I’ve been getting really into listening to podcasts this week. Ever since I left uni, I’ve missed learning about different cultures, books, and historical events in my lectures. Of course, now that Zoom learning is so prevalent, I could always ask my current-student friends for the invite code, but I’m a bit too shy for that. Instead, I’ve taken to listening to longform podcasts to learn more about what I’ve missed.
Covering everything from the mathematical value of e (I’ve listened to this five times and still don’t really understand, can someone please email in and explain it?) to the druid culture of prehistory Britain, BBC 4’s In Our Time is the best replica of a Socratic seminar I can find. The host gathers three famous professors, all experts in the specific field, to essentially duke it out over niche, strange, and incredibly fascinating topics. You’ll come away from every forty minute episode feeling as though you’ve completed an entire university degree in the subject.
For lighter content, I’ve been listening to No Such Thing As A Fish, where four fact researchers share the craziest things they’d learnt that week. Did you know that in the time it takes to listen to the Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), the International Space Station travels 500 miles, then 500 more? Or that “Twitter” was a 19th-century word for an abscess on a horse’s foot? With almost all the hosts of the programme having cut their teeth on the UK’s comedy circuit, you’re bound to come away from the show with sore sides from laughing, and a sore brain from, well, learning!
And if our modern world is a bit too crazy for you, why not escape to an even crazier one? Welcome To Nightvale is a longform surreal podcast that takes the form of a radio news bulletin in a small desert town, where angels roam the car parks and the mysterious faceless woman that lives in your home is running for mayor. Equal parts heart and heeby-jeeby, this is the show that got me into podcasts in the first place. It’s perfect for spooky season, too, with its creepy stories that often end in a strange, bark-laugh joke.
Photo by Sarah Pflug from Burst.
