My Favorite Podcasts

Podcasts to listen to while cooking, baking, and blogging.

I love podcasts. Perfect for subway rides, but also great to listen to when you’re cooking, baking, or blogging. They certainly help pass time while photo editing. That said, I want to share my favorites. They were not necessarily released during 2018; however, I thoroughly enjoyed each of them and think you will to.

1. How I Built This With Guy Raz: Earlier this year, I became addicted to this weekly NPR podcast instantly. The host, Guy Raz, interviews founders of famous companies on how they built their businesses. It’s fascinating and inspiring. My favorite episodes were a recent one with Emily Weiss, the founder of direct to consumer cosmetics brand, Glossier; an older one with the founder of Vice magazine; and Rent the Runway founder, Jenn Hyman. My favorite episodes tend to be with founders who may have started with no prior background in their respective industry and ones who failed a lot before having success.
2. Slow Burn – Season 2: A production from Slate magazine. This podcast takes you through the Monica Lewinsky scandal during Bill Clinton’s presidency. I was in middle school when this was happening. Obviously I remembered it, but I didn’t have a good understanding of the fiasco. This was an utterly engaging history lesson. I blew through this podcast in about a week.
3. Katie Couric: Hosted by Katie Couric and produced by Stitcher. Couric essentially interviews various figures in pop culture, science, politics, and journalism. While this is not one I tune into religiously, I enjoy choosing episodes with people who interest me. My favorite episodes were interviews with Ina Garten (of course!); NYTimes journalist Maggie Haberman; and domestic diva Martha Stewart.
4. HBR Ideacast: Generally short interviews with various business leaders on timely topics in business, entrepreneurship, psychology, and economics. I really like learning about how these various experts think. Whether you own your own company or work for the “man” – these leaders provide helpful insights on various topics. My favorite episodes were What Type of Entrepreneur Are You? with Built for Growth authors Chris Kuenne and John Danner; A Hollywood Executive on Negotiation, Talent, and Risk with Michael Ovitz, the cofounder of Creative Artists Agency and former Walt Disney president; and Ask Better Questions with two HBS professors.
5. Dirty John: Perhaps a reminder that things could always be worse in dating. This podcast was produced as a collaboration between Wondery and the Los Angeles Times. It details how a successful business owner was duped by a seemingly wonderful guy she met online. So crazy. After listening to this, nothing really shocks me. Fun fact – this podcast has actually been turned into a Bravo series recently.

Would love to hear about your favorite podcasts – tell me in the comments. Also, if you need some ideas on what to cook or bake while listening to them, check out my recent post on fall dinner parties which is chock full of recipes.