Ever since I started going freelance, working has felt a lot quieter than before. Without colleagues to keep me company and with the luxury of letting my muscle memory take the rein for once, I have all the free head space to be kept occupied one way or another. And that’s when I started to get back into podcasts again — really, one of the perks of freelancing that I’d been looking forward to.
As you probably know, my mood for music and podcasts somewhat ebbs and flows—sometimes it’s one, sometimes it’s the other. This past month or so, though, I’ve really been enjoying the sound of people talking about intriguing topics in my ear. It has really driven up my productivity in a way. Mind you, the topic at hand may not have anything to do with work or productivity or business, but it’s just that sense of being around conversations that appeals to me—which is probably why a lot of my favourite podcasts tend to have more than one host. So, if you’re a work-from-home type of person—or a podcast lover—like myself, here are the 5 podcasts I’ve been listening to on repeat lately.
Ever since I started going freelance, working has felt a lot quieter than before. Without colleagues to keep me company and with the luxury of letting my muscle memory take the rein for once, I have all the free head space to be kept occupied one way or another. And that’s when I started to get back into podcasts again — really, one of the perks of freelancing that I’d been looking forward to.
As you probably know, my mood for music and podcasts somewhat ebbs and flows—sometimes it’s one, sometimes it’s the other. This past month or so, though, I’ve really been enjoying the sound of people talking about intriguing topics in my ear. It has really driven up my productivity in a way. Mind you, the topic at hand may not have anything to do with work or productivity or business, but it’s just that sense of being around conversations that appeals to me—which is probably why a lot of my favourite podcasts tend to have more than one host. So, if you’re a work-from-home type of person—or a podcast lover—like myself, here are the 5 podcasts I’ve been listening to on repeat lately.
Search Engine
PJ Vogt, Audacy, Jigsaw
Quoting from their ‘About’ page, this podcast seeks to ‘answer the kinds of questions you might ask the internet when you can’t sleep.’ Its self-explanatory title should already tell you as much. This podcast started in 2023 but was already dubbed the Best Podcast of the Year by Vulture, TIME, The Economist and Vogue. It explores a wide range of questions, from How do I find new music now that I’m old and irrelevant? to Who should be in charge of AI?
Upon writing for this blog, however, I found out that the host PJ Vogt is a former co-host to Reply All, who left supposedly due to scandals of a toxic workplace. However, I prefer to focus on the content than the people, in order to keep myself sane. Just thought I’d relay that info for your perusal—please feel free to make of it what you will.
Search Engine
PJ Vogt, Audacy, Jigsaw
Quoting from their ‘About’ page, this podcast seeks to ‘answer the kinds of questions you might ask the internet when you can’t sleep.’ Its self-explanatory title should already tell you as much. This podcast started in 2023 but was already dubbed the Best Podcast of the Year by Vulture, TIME, The Economist and Vogue. It explores a wide range of questions, from How do I find new music now that I’m old and irrelevant? to Who should be in charge of AI?
Upon writing for this blog, however, I found out that the host PJ Vogt is a former co-host to Reply All, who left supposedly due to scandals of a toxic workplace. However, I prefer to focus on the content than the people, in order to keep myself sane. Just thought I’d relay that info for your perusal—please feel free to make of it what you will.
Good Bad Billionaire
BBC Radio 5 Live
For the last several years, I think people have started to open their eyes to the problem that is billionaires. Their very existence is hard proof that our system is dysfunctional. It is a topic that I have always been intrigued by—enter this podcast by BBC Radio 5. To be honest, I find the BBC to be pretty ballsy for launching this podcast at all.
Through this podcast, they examine the life and journey of various billionaires (from tech moguls to sketchy entrepreneurs to rich celebrities) to see if they are good, bad or just another billionaire—starting strong with Jeff Bezos for their first episode. It has opened my eyes to how money doesn’t necessarily affect people, if they barely have any principles to speak of. And I’m definitely waiting on that one episode on Taylor Swift—let’s demand her accountability!
Good Bad Billionaire
BBC Radio 5 Live
For the last several years, I think people have started to open their eyes to the problem that is billionaires. Their very existence is hard proof that our system is dysfunctional. It is a topic that I have always been intrigued by—enter this podcast by BBC Radio 5. To be honest, I find the BBC to be pretty ballsy for launching this podcast at all.
Through this podcast, they examine the life and journey of various billionaires (from tech moguls to sketchy entrepreneurs to rich celebrities) to see if they are good, bad or just another billionaire—starting strong with Jeff Bezos for their first episode. It has opened my eyes to how money doesn’t necessarily affect people, if they barely have any principles to speak of. And I’m definitely waiting on that one episode on Taylor Swift—let’s demand her accountability!
Normal Gossip
Radiotopia
Here it is—this is my number one favourite podcast on this list! And, apparently—with three seasons so far—it has become the hottest podcast around. They even made an appearance on the TODAY Show. Who knew podcasts can be so high profile? What’s more, the podcast is powered by the listeners, Patreon style, which means there is zero advertising in all of their episodes. Instead, they often start their episodes by plugging cool, new podcasts by fellow Defector producers. How cool is that?!
Hosted by the captivating Kelsey McKinney and produced by Alex Sujong Laughlin, this podcast is literally one hour of gossip time with various guests—even the hosts of my other favourite podcasts, including Sounds Like a Cult, Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! and Radiolab. It was an entire lore of its own! The gossips are submitted by their listeners—who they call ‘a friend of a friend’—and are always harmlessly comedic. You can sit back, relax and enjoy the drama, knowing full well that nobody will get hurt, killed or arrested. It’s just all in good fun.
By the time I’m writing this, I have listened to most of their episodes already—43 out of 52 episodes!—and I simply cannot wait for the next season. It’s really such a great substitute for a colleague—or perhaps even better?
Normal Gossip
Radiotopia
Here it is—this is my number one favourite podcast on this list! And, apparently—with three seasons so far—it has become the hottest podcast around. They even made an appearance on the TODAY Show. Who knew podcasts can be so high profile? What’s more, the podcast is powered by the listeners, Patreon style, which means there is zero advertising in all of their episodes. Instead, they often start their episodes by plugging cool, new podcasts by fellow Defector producers. How cool is that?!
Hosted by the captivating Kelsey McKinney and produced by Alex Sujong Laughlin, this podcast is literally one hour of gossip time with various guests—even the hosts of my other favourite podcasts, including Sounds Like a Cult, Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! and Radiolab. It was an entire lore of its own! The gossips are submitted by their listeners—who they call ‘a friend of a friend’—and are always harmlessly comedic. You can sit back, relax and enjoy the drama, knowing full well that nobody will get hurt, killed or arrested. It’s just all in good fun.
By the time I’m writing this, I have listened to most of their episodes already—43 out of 52 episodes!—and I simply cannot wait for the next season. It’s really such a great substitute for a colleague—or perhaps even better?
Critics at Large
The New Yorker
To be perfectly honest, I have mixed feelings about including this podcast on this list—since The New Yorker has seemed to side with Israel lately—but I try to just look at the content, not the media, at the moment. Not going to lie: this podcast can come off pretty pretentious—it is marketed as cultural podcast and hosted by three staff writers—so if you don’t like that kind of thing, feel free to skip this one.
The podcast discusses an array of pop-cultural trends and its anthropological or sociological context to today’s society—including Elon Musk and Taylor Swift. Since it is technically US-based media, some of the topics can be pretty geographically niche—who the hell is even Nathan Fielder?—but, overall, it’s an interesting exploration of the way we live as a society.
Critics at Large
The New Yorker
To be perfectly honest, I have mixed feelings about including this podcast on this list—since The New Yorker has seemed to side with Israel lately—but I try to just look at the content, not the media, at the moment. Not going to lie: this podcast can come off pretty pretentious—it is marketed as cultural podcast and hosted by three staff writers—so if you don’t like that kind of thing, feel free to skip this one.
The podcast discusses an array of pop-cultural trends and its anthropological or sociological context to today’s society—including Elon Musk and Taylor Swift. Since it is technically US-based media, some of the topics can be pretty geographically niche—who the hell is even Nathan Fielder?—but, overall, it’s an interesting exploration of the way we live as a society.
How to Keep Time
The Atlantic
Saving the best for last, here is the most peaceful and mindful podcast on this list. I actually listened to this long before starting my freelance career, but I still listen to it to this day. In truth, this podcast doesn’t have one singular name—every season it changes its name. When it was first published, the podcast was called How to Build a Happy Life, but then it changes to How to Start Over, How to Talk to People and, finally, the current season is called How to Keep Time. As the title states, each season deals with different aspects of our intra- and interpersonal life—discussing how to best navigate our way in society and live with ourselves. Each season has different sets of hosts too.
My favourite season, to be perfectly honest, is How to Talk to People—since I find myself to be the most awkward or oblivious during social situations. This season explores a number of interesting topics—some of my favourite includes ‘Everyone Used to Be Nicer’ and Other Persistent Myths, What do we owe our friends? and How to Make Small Talk. Every episode, I feel, offers such fresh and diverse perspectives on the matter at hand, which helps nurture empathy. This latest season, How to Keep Time, is new, but already rife with interesting episodes—my favourite is How to Waste Time, as it challenges us to re-think our concept of time in general.
It may come off as obvious, but working as a copywriter and an illustrator can be very different. Whenever I work on copywriting projects, it is hard to listen to music or hear people talk. I know for a fact, that this is a trend among writers. Hazel Hayes, a British writer and director, is one among many who have confirmed this. Writing is a delicate process; listening to words—in the form of conversation or song lyrics—will distract us. Sometimes even a music that’s a little too upbeat will do the same. Which is why when working, writers often will require complete silence.
Being an illustrator or artist, however, can be very different. Creating an artwork, more often than not, only requires muscle memory and visual feelings—barely any logical thinking is used. Which is why, when drawing or finishing an illustration, my head is pretty much empty—and that can lead to boredom or sleepiness. Music can be an option, of course, but there is just something soothing about listening to podcasts when you’re alone. Plus, it’s a great way to learn new things without lifting a finger.
Do you listen to podcasts when you work?
How to Keep Time
The Atlantic
Saving the best for last, here is the most peaceful and mindful podcast on this list. I actually listened to this long before starting my freelance career, but I still listen to it to this day. In truth, this podcast doesn’t have one singular name—every season it changes its name. When it was first published, the podcast was called How to Build a Happy Life, but then it changes to How to Start Over, How to Talk to People and, finally, the current season is called How to Keep Time. As the title states, each season deals with different aspects of our intra- and interpersonal life—discussing how to best navigate our way in society and live with ourselves. Each season has different sets of hosts too.
My favourite season, to be perfectly honest, is How to Talk to People—since I find myself to be the most awkward or oblivious during social situations. This season explores a number of interesting topics—some of my favourite includes ‘Everyone Used to Be Nicer’ and Other Persistent Myths, What do we owe our friends? and How to Make Small Talk. Every episode, I feel, offers such fresh and diverse perspectives on the matter at hand, which helps nurture empathy. This latest season, How to Keep Time, is new, but already rife with interesting episodes—my favourite is How to Waste Time, as it challenges us to re-think our concept of time in general.
It may come off as obvious, but working as a copywriter and an illustrator can be very different. Whenever I work on copywriting projects, it is hard to listen to music or hear people talk. I know for a fact, that this is a trend among writers. Hazel Hayes, a British writer and director, is one among many who have confirmed this. Writing is a delicate process; listening to words—in the form of conversation or song lyrics—will distract us. Sometimes even a music that’s a little too upbeat will do the same. Which is why when working, writers often will require complete silence.
Being an illustrator or artist, however, can be very different. Creating an artwork, more often than not, only requires muscle memory and visual feelings—barely any logical thinking is used. Which is why, when drawing or finishing an illustration, my head is pretty much empty—and that can lead to boredom or sleepiness. Music can be an option, of course, but there is just something soothing about listening to podcasts when you’re alone. Plus, it’s a great way to learn new things without lifting a finger.
Do you listen to podcasts when you work?