This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Exeter chapter.
We all get that guilty feeling, when you know you really should be reading for your seminar or going over lecture notes or god forbid “getting ahead” in your dissy. But in reality you are still feeling a bit hungover and the Netflix tab on your browser looks way more appealing. Lucky for you we have found a happy medium of low effort yet intellectually stimulating procrastination in the form of podcasts and YouTube channels.
A bit of blended learning that will make you sound more intelligent at dinner parties and help convince your parents that the £9000 a year tuition fees is not just spent “Netflix and chilling”.
- Vox
- You may have noticed the Vox story on Snapchat, but the media platform and YouTube channel has a wealth of creative short videos explaining complex news-worthy topics and other cultural concepts that largely go unquestioned. The idea is to make the “vegetables” of the news world – those articles we should read but don’t – more palatable. And it sure does!
- Where to start: Split into smaller categories including health, science, culture, world & economics you are guaranteed to find something that interests you, from the Oscars’ lack of diversity to 3 minute explanations of the Zika virus and Asian flush. It is also really useful for keeping up-to-date with US elections.
- Women of the hour – Lena Dunham.
- A hugely honest and refreshingly real feminist podcast, created and hosted by Lena Dunham. It comprises of conversations with women about love, sex, work, bodies and friendship. It features Emma stone and other amazing and influential women who celebrate life and give honest advice to common friendship or love problems.
- Where to start: At the beginning. There are only 5 episodes and they are all great!
- The Ted Radio hour
- Everyone knows TED. We all love TED. This genius hour long show centres around one common theme – such as evolution, happiness, creativity, building better cities, fighting cancer – and discusses the best bits from various TED talks about that topic. Very insightful and very well presented.
- Where to start: The one on Human Adaptation or the one called ‘To Endure’ (featuring Monica Lewinsky). Although all are brilliant!
- The Economist podcast
- The brief podcast episodes examine economic, political and social trends on a weekly basis. Do not be fooled, it is anything but dull. The episodes are concise and to the point, including insightful commentary and great interviews with top politicians and experts. 10 minute episodes are ideal for your walk to campus.
- Where to start: The ‘Tasting menu’ audio highlights feature everything from the decline of marriage to the wine industry.
- Test Tube News
- This one is for anyone who needs a crash course on all things geo-political. Short 5-6 minute videos are hugely informative and cover everything from the war on ISIS to the complex alliances and relationships behind international conflicts.
- Where to start: Literally pick your favourite country and go from there. The Strength of Nations playlist is particularly interesting.
- You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes.
- The wild card. This one is really weird and very American but it makes for really fun and easy listening. Pete talks with comedians and writers about literally everything from their rise to fame to setbacks in love and health. He is a fan of the deep questions in life.
- Where to start: Do not be put off by the 300+ episodes with people you have never heard of. Good ones to start with are T.J Miller (the voice of Yogi Bear who suffered a brain tumour) or Jimmy Kimmel. For the deeper stuff try Brian Greene for all things universe related and Elisabeth Gilbert (the author of Eat Pray Love) for some real useful life advice.
So, whether you have a few minutes to spare or hours to procrastinate we are sure that there is something in this list for you!
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