Pod’s Honest Truth (Part 1: How)
How podcasts help us grow in unexpected ways and appoint new advisors
Warning: I sometimes get evangelical about podcasts.
They provide me with the benefits I suspect others get from religion: daily ritual, wisdom, connection, trust, and truth.
As I’ll explain in two short essays, this fresh, open-source medium has shaped me in many unexpected ways. Writing these essays has also been an unexpected journey. I set out thinking I was writing about podcasts but soon realized I was grappling with the themes of time, attention, and trust.
In Part 1, I’ll explore the ‘How’: to choose your player, explore new growth areas, optimize for episodes, ditch all the junk, and appoint a new board of wise advisors.
In Part 2, I’ll explore the ‘Why’: to move more, become better listeners, laugh alone and together, and ultimately calm our minds.
I’ve even curated a podcast feed of 100 Great Podcast Episodes, some of the killer episodes that stood out for me over the years. This feed offers a ‘taster menu’ for finding new types of podcasts. (I warned you I get evangelical!)
Finding Pod
I first started hearing the word Podcast a few years into the Millennium, when the first wave of podcasts on Apple’s iTunes appeared, initially led by comedians. First from the UK came The Ricky Gervais Show (2005, pay per episode!) and Answer Me This!; Marc Maron’s WTF and The Joe Rogan Experience arrived from the US. I remember feeling delighted and liberated around 2009 that I could listen to shows on my first iPhone while hiking or mowing the lawn.
I ran a media investment company then, so it was my job to follow emerging trends. Slowly, most of the best radio shows from BBC and NPR became available as downloads, causing radio and podcasts to merge gently. Meanwhile, several (still) outstanding storytelling formats started to appear, like This American Life, The Moth, and then long-form serialized shows like Serial (2014).
Fast forward ten years to 2024, and podcasting has become a serious business. American monthly listeners have quadrupled to around 160 million (around half a billion worldwide), and the average American chooses eight podcasts a week from the three million now available! iHeartRadio publishes over 800 shows, and all the media groups and brand advertisers are actively investing to compete for our ears, while the tech platforms quietly jostle for algorithmic control.
Podcasts have arrived. But what are they for? Why do they often feel so intimate and important to us? How should we intentionally incorporate them into our lives so that they don’t simply add extra noise?
When each new major medium arrives, like social media, gaming, or streaming apps, we understandably dive in to play around. We’re a curious species; a man could lose himself. We explore and experiment together and share these new moments of delightful discovery.
But then at some point after all this exploration, it’s our duty to step back and be more intentional. We possess nothing more valuable than our time and attention; we can’t just let media happen to us.
We have to ask questions. Is this ultimately good or harmful for me? What’s the benefit, relative to all my other options? Does it beat silence, for instance?
Let’s dive in.
1. Choose your player
Almost nothing in life is free—but podcast players still are! There are dozens of options, and they’re all mostly free and decent. iPhone users typically stick with the purple Podcasts app (some good curated lists and charts), while most Android users use Spotify (some exclusive shows) or Google/YouTube. Then there’s Audible, NPR One, Tune In, Deezer, Stitcher, and Pocket Casts. It’s easy to switch around and test-drive players.
I’ve been loyal to Overcast (iPhone only) for at least 5 years now (and I promise I don’t get a referral fee for recommending it). Overcast is beautifully designed and operated by one guy, Marco Arment, the lead developer behind Tumblr and founder of Instapaper, and he’s committed to the original, open-standards ethos of podcasts. “It’s the kind of podcast app that used to be the only kind,” as he puts it. There are no terms to agree to, no rights to give up, and no loss of control over a podcast or its distribution.
I believe must keep podcasting free and on open standards to ensure anyone can publish or listen, despite the inevitable corporate movement towards ‘walled gardens’ and paywalls. We don’t need Apple or Google to control podcasting. We need it to be free (like a bird!).
Aside from its principles and clean design, I also like Overcast because it costs nothing, it plays well with my Apple Carplay when I’m driving, and my Airpods when I’m walking around, and has several smart audio features. Here’s how I typically set things up:
When listening, I drag the slider around 5-6 minutes in for a ‘cold start.’ This jumps past all ads, introductions, banter, and housekeeping items. If I feel I missed something good, I can always jump back
Set playback speed around 1.2x to shorten episodes, customizable per podcast
Switch on smart speed (shortens silences) and voice boost (remasters audio)
Set to delete episodes when completed and only keep one unplayed episode at a time to protect my phone storage limit.
Personally, I skip through ads with the +30-second button
Turn off notifications to avoid distractions
It’s also common to set up tablets or smart speakers in the rooms we might listen most, like the kitchen, bedroom or even bathroom.
A final point about podcast players: There’s clearly a trend toward adding video recordings to podcasts, which can increase exposure considerably on YouTube. Also, Google Podcasts is shutting down and merging it with YouTube Music. Younger listeners especially prefer YouTube. As you might guess, I’m not a fan of podcast videos. I want to spend less time looking at screens and more time moving around. (It’s the same reason I still prefer conference calls to video calls.)
I actually like and trust Google’s platforms, but I don’t want them to ‘own’ the podcasting industry.
2. Grow in new directions
The data is clear: more people listen to podcasts to learn (88%) and entertainment (87%) than for other reasons. Personally, I’ve intentionally used podcasts to deepen my understanding of value investing, Buddhism, philosophy, nutrition, literary criticism, relationships, history, and Bitcoin. I’ve even used them to ‘perfect’ my (dire) French.
It’s not clear why they assist learning so effectively. Perhaps it’s the longer, unconstrained format, allowing experts to deep-dive for hours with few or zero ad interruptions. Detailed show notes and links also help. Perhaps it’s the popular interview Q&A format, the ability for world-class specialists to riff openly and at length on their subjects out of the glare of studio lights, or the dumbing-down of a reporter’s soundbites.
Most of us want to keep growing in new directions, so here’s a simple plan:
Every year, choose 3-4 new areas for growth.
Discover and subscribe to 5 new podcasts for each area. Use friends, lists, and various discovery tools to screen them.
Try a few promising episodes from the archive, and switch out weak podcasts for stronger ones.
To retain useful knowledge on each theme, copy/paste notes and links from great episodes into one long Google Doc.
Review and adjust at the end of the year.
I have friends who like structure and have implemented even more advanced organization systems. For instance, with the Pocket Cast player, one can create a highly personal mix of folder categories, smart playlists, and cover art arrangements.
Pocket Cast and Listen Notes are working hard to solve the ‘discovery’ problem, but I still feel that nobody has cracked it yet, and it’s perhaps not important enough for Apple and Google to focus there yet.
Last point on learning: not everyone is an auditory learner. I know highly curious life-long learners who get no value from podcasts because they need to see information to retain it.
3. Optimize for episodes
If I had to share just one piece of advice, it would be to optimize your listening for episodes, not podcasts.
Instead of listening to a large proportion of episodes from a focused selection of podcasts, try selecting a focused number of episodes from a large group of podcasts. It’s just math: even the best podcasters often publish weak episodes, so we must widen the target to find more winners.
How? Find and subscribe to 50 to 100 great podcasts, and then every time you want to listen, scroll through to find the most compelling episode you’re in the mood for. Just dive in at 5 minutes; if it’s not grabbing you, delete it and pick another.
Too many bewildering choices? Actually, it’s more like a delicious treat, like having a personal butler deliver your papers! You wake up to a whole new menu of delights, and you’re in full control.
Podcasts are inherently more spontaneous and less predictable than most media. Anyone can publish a long-form podcast for free, without requiring permission or funding, which leads to experimental formats and niche guests and opinions. Podcasts are full of surprises, so we should open up our surface area of discovery.
Note: Don’t worry about your phone's storage. If you're tight for space, you can set your player to store only one episode per podcast or even ‘stream only’.
If you value your time, this approach makes sense. Finding and subscribing to all those good podcasts will take an hour, but it’ll pay off in just one day when you start enjoying higher-quality insights and advisors.
4. Ditch the junk
I’ll share a recent conversation with a friend to explain why this is important:
Me: What kinds of podcasts are you listening to? What’s on your playlist?
Friend: A bit of everything. You know…news, politics, elections, financial markets, true crime, celebrity gossip, sports, fantasy sports.
Me: OK, but doesn’t that duplicate what you’re watching on TV and Youtube, and seeing in your social media feeds? Is it possible you’re overdosing on daily noise?
Friend: Sure, but those are the things I’m interested in. I need to keep up with everything happening, and podcasts are convenient.
Me: That makes sense. But you might want to experiment with another approach: use your different media for different things. You only have so many hours of attention in the day, and you might feel more balanced, and less anxious if you get a healthy mix of fast-changing cyclical news and slow-changing deeper insights. One bird, two wings. Podcasts can give you both, but they’re especially suited for the second wing, the more profound understanding that helps you join all the dots in your life.
Friend: I’d love to spend less time in the ‘rage machine’ and more hours understanding new ideas. But where do I start?
Me: Well funny you should ask! I’ve just compiled a podcast feed of 100 Great Podcast Episodes, some of the killer episodes that stood out for me over the years.
5. Appoint wise advisors
The data also shows that we use podcasts to find new expert voices, with more than half of listeners (52%) confirming they follow hosts or their guests on social media.
Personally, I discover at least one new expert advisor a week via podcasts. These are usually unheard or contrarian voices that share fresh insights, especially in new growth areas.
As soon as I connect with a new expert, I also typically subscribe to their newsletters and podcasts or order their books because I want them on my unofficial advisory board.
Incidentally and unexpectedly, I’ve noticed that many of my trusted sources are either comedians, journalists, or scientists; perhaps there’s something common about their pursuit of the truth that lends itself to good podcasting.
Over time, this pays off. For instance, the more wise and trusted experts I follow on ‘TwitterX’, the more ‘high signal’ my feed becomes. When something important happens in the world, like a pandemic or a stock market crash, I can listen carefully to my trusted advisors before making a decision that might permanently damage my family, health, or wealth.
But couldn’t I just find these experts directly on social media? Are podcasts really better for finding credible sources than other media? I believe so for several reasons.
First, podcasts often run longer and might dedicate an hour or several hours, with negligible ad breaks, to cover an issue in depth. It’s much harder to stay credible over an hour than for a sound bite on a CNN panel.
Second, podcasts often employ a ‘deep interview’ format, where the host interrogates the guest with dozens of tough questions. These lengthy interrogations are excellent for helping us sniff out BS and identify the most credible experts.
Third, something about ‘audio only’ information makes it easier to sniff out the BS. We are wired to read all kinds of human cues, especially visual ones. When we watch an expert on TV, we get distracted by their hair, gestures, and smiles—we’re wired to interpret all these things, and they impact our judgment. In a podcast, we must focus only on the tone and substance of their arguments. The signal is purer.
Fourth, because podcasts are almost free to produce and distribute, the hosts and owners tend to be more independent and can invite more niche or even controversial guests onto their shows. Ideas that would never make the cut on centrist, mainstream media are given exposure on podcasts, including blockbusters like The Joe Rogan Experience, which reaches ~11 million listeners per episode. That audience now beats prime-time TV.
Of course, this also brings problems. Sometimes, unheard voices are niche for a reason - because they are incorrect, deceptive, or even dangerous. But at least we can now hear them clearly and decide for ourselves. If our BS detectors are good, we can sniff out the lunatics and choose our trusted advisors.
During the pandemic, we all had to hone our skills and determine who to trust about vaccines and risks. If a host continually serves us lunatics, we can just unsubscribe from their podcast. We are fully in control.
J. E. Chadwick
Subscribe to 100 Great Podcast episodes curated list here.
More creative projects at jechadwick.com
In Part 1, I’ve explored ‘How’ to choose your player, explore new growth areas, optimize for episodes, ditch all the junk, and appoint a new board of wise advisors.
In Part 2, I’ll explore the ‘Why’: to move more, become better listeners, laugh alone and together, and ultimately calm our minds.
Feedback and comments are always welcome!
I too am a huge fan of podcasts, but I have to say I do fall into the trap of listening to the same pods over and over again so I loved your tip about subscribing to a wide range of podcasts and then scrolling to fine the most compelling episodes at the time. Thanks for the top 100 list, I am going to start exploring these...