If you’re like me, you feel naked walking around campus without wearing your headphones (or AirPods). When you get sick of listening to music, it’s refreshing to have some spoken audio content fill your ears as you walk to class.
Similar to music, podcasts come in a variety of genres and cover a wealth of topics. Here are four of the most informative and entertaining podcasts out right now:
What Really Happened?
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Andrew Jenks channels his talents into a non-visual medium with this podcast: Each episode functions as a miniature audio documentary in which What Really Happened? takes a deep dive into a new topic. Jenks sheds much-needed light on forgotten aspects of mainstream stories, ranging from Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad controversy to Princess Diana’s death to Meek Mill’s imprisonment. His film industry experience allows him to score great interviews and edit them to perfection. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
Radiolab
From WNYC Studios, and formerly NPR, comes a two-time Peabody Award-winning investigative podcast hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich. While What Really Happened? is centered around a specific event or person, Radiolab takes on broader societal ideas and concepts. The episodes range from 20 minutes to an hour long, and the style of quick cuts between casual interviews is Radiolab’s specialty. One of my favorite episodes was “How to Be a Hero,” in which the hosts told stories of people risking their lives for others and talked to a neuroscientist to learn what causes random acts of bravery. New episodes of Radiolab air several times a month.
Bodega Boys
Throughout Desus Nice and The Kid Mero’s journey from Complex to Viceland to Showtime, one thing has stayed consistent — their Bodega Boys podcast. The Bronx natives, and Twitter legends, deliver what seems to be a completely unscripted show with hilarious pop culture commentary where no celebrity is spared from their jabs. Each show begins with a SNL-style cold open skit; in a recent episode, Mero portrayed Tekashi 6ix9ine arguing with his lawyer, played by Desus, in a courtroom. One of the most naturally gifted comedy duos in recent years, Desus and Mero can rattle off jokes for 90 minutes with ease. New episodes come out every Monday.
Failing Upwards
Probably the most obscure selection on the list, Failing Upwards is the product of Lawrence Schlossman and James Harris, two former employees at Complex Media and fashion industry vets. Though men’s fashion was the show’s early focus, episodes venture into off-the-rails debates and insult sessions between the hosts, producers and guests. Each episode contains an interview — unless they forget to book one, which happens occasionally — and some past guests include Jonah Hill, Nev Schulman of MTV’s Catfish and other “east coast media elites.” New episodes are released every Thursday.
