Over the last year, on my quest to find answers to the myriad of issues that surfaced after finishing business school and moving to Atlanta, I stumbled upon the world of podcasts. As an avid reader and someone who learns best visually (by taking copious notes), I not only enjoyed listening to podcasts but actually retained what I learned.
I still enjoy reading a book on my commute but now I’ve started to listen to NPR news podcasts. I get my daily dose of politics anxiety in 12 minutes now! I’ve also found that listening to podcasts while driving through Atlanta makes it much easier to endure traffic, but more importantly for me it helps to quiet down the chatter in my mind. I am so focused on processing what I am listening to that my mind is thinking about productive thoughts instead of irrational and negative thoughts.
Most people love listening to music because they like singing to the lyrics but as someone who is challenged in singing, my mind usually wanders while I’m driving and listening to music. Don’t fret I still pay attention to my driving! But this mind wandering inevitably leads to thinking then overthinking then worrying. My excessive analyzer mode kicks into high gear and none of the analyzing is productive. So what better way to get the mind to focus on positive and productive thoughts than listening to podcasts.
Here are my favorite podcasts that I listen to on my commute to work, driving around Atlanta, weekend mornings, while cooking.
- Up First: NPR – Daily dose of news. I love listening to this podcast on my morning commute.
- Hidden Brain: NPR – “helps curious people understand the world — and themselves. Using science and storytelling, Hidden Brain’s host Shankar Vedantam reveals the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, the biases that shape our choices, and the triggers that direct the course of our relationships.” I love listening to this podcast while driving. Episodes are 30 minutes or longer and will definitely make you think about how our brains functions. The brain is a magical organ.
- Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations – This podcast is all about finding the deeper meaning of life through conversations with thought leaders, authors, experts, and basically people who have/are going through the journey of discovering themselves and making sense of life. I love this podcast because it reinforces everything else I have read and learned about to cope with anxiety, stress, and to bounce back from failures and mistakes made. And who doesn’t love Oprah’s soothing voice!
- The Upgrade by Lifehacker – This podcast is gives you “great tips and tricks to help you live a better life.” My favorite episodes are about practicing mindfulness, pursuing a side hustle (this blog!), writing a novel and much more!
Download these podcasts on Apple Podcasts or the Android version of iTunes and listen away!
