My Favorite Podcasts of 2017
We are only 1 month into the year of 2018. It is time to look back to the year of 2017 and think deeply what we enjoyed a lot. I like listening to podcasts in my free time and while doing mundane chores when light multitasking does not hurt my focus. The past year has been quite tumultuous in the political scene and there is a diverse range of podcasts to inform yourself of different viewpoints that people hold. Personally, the past year has been all about self-improvement for myself. I am always looking for ways to enrich my life, do things more efficiently and introspect on processes that can be improved. Here are 3 recommended podcasts that I always looked forward listening to the past year.
1. Lexicon Valley
Did you know that in old English, people did not say twenty-three but three-and-twenty? How did English lose one of its Germanic features of saying the numbers in reverse? I am quite a language nerd myself. Listening to Lexicon Valley is one of my favorite pastimes. It is literally the quintessential linguistic podcast any linguistic junky can ever ask for. The host John McWhorter covers diverse topics from language evolution to the inner workings of grammatical peculiarities of different languages. The podcast is more English focused in terms of topics, but do not let that deter you. From time to time it will have some gems. Being born and raised in a small country of South America, Suriname, I was stunned to find out that the host John discussed the Surinamese minority language called Saramccan. There is a whole back log of episodes that you can listen to for even more linguistic stories.
2. The Upgrade by Lifehacker
If you are a fan of the Lifehacker website, this podcast The Upgrade will have all the bells and whistles you need to get your weekly productivity fix. Each week, the two hosts invite a guest to talk about their work or their area of expertise. The content of each episode is not always strictly productivity related, but it does always give tremendous insight into the topic that is being discussed. An example of this in one of the episodes, was the discussion of psychopaths and how one victim endured the mental struggle of marrying one. It was quite an eye-opener. The topics are quite diverse and will have something in it for everyone.
3. By the Book
Are you a self-help junkie like me? Then I have the perfect podcast for you! This podcast By the Book debuted last year and it was simply love at first sight for me (or love at first listen?). This podcast is hosted by Jolenta Greenberg and Kirsten Meinzer. In each episode, they apply the essentials of a self-help book for two weeks and discuss how it changed their lives. They have honest-to-earth discussion on how these books affected their lives and their significant others. What I endear the most is the candor that these two ladies display while using the methods of the self-help books. They separate the wheat form the chaff, so you know which books might be worth reading and which one you can ditch. Of course, you can always read the books yourself and see whether you share the same opinion.
