Podcasts — Getting started, sources and recommendations

Earlier this year, one of my friends sent me a link to this podcast: Naval Ravikant with the knowledge project by Shane Parrish. The 118 minutes of conversation there was so jam-packed with insights, it blew my mind. It not only helped me get clarity in my thoughts but also gave me a reality check of where I stand with respect to my current goals. In short, that podcast episode made me think and question some of my basic beliefs. I loved this and was immediately hooked on the concept of podcasts.

I started listening to new podcasts whenever and wherever possible — while traveling, before sleeping, at breakfast and even in the shower. This was akin to when I first got into reading books.

I had never learned the joy of reading enough until someone reintroduced me to it with an interesting recommendation last year

I started learning about different podcasters, different episodes, and gradually expanded my library. They were helping me so much that I also started recommending them to friends at work. While most of my friends knew about the concept, they had always associated podcasts with either news or standup comedy. So at first, they didn’t see it as a source of knowledge. But with some of my recommendations even they got hooked on it!

That’s when I thought I should write about podcasts so that more and more people can enjoy this vast resource of knowledge. Some of my friends who didn’t like reading books now learn from podcasts all the time. And so for people who are starting out, let me introduce you three of my favorite podcasts:

1. The knowledge project by Shane Parrish

You should listen to this podcast if you wish to master your day-to-day habits by learning from people who have outperformed in their fields.

Mastering The Best Of What Other People Have Already Figured Out — Shane Parrish

Every podcast is 60–80 mins long, so I would not recommend following the sequence instead start with the topics/guests from his channel that you find most interesting. Or you could start with the one that I love here. Keep a pen and paper handy as every podcast has a lot of inflow of information and you would be tempted to take notes on everything.

You can find the link to the podcast here.

2. The Tim Ferris Show

The best part about this podcast is the host. Tim is witty and has found hacks around handling most common life problems. Tim often deconstructs top performers from different walks of life (investing, sports, business, technology, etc). He tries to extract insights about their daily habits/routines, reading lists, decision-making process, time management tricks. The shows are usually 40–60 mins long.

You can find the list to the podcast here.

3. Made you think by Nat Eliason and Neil Soni

In this podcast, the two hosts pick one interesting book (or essay) and dive deep into some of the concepts explained in it. It’s also fun to see the hosts traverse through different tangents around the topic. Discussions often have some crazy back stories and strong opinions on most of the topics. It also means, as the title suggests, this one will make you think.

You can find the link to this podcast here.

If these channels/podcasts don’t grab your attention that much, I’d still encourage you to search for one because the best one for you does exist. The easiest way to search/listen to podcasts on phone is with:

• iOS — Podcast App
• Android — Sticher App

Or google it.

I’ve started blogging recently, and this is only my second write up, so if you like/dislike the article do let me know! :)

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