True Crime To Comedy
While arguably more of a Friday topic, podcasts have been part of my daily life for almost 6 years now. I started listening to them as a way to help time go by at work, and now I usually listen at least an hour or two every single day.
My journey with podcasts started while I was working at EA as a quality assurance tester, a fairly mindless introduction to working in the games industry, and my attention often wandered. I needed something else to help keep me occupied, and listening to music all day didn’t quite scratch the itch either.
So, I turned to podcasts. At this point, I really only knew about two podcasts, My Favorite Murder and Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!. Both comedy podcasts that had vastly different subject matter. My Favorite Murder was about, well, murder, or at least true crime more broadly, and Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! was an NPR news quiz, often with both guests and comedians I hadn’t heard of before.
Listening to both these shows helped my days at this job go by far quicker. I often found myself chuckling to myself at my desk as I worked my way through the back catalog of both these shows. I very quickly realized that having a podcast playing in your ears is a good way to make dull tasks where your mind is prone to wandering more interesting.
From just 2 podcasts initially, I’m currently subscribed to over 20 different podcasts that I listen to (semi) regularly. I had to switch to a new podcasting app in March this year, and since then, I’ve listened to about 705 hours of podcasts. So, let’s break down all the different things I listen to!
Gaming
Get Played, Remap, Triple Click, The Besties, The Tetracast
Rather unsurprisingly, gaming is the most specific topic where I follow the largest number of podcasts. I like being able to hear from different critics or people about a game, because like most media, even the same game can hit wildly different for people with different tastes. I especially appreciate Get Played, because they don’t approach games as critics, just as enthusiasts.
Since starting this blog, I do sometimes review games, and I’m often critical of them, but I play them as a hobby, not a job, and sometimes I feel like I forget that. That being said, I still appreciate a critical appraisal of games, or an evaluation of the artistic value of games. Often in reviews we tend to look at story, gameplay, or technical things, and sometimes we miss if games really have interesting things to say.
A variety of perspectives really keeps this topic interesting for me, even when these podcasts might end up covering the same or similar games. The Tetracast and The Besties are also more occasional listens than the others, mainly since both shows are all men, and have 5 people per podcast, too many people on a single podcast I fear.
Technology
Hard Fork, Power User
A newer, but growing category of shows I listen to, are tech podcasts. I’ve obviously long been interested in games, and tech more broadly, but never really thought about engaging with the topic more regularly. Though, as AI has become more and more prevalent, being actively engaged with the role technology will play in both our lives, and the world seems more and more important.
While I’d have an incredibly difficult time ranking my favorite podcasts, Hard Fork is a strong contender, and presents the topic of technology in grounded ways that make it easy to engage with. It has both news, new products, and interrogates the way technology affects and integrates into people’s lives.
Comedy
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, Smosh Mouth, Bald And The Beautiful, Two Nosy Meerkats
Next, is the most unserious, purely for entertainment category, comedy. Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! does discuss recent news events in a game show format, while still being thoroughly entertaining, but I might learn or retain more information from a dedicated news podcast. Any of these shows are great when I just need to hear some “friends” talk and laugh, and hopefully laugh alongside them.
Every podcast has an element of parasocial relationships to them, but comedy it feels especially apparent. It often feels like just listening in on a conversation at a party, and laughing along with them. It’s a nice feeling, and always makes me feel like I’m around friends, but don’t feel the need to participate, and just get to enjoy the company.
True Crime
Scam Goddess, My Favorite Murder
While this used to be a bit of a bigger category, I decided to take a few steps back from true crime. Scam Goddess, self described as “true con” feels a lot more my speed these days. It usually has lighter subject matter, and I can enjoy the ride without feeling the weight of the lives lost along the way.
I know bad things happen all the time, but I no longer want to dwell in the morbid. Hearing about some of the worst people and horrific crimes doesn’t really improve my life, and while it’s still interesting to me, I had to find the right level. My Favorite Murder seems to toe that line well, but if I skip a week here and there maybe it was just the right move for me.
Media Criticism
You Are Good, The Shrieking Shack, This Ends at Prom, Anime Out Of Context
This is a bit of an odd category, as often I’m listening to people give their thoughts about books, movies, or anime I’ve never seen, or may never see. Sometimes I listen because I’m interested in whatever they’re covering, or I just enjoy hearing them discuss what that piece of media evokes in them.
You Are Good is my favorite in this regard, since it mostly uses the movie at hand as a vehicle to talk about the feelings it brings. We often use media to explore or reflect our own lives, and I think media is often at its best when it’s holding up a mirror to the viewer and asking us to look inwards. Or maybe I just want to hear someone exasperatedly discuss a piece of bad media.
Lefty Stuff
If Books Could Kill, You’re Wrong About, Maintenance Phase, 5-4, A Bit Fruity
Last, is the category of podcasts that actually stick with me. These are usually the most political, and often discuss the broader implications of things like books, or diet culture on the broader culture. While these podcasts are probably squarely within the “political echo chamber” we all naturally build, I still find it helps me consider things through different lenses.
It also makes it easier to examine things that often feel too difficult to me alone. 5-4 is a great way for me to learn about the US supreme court, and still enjoy the process. I would never dream of reading a supreme court decision on my own, I wouldn’t know how to parse it, but this podcast helps break it down, and discuss its broader implications.
Thanks for Listening
So, uh, in conclusion, I really like podcasts! If you’re interested in any of these categories, I would encourage you to check out some of these podcasts! I tried to order them from general appeal to more niche interests, but I really do think they’re all good.
Podcasts, especially here in Japan, always give me a sense of companionship. I can feel less alone, having friendly voices in my ear discussing things that interest me, or even nothing at all. I can have constant company, learn something new, or see something from an angle I’d never considered before.
If you’ve never listened to a podcast before, give it a try! You can listen to one while doing any manner of things, driving, cooking, cleaning, exercising, you name it. It’s a flexible enough medium though it’s easy to incorporate into your daily routine. You might just find that before you know it, you’ve always got a podcast in your ear just like me.
