The Pod Couple: TED Radio Hour and Circle Round

Good news, everyone. I got a dog. And since I got a dog, I now take walks with that dog.  She’s not the best conversationalist (it’s fine, she’s good at other things like chewing up sticks and pooping where she isn’t supposed to), so I’ve been listening to podcasts again. 

Here is one show that accompanies me on my dog walks and another show my kids listen to.

The Show (for adults): TED Radio Hour

The first time I listened to this, I didn’t like.  Not sure if I caught a bad episode or if it changed since then or I was just in a mood that day, but it just felt like listening to a TED talk without the visuals.  I gave it a second try and few months later, though, and I was hooked pretty quickly.  Once I started thinking of it as a supplement to those TED talks, it hit me differently. I started to get a sense for how and why the speakers got interested in their topics and what they wanted to do next. I started to see the show as a deeper dive into a theme rather than just an audio-only version of the talk.

Episode to Start With: Anthropomorphic. I used to be a vegetarian. I often think about becoming one again and if/when I do, it will be because of this episode.

• Anthropomorphic

The Show (for kids): Circle Round

This is another story-themed show for kids, and it’s great.  Really engaging stories read by Rebecca Sheir and a host of guest-story tellers (e.g., Lea Salonga, Rory Culkin, Mireille Enos) and accompanied by the music of Eric Shimelonis.  The stories come from diverse perspectives and are intentionally short (10 to 20 minutes) to match the attention spans of their younger audience.

Episode to Start With: Ariana’s Music. I started here because I really like the guest, Mireille Enos. I think you can pretty much start where ever you want, though. You might even scroll through the episodes to find a guest you are fond of.

• Ariana’s Music

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