Favorite Podcasts (+ Documentaries): Reply All, Sorta Awesome, S-Town & Popculture Happy Hour

March 2017 was #trypod month

March was #trypod month – which stands for „try a pod(cast)“. Popular podcast publishers like NPR, Gimlet Media or This American Life/Serial collaborated to introduce more audiences to podcasts. They encouraged their listeners to introduce friends to their favorite podcasts while also sharing personal stories and podcast experiences on social media. Fast forward to the beginning of April and the hashtag #trypod reveals thousands of podcast recommendations on Twitter or Instagram. What a great resource!

Podcasts have been growing quickly in the past 5 years. At least on the other side of the Atlantic. In the United States it’s one in five Americans who is already listening to podcasts every month. And the numbers are continuously growing. And in Germany? According to this article at least 5% of people between the ages of 14 to 49 are listening to a podcast daily. Looks like there’s a lot of room to grow…

Why should you listen to podcasts? The reasons are manifold! To keep you entertained on long car or train rides. For distraction while you are cooking dinner or folding laundry. To learn something new and to keep up with current events. For inspiration and to make sense of the world. To hear the life stories of people who live a completely different life. But most of all: out of pure curiosity.

I promise you: there is a podcast out there for every topic that you can imagine. It’s just waiting to be discovered! Don’t know where to start? Why don’t you browse the iTunes „New & Noteworthy“ section or use the search function to find podcasts about your favorite topic. Or you could also start with one of my podcast recommendations below.

My Favorite Episodes

The Russian Passenger by Reply All is a MUST-listen! Reply All hosts Alex and PJ investigate a what seems to be a simple password hack. What they find out in the course of the episode, will make you want to change all your online passwords asap.

Sorta Awesome hosts Megan and Laura did an episode on their favorite documentaries. They have really good recommendations though I’ve been struggling to figure out how to watch them here in Germany.

Their list inspired me to add my favorite documentaries, too: for all coffee lovers out there I can highly recommend Barista:

All readers and writers should watch Everything is Copy, a documentary about writer Nora Ephron:

And just last night I watched the first episode of Abstract: The Art of Design on Netflix. So good!

Only a week ago, This American Life and Serial released the much buzzed about podcast S-Town. Up until today I’ve only listened to the first two episodes and I haven’t really made up my mind yet if I like it or not. The story got me hooked, for sure. But it’s lacking the suspense of Serial season 1 that made me binge-listen one episode after the other. And I’m also missing a red threat or an overall question that ties the episodes together. However, the surprising story turn at the end of the second episode is already starting to change my opinion. When you listen, be prepared for some typical Redneck talk and Southern slang. S-Town is located in rural Alabama and this is the South as a I know (and miss) it.

The SXSW episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour is another March favorite of mine. South by Southwest is an annual music festival and conference for creatives in Austin, Texas. I found myself not only taking notes while listening, but this episode also sparked my interest in immersing deeper into the SXSW world. I can tell you, I haven’t surfaced yet! There is so much stuff out there that I want to read, explore, learn, and share. And SXSW definitely made it on my list of events I want to go to in the future!

My March TBL-List

Thanks to the #trypod-challenge my TBL-list (to be listened) has grown. The following podcasts made it on my list and you might read more about them in next month’s favorite podcasts post.

From the Front Porch – a podcast about books, small businesses, and life in the South.

Young House Love – John and Cherry of the very popular blog Young House Love publicly quit blogging a couple of years ago. I didn’t know that they were back with this podcast on design and their house renovation. I will start listening with this interview with Grace Bonney of Design Sponge.

Missing Richard Simmons – In the online world people talk about this podcast everywhere so it seems to be worth checking out. The show is about the disappearance of Richard Simmons, a fitness guru celebrity who suddenly vanished from the public sphere in 2014. Mysterious!

The Accidental Creative which was recommend to me by fellow blogger Tobia from craftalicious me.

And there’s also a German podcast that I put on my TBL-list – woo-hoo! Das kleine Fernsehballet with Sarah Kuttner and Stefan Niggemeier talks all things video: shows on German TV, YouTube channels, Netflix series. The first episode only aired in the middle of March so we can still listen in „real-time“.

Have fun listening and please share your favorite podcasts in the comments or on social media! You can find my favorite February episodes and how to listen to podcasts in last month’s „Favorite Podcasts“ post.