Tide Pods have become a cultural icon and they are a meme that has had real consequences. Maybe this is just a reaction to the strange, surrealist political landscape in which we function daily. These detergent packs have taken our nation by storm this year, but instead of burning my esophagus, I am dealing with our crazy reality with a different kind of “pod”…the podcast.
I’ve always been a very auditory person and I have memories of listening to Jim Dale read Harry Potter while making the six hour trip from Idaho to Wyoming every January. Most people grow up with their parents or grandparents reading them bedtime stories. While most adults don’t ask their friends or parents to read them bedtime stories, podcasts can serve a similar purpose. I re-discovered podcasts while studying abroad in London. My time in Europe was nothing short of incredible, but during the first few days, I felt like a baby chicken that had just hatched and was pecking around a beautiful and strange city. In my sleep deprived state of paranoia, I decided to listen to “Dear Sugars,” a podcast hosted by Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond. As I curled up like a jet lagged jelly bean, I began to feel a sense of calmness and connection with these phantom people with lives and stories more complicated than mine. I believe that podcasts are about good stories, which is a key part of our existence, but at a deeper level podcasts are about empathy. And, trust me, we need a lot of empathy in the age of Tide Pods and Donald Trump. I have compiled a list of my top three favorite podcasts:
“Dear Sugars”
“Dear Sugars” is hosted by writers, Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond whose honeyed voices answer a host of questions ranging about love, friendship, and family. Dear Sugars initially started as a column in the New York Times, but as readership grew, it expanded into pod-dom. Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond offer insights rife with literary references, personal anecdotes and the occasional guest appearance.
“Savage Lovecast”
Host of “Savage Lovecast,” Dan Savage once said in an episode that podcasts were invented for talking about anal sex, a topic banned on quite literally most radio stations. Indeed, “Savage Lovecast” tackles a wide variety of sexual and romantic queries-ranging from negotiating S&M to helping a blossoming polyamorous relationship- all with a healthy dose of blunt and honest wisdom.
“This American Life”
“This American Life,” began in 1995 in collaboration with Chicago Public Media. Hosted by ira Glass, the podcast has grown from a primarily non fiction journalist memoir to a platform that has hosted essays, memories, short fiction and found footage. “This American Life” changed my life, giving my healthy curiosity to know even single detail to be potentially psychoanalyzed about everyone that I know. Each episode begins with Ira Glass who introduces what the show will be able, three acts follow. Every episode covers some aspect of human nature, ranging from ironic, sad, and incredibly hilarious.
I am guided by my own interests, largely my obsession with love and relationships and my undying curiosity about other people. I implore you to hit up some sick ass pods, and to get some groovy new ideas into your nogs.