My daily quarantine walks in March consisted of me sulking while listening to sad Taylor Swift songs and shivering in a windbreaker when I really should’ve been wearing an actual jacket like my mom told me to. I still go on walks everyday, and I still don’t wear a heavy enough jacket, but now, my walks are a time for me to listen, learn, and reflect– all because I started listening to podcasts.
Podcasts are powerful because they can be so intimate and personal. While writing can have a similar effect, being able to physically hear someone’s voice and tone while talking about a range of topics has a different effect. It has the power to reach a listener on a personal level to help them, educate them, or relate to them.
There’s a wide range of podcast genres available: news & politics, educational, comedy, true crime, lifestyle, stories, business, sports, and more. Podcasts provide a sense of conversation, and because of all these different genres, discussion about virtually any topic on a podcast can feel like a conversation.
For example, at the height of the media coverage surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement in June, many of the resources recommended for people to educate themselves were podcasts. Code Switch, Pod Save the People, and Intersectionality Matters, were just some of the most recommended podcasts for education on the Black experience. In a time where every single person in the country should be educated on systemic racism, these podcasts are an excellent way for myself and others to understand the history and current effects of anti-Blackness in the United States in order to better use and understand privilege to help fight for the cause.
Aside from Black Lives Matter, podcasts have the ability to educate on virtually anything. One of my favorites is Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness, who brings on a different guest expert each episode to discuss topics such as labor unions, LGBTQ+ issues, anti-racism, voter suppression, and more. A podcast like JVN’s educates listeners while providing a fun, conversational, and casual discussion. This level of personability can educate without feeling like a chore. Listening to educational podcasts has personally made me more receptive to learning about different topics I typically wouldn’t go read about. As a result, I feel that I’m simply a better listener in my everyday life. I find myself wanting to learn more and listen more in my classes, as well as from other classmates, friends and family. Once I learned how to listen to an hour long conversation between two people on a podcast and be engaged, I became much more receptive and interested in listening in other areas of my life.
In addition to educational podcasts, lifestyle podcasts have made me feel normal, inspired, and not alone all at the same time. They’re often personal, and feel like having a conversation with a friend. Some of my favorites are Girls Gotta Eat and Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain. Lifestyle podcasts like these allow you to get to know the hosts and grow to love them. At the same time, they’re relatable, funny, and provide some short relief to the really chaotic world we live in. Most of all, they’ve made me feel not alone in my experiences, whether that be with mental health, awkward encounters, political discussion, body image, and more.
Podcasts have changed my life in terms of the way I think about myself, my relationships, and the world. Taking an hour out of your day while walking, folding the laundry, or working out to listen to a podcast can change your life too. Podcasts have the power to nourish you, to comfort you, to help you grow, to educate you, and to change your mindset. We could all use some of that right now.
Photos: Her Campus Media