Love Tim Harford- both Cautionary Tales (~40 minutes) and Behind the Statistics (10-30 min, depending on the episode).
Desert Island Discs is great bedtime / quiet time, and there are literally decades worth of old episodes
Finite series from the incomparable Neil McGregor (episodes typically 15 min each): History of the World in 100 Episodes; Germany: Memories of a Nation (15 minutes each); and Shakespeare’s Restless World.
The Reith Lectures: 3-5 lectures annually from some really interesting people (including Hilary Mantel (2017) and Atul Gawande (2014). The lectures from Kwame Antony Appiah (2016), Margaret McMillan (2018) and Grayson Perry (2013) were particularly good.
Finally “You’re Wrong About” is a little uneven (and fair warning, the language is sometimes a little salty) but it’s always a fascinating look into a story that you think you know- but you are at least a little ‘wrong’ (or uninformed) about.
These recommendations are great! fedrock I also love “Everything Happens” - so beautiful re: finding meaning even though life is hard (and debunking “everything happens for a reason”!
I started listening to The Left Right Game yesterday, which I am enjoying. Like Borrasca, it is an adaption of a fictional short story posted on the Reddit NoSleep forum.
I’ve been walking outside and enjoying the Chicago area fall weather. Yesterday I listened to SmartLess with Tom Hanks. It was wonderful! I highly recommend it!
My husband is totally addicted to Sean Carroll’s Mindscape podcast. He was a Caltech professor (theoretical physicists) with a wide range of interests. He’s covered science, economics, the pleasures of wine and a recent one discussed the TV adaption of the The Foundation and why the director chose to make the choices he did.
My D17 introduced me to Decoder Ring from Slate podcasts and I really enjoy it - every episode examines cultural phenomena like the history of the Mullet, the Cabbage Patch Kid craze, the Jane Fonda Workout, etc.
Thanks for the EconTalk suggest. I love to listen to Freakonomics when I run, but the episodes are fluffy and meandering. EconTalk may have some interesting topics to discuss with my economics major kid.
Thanks to the folks who recommended Decoder Ring (Slate). Today I listened to “The Invention of Hydration” and found it interesting. I also mentioned it in the HealthyHabits thread.
I (along with others) recommended the No Stupid Questions podcast months ago, but I found a few of the more recent ones aligning with topics/discussions here on CC and thought I’d share.
Episode 102: What’s so bad about nepotism? a lot of threads, most recent one I noticed nepotism discussed was “Did you ever suggest your kids should seek degrees that would offer better paying jobs?”
Episode 103: Should toilets be free? the tipping thread…I found the podcast surprisingly interesting.
** Episode 104: How simple is too simple? ** I especially connected to this podcast because I think many unintentionally do this, often attributing success or failure to a simple explanation when the reality is the result of many variables.
Episode 105: Should you give kids an allowance or make them get a job? many threads bring up salaries where we discuss being frugal and how we impart our money management/values to our kids…it starts at a young age.
Anyway, if you’re looking for something to listen to on a walk, I recommend the episodes I listed.
True crime- Murdaugh Murders (Mandy Matney). Wild, can’t make this stuff up about powerful family and series of murders/deaths connected to Alex Murdaugh family in low country SC