As of January 2022, there are over 2,000,000 podcasts and over 48 million episodes. With statistics like this, it's nearly impossible to narrow it down to the best of the best. Don't fret. We've got you. We have an obsession with not only devouring podcasts and audiobooks, but then subsequently talking about them, and we've curated this collection just for you. A collection we've affectionately named "Listens We Can't Stop Talking About." Enjoy.
We stumbled across the podcast 20,000 Hertz that centers all episodes around the world's most recognizable sounds. As an earbud company -- we're all about sound, so this was like hitting the jackpot! Growing up with McDonalds and aging alongside their marketing and many slogans, this one is chock-full of nostalgia. When you think of McDonalds, what comes to mind? I bet it's not a big guy in a yellow jumpsuit and red hair. It's the slogan I'm Lovin it -- ba, da, ba, ba, ba. In this episode of 20,000 Hertz, we learned about how these five musical sounds came to define one of the biggest brands in the world and how music really transcends all communication and language barriers. We loved the back story and now have a few nuggets to share on Fun Fact Friday in carpool.
Yes -- COVID finally reared its ugly head and hit our Buderflys family, making us turn to podcasts that center around life during the pandemic. And believe us, there's no shortage. Making clear that it's tough for everyone, but saying "we're all in the same boat" just doesn't resonate. Really, we're all in different boats on the same ocean. In episode 1, award winning New York Times and LAist writer, Erick Galindo takes you inside the life of Daisy Figueroa, a college student who was forced to go back to her childhood home. Rather than wallow, she transforms and creates her own business, Hood Renovationz, redefining and elevating spaces and the standard of living for people in her community. Her candor and deeply personal story had us in tears. Tears of love and happiness, the very best kind.
Working with our founder is a damn Mardi Gras and ok, so maybe we're a little biased, but this recent podcast captures Shea's passion for Buderflys and her dream to bring long-term listening comfort to the masses. Hear the origin story of Buderflys from the inventor herself and what drives her to continue this entrepreneurial journey. As many of you may know, being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of support from everywhere - family, mentors, co-workers and customers. Host Les Craig and Shea take a deep dive into the nitty gritty details in this Week's Listen We Can't Stop Talking About. We can picture you listening about Buderflys with your Buderflys. That's so meta!
The host of The Sporkful, Dan Pashman, takes us on the journey of creating the perfect pasta shape. Yes, there's a perfect pasta shape and we didn't realize this until we listened to this series. In fact, pasta used to be something we didn't put much thought into, but in the opening episode, Dan declares "Spaghetti Sucks" and we had to find out why. This 5-part series explores his passion of being a small guy in a big pot. From manufacturing to funding, it's hard to find partners who will work with the little guys. (We know the feeling!) For Dan, it's all about sauce-ability, and fork-ability, and tooth-sink-ability. Who knew there was so much thought that goes into pasta perfection. Cheers to you and Cascatelli in 2022!
The Against All Odds series is one of our favorite go-to podcasts, as they feature incredibly harrowing real life stories that are brilliantly told, making you feel like one of the adventurers on the brink of survival. Shipwrecked on the Sahara, is based on the journals of Captain James Riley and his crew as their ship is marooned off the North Coast or Africa. This story is one of human endurance and the undying loyalty of Captain Reilly and his crew on the "Commerce" as they forge their way across the Sahara with no food or water along with the constant fear of being taken captive by desert tribes. Talk about digging deep for the will to survive. It makes our bad days pale in comparison. This tale from 1815 will have you binging all of the Against The Odds episodes for edge-of-your-seat storytelling.
With all that is dark in the world today, we often seek out light, funny and uplifting content to fill our free time. We ignored our hesitation and dove right into this podcast about Jason Rezaian, former Washington Post Tehran Correspondent and his wife who were held hostage at the notorious Evin prison back in 2014. Sealed off from the outside world and accused of being an American spy, this will have you on the edge of your seat. Despite the heavy subject matter, this real-life story weaves a hopeful couple, undying family persistence, nuclear diplomacy and a love for avocados into an intense and emotional year and a half. In this 9-part series, you will be rooting for the entire Rezaian family as they recount the details of 544 Days. And like us, you will be googling Project Avocado and be in disbelief of how it links to Jason Rezaian.
The Hidden Brain podcast studies the unconscious patterns that drive our behavior and this 19-min episode offers survival strategies for a happier, healthier holiday by avoiding the three deadly Thanksgiving pitfalls: overeating, over-shopping and fighting with relatives. Host Shankar Vedantam helps us understand why Uncle Leo can't stop talking about politics at the table and how turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberries can curb that Pre-Black Friday splurge. The best part of Hidden Brain is Stopwatch Science where Shankar and a friend give a 60 second summary of random social science research - like how saying "I can't" vs "I don't" effects will power. Try this tactic when the apple, pumpkin and pecan pies come out. With this, we bid you good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!
This Week's Listen We Can't Stop Talking About is My Aunt is a Nun. Host Megan Bell, makes pancakes, watches Netflix, tweets and sings to birds with her aunt, the nun. Her stories of these shared moments remind us of sublime human kindness. To make sense of the nonsense, she turns to her aunt, and the Sisters in her community. Despite tension around religion, these nun's stories are not about the church or organized faith but with 135 years of collective insight. The veils are off and they explore everything from anxiety to intimacy, prayer to politics and poverty to justice. Their stories teach us how to find wisdom and humor in the past, while reminding us the valuable lesson of living in the present.
Colon, minus sign, parenthesis - not an excerpt from our writing 101 class, but three simple key strokes that would give way to an online revolution. The very first emoji was born on September 19th in '82 when a computer science student was worried his jokes in the university chatroom fell flat. Gimlet's Not Past It, picks a moment from the current week in history and explores how it shapes our world today. The Birth of Emojis is fun and exactly the subject you didn't know you wanted to learn more about until you're ten seconds into the podcast. Like all cool kids, we originally scoffed at the use of emojis and never thought we'd be one for sending them, but now . . . it's all smiley faces, high fives, dancing ladies. And we've quickly learned not to use the cry laughing emoji, or we will age ourselves. It's all about the skull these days, if you find something funny, highlighting how the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee adapts to changing social landscape. As lifelong learners, we love how this podcast dives into the history of and need for these images to compensate in nonverbal, non-face-to-face communication. To think . . . it all started with a man worried his jokes were taken too seriously :-)
From Cocaine Bear to cone boobs, Episode 52 of Smartless is our obvious choice for "This Week's Listen We Can't Stop Talking About." Elizabeth Banks is the guest host and we realize quickly that she's not only hilarious but also wicked smaht. She doesn't skip a beat when Bateman literally asks her "Is college hard?" Proving that actually kids, there is such a thing as a stupid question. It was at Penn where she not only graduated with honors but picked up a love of learning. And it was this moment we realize she's our kindred spirit. Banks is a storyteller, knows how to drop F bombs with class, and is honestly just completely down to earth. The discussion goes in all directions, and SPOILER ALERT, Sean Hayes at one point shocks his co-hosts and comes out as gay and Arnett talks about that one time he was on a dating app. It's basically an hour long conversation with your besties.
October is National Women's Small Business Month which offers the perfect opportunity for us to dedicate this week's podcast recommendation to our fearless leader, Shea Gerhardt. Being a woman entrepreneur poses countless challenges, and in the male dominated, tech industry, it is no small feat. The perseverance of this phenomenal woman is unparalleled. With this in mind, we sought out information on Women Entrepreneurs, and this week's podcast from Planet Money, Two Indicators: Women and Work. Learn the staggering statistics on Women started businesses and the factors that stunt the growth. These jaw dropping statistics offer a glimpse into the real landscape of a woman small business owner. Here are just a few: 80% of CEOs are male (these numbers haven't budged in almost a decade). Women start 40% of companies, yet don't end up in a leadership role due to lack of funding. Women are half as likely to get a small business loan, as opposed to men. The pandemic set women pay equality back by a decade. A DECADE. So yeah, we bow down to Shea and all womxn leaders who continue to shatter these statistics.
You put Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Sean Hayes and George Clooney on a zoom call together and before long, you're asking yourself the age old question . . . have you ever pooped in a litter box? Episode 34 of Smartless is quickly climbing the list of our all time favorite podcasts. Guest George Clooney known for his elaborate pranks, his involvement in human rights issues and spot-on Richard Kind impression, had us laughing from start to finish. At the end of the episode we were left feeling oddly connected to this untouchable star. Maybe it's the way he describes parenting, or his days of being a door-to-door salesman, OR maybe it's his admission to falling asleep with his earbuds in, that have us more smitten with him now than when he was on ER. Either way, he made it to our "This Week's Listen We Can't Stop Talking About."
