It’s cold, so enjoy a podcast during your frigid walk to class!
- “My Favorite Murder”
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A little over a year ago, my dearest friend with whom I share a lifelong obsession with true crime, recommended that I listen to the hit true-crime comedy podcast “My Favorite Murder.” Within weeks, it became my favorite thing to listen to. True crime podcasts currently dominate the industry, and while MFM might come across as a little less serious than other popular ones like Serial, The Dropout, and Someone Knows Something, the inserted anecdotes and laughs from hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark bring a sense of comfort to the world of true crime podcasts in a way that others don’t. Chances are you’ve heard of this podcast before, but if you’ve never listened, I recommend starting from episode one and not skipping ahead.
- “This American Life”
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This American Life is the reason I am in college right now. Okay, not really. I also worked very hard to get where I am today, but I wrote my personal essay about my love for This American Life when I was applying to transfer to Clark. I wrote about how I still believe in storytelling as a powerful force within human connections and social change, and I used This American Life to explain how my passion for story-telling grew. Each week on This American Life, stories are shared from across the US and across the globe that relate to some central theme, being anything from pets to breakups to immigration. Sometimes these stories are funny, sometimes they are sad, and sometimes they are so touching and heartfelt that it feels like listening to one of your dearest friends share their most meaningful life story with you. This American Life has been around since 1995, so you will really almost never run out of episodes to listen to. Some of my favorite episodes include “Kid Logic” (2001), “No Coincidence, No Story!” (2013), and “Rom-Com” (2018).
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- “You Must Remember This”
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If you’re enamored with the stories old hollywood stars and films, then Katrina Longworth’s podcast You Must Remember This is perfect for you. Since 2014, the film journalist has been using her podcast to tell the stories behind famous films and stars of the past, along with their secrets and histories. Currently, I’m listening to the podcast’s latest season, “Six Degrees of Song of the South,” a weekly mini series about Disney’s controversial film from 1946 about life on a plantation in the years following the Civil War. Longworth dives deep into the films cast members, its history entrenched in Black-minstrel characterization, its reception from audiences over the years, and more. I would also recommend listening to this podcast’s episodes on the famed (and often tortured) starlets of Hollywood’s golden age, including Judy Garland, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, and of course, Marilyn Monroe.
- “Modern Love”
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If you like listening to This American Life, then The New York Times’s romance podcast Modern Love might become your next favorite thing. Modern Love is a podcast, weekly NYT column, and as of recently, an Amazon Prime series. Beautifully written, each episode is a submitted love story narrated by someone famous, which I think makes the stories even better.
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- “Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness”
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My sister, a Queer Eye fan like myself, recommended Jonathan Van Ness’s podcast Getting Curious to me and I am so glad she did. Jonathan is my personal favorite member of the Fab Five, so being able to listen to him talk about things that interest him is something that I am always down for. In each episode, JVN invites an expert guest to speak about some relevant and interesting topic. One great episode from earlier this year includes an interview with acting President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Alexis McGill Johnson: “What does Planned Parenthood Do To Keep Us Safe?” While each episode is greatly informative, this one is especially important because it offers an explanation to many of the mistaken conceptions about what Planned Parenthood really does. Getting Curious also features a wide array of other topics, such as immigration, climate change, the opioid crisis, menstrual cups, and Lizzo.
That wraps up the list of my favorite podcasts that you should try out this winter!