never allow my ears to stay quiet. In other words, whereas others listen to music, I listen to podcasts.

Here you are: The Top Three. These are some of the best podcasts that I have on my smartphone, which I also listen to regularly and obsessively. I’ll provide a short impression of how I think about them, like them, and love to never have to stop listening to them.

1. Let’s begin with Freakonomics Radio. For those who are already a big fan of the book Freakonomics, you’ll enjoy this podcast even more. The host Stephen J. Dubner calls it “A podcast that explores the hidden side of everything” — and that’s basically what it is. It’s not a typical economics podcast. In fact, from the beginning, the idea of the podcast is to pitch economics against “humans.” You think you’re rational? Think again! We can only wish that we are rational as we think we are. Dubner is a great host because he’s funny, quick, and extremely resourceful. He has not only written a wonderful book on the subject with the University of Chicago economist Steve Levitt, but also interviewed many great minds, athletes, experts, and people from all walks of life, from whom he conveniently draws thoughtful ideas to help explain the hidden side of everything. You’ll find Dubner extremely entertaining to listen to (in fact, I think I have begun to talk like him lately). You’ll hear about American football and soccer, animals, CEOs, game theory, Trader Joe’s, behavioralism, etc. The topics are simply endless and the fun part is that you usually never know what’s coming in the next episode.  Freakonomics Radio is my number one on the list (so is its theme song, which I usually can’t wait to hear each week). Topics are wide ranging and you can listen to all previous episodes. I really recommend listening to all of them — one by one and carefully. They’re all witty, informative, and wonderful.
2. The Hidden Brain from NPR is the second on my list. Like Freakonomics Radio, the Hidden Brain explores the hidden side of how our mind works. The host Shankar Vedantam (who also has a great deep yet soft voice!) explains the podcast as “using science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.” So, yes, it’s a podcast about how so many things can be alternatively understood, revealed, and learned through the art and science of psychology. Often, Vedantam presents us with an ordinary situation, after which he proceeds to tell us how “unordinary” they are and then why it is that our minds fail to produce a logical understanding of such situation. Wow, right? Some of you may know that, for the past year, I have been in love with the field of psychology. Partly, it’s due to my love for this podcast that provides me so much insights on we do things the way we do (especially when it’s so obvious that there’s a better, more rational, more productive way of doing it). Topics are also as wide-ranging as the Freakonomics Radio and sometimes the radio replays give us a glimpse of what we might have already forgotten.
3. Philosophize This is number three. I first encountered this podcast while searching for materials to teach my students in pretty much an introductory course in philosophy and intellectual history that I taught at NYU Shanghai. I came across this podcast because, at the time, it was one of the very few that were about philosophy — in a non-boring way. At that time, I was also subscribed to Philosophy Bites by David Edmund and Nigel Warburton (whose book on basic philosophy is a gem of a book that I highly recommend to everyone regardless of his/her interest in the subject). Apparently, the deep-sounded host Stephen West isn’t a 60-year-old philosophy professor who knows so much about the subject as he sounds in his podcast, but a 28-year-old podcaster from Seattle who is deeply interested in exploring different facets of philosophy. “I got into podcasting because I wanted to help bring to others what philosophy has done for my well-being. Not a day goes by where I’m not thankful for what the listeners of the show have made possible for me,” says Stephen West. He can do so very well, I presume, thanks to his wide-ranging reading of both original and interpretative texts; his energy, wit and sense of humor; and his key skill as a great great great great storyteller. I was hooked from the first episode that I listened to in 2014 and ever since it’s been a joy to wait for a new episode of Philosophize This. I highly recommend. This is the podcast that makes ideas come to life, and make seemingly irrelevant doctrines extremely useful to how we might want to choose, re-think and re-examine our life.

Alright, there you have it, the top three.

Here’re the other eight podcasts that I also listen to. Yes, I spend about 10 hours a week just listening to podcasts, which is to be added to another 20 hours per week of reading books and listening to audiobooks. Yeah, I don’t have a life that much (lol).

I especially like Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast. I alluded to my love for Gladwell’s writings in many of my previous posts. His voice is also great too! I really think the production is amazing and the stories he told (I recommend the one of the song Elvis couldn’t sing as a starter) are simply simply awesome. The only reason why it isn’t on the top three is because it’s done season by season, and each season only has a few episodes. For instance, Season Three ended a while ago and nothing have been broadcasted ever since. How long do you want me to work, Malcolm??

I have also grown to like Adam Grant’s work on organizational psychology a lot too (his latest book Originals is awesome). Anyway, take a look at the list below and let me know what you think after you have tried them all. I’d be delighted to know whether you think my taste in an attempt to “learn more while moving” and “prevent too much lost time” is sound.

Thank you and good night.