Favorite Podcasts

(1) NPR: Religion – Not long ago my car radio was almost always tuned to NPR. Recently I have taken to listening selectively to my favorite NPR segments. Since I’m a big religion nerd, I love being able to listen to the religion-themed excerpts of “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” and other NPR programs without necessarily having to listen to each of those hour-long shows each day.

(2) NPR: StoryCorps – Continuing the NPR motif, StoryCorps is the shortest program on the list. Episodes are an average of only 5 minutes, but include consistently compelling and moving interviews with ordinary people.

(3) NPR: All Songs Considered – A good source of music I might otherwise never hear.

(4) NPR: Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me – There’s no funnier way to keep up with current events.

(5) Real Time with Bill Maher – Maher is tendentious on the topics of Western medicine, religion, and marijuana use; however, he has great guests and original opinions on almost every other subject. Another entertaining way of keeping up with politics.

(6) Buddhist Geeks – Another shorter podcast, averaging only about 20 minutes. Sometimes you can gain perspective on your own religion by being in dialogue with other traditions.

(7) Sounds True: Insights at the Edge – Tami Simon taps into her years of experience as founder of Sounds True to interview a diverse spectrum of spiritual teachers.

(8) St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church – Since I’m usually the one preaching each Sunday, I like to listen to other people’s sermons as well. Typically I only listen to the ones by Sara Miles.

(9) Freakonomics – I appreciate the unusual, left-brained, coldly-rational perspective of economics meets culture.

(10) Filmspotting – Great for finding new additions to your Netflix queue or motiving yourself to catch up on classic cinema.

What podcasts do you look forward to most that aren’t listed above?