Podcast Lovers Unite.

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I'm taking a break from all of the feelings.  Let's talk about Podcasts.

It's been awhile since I've given an update on what I'm listening to - and as always I'd LOVE to know what you're listening to.

Let's start with a confession.  I recommended the podcast Limetown.  I was seriously into it.  I also actually thought it was real for two whole episodes.  Pretty embarrassing.  It reminded me of when I was a little girl and a preview came on the television for the movie Men in Black while I was on vacation with my Dad.  I freaked out.  I really thought that our atmosphere was being breached and wanted to call my Mom to check on her.  Anyone who knows my Dad knows he thought this was hilarious....and totally egged me on hyping up the drama...I think it finally broke away from their promotional newscast format (which is what had me really convinced) and I figured out I'd been going nuts for nothing.  My Dad was just about beside himself with the hilarity of it all.  What I'm trying to say is clearly I'm a little gullible in regards to newscasts....so Limetown had me hook line and sinker.  It's still very cool and very well done....but friends, it's a fictional story.

Let's move forward, shall we?

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The Being Boss podcast is one I've been listening to for quite awhile.  I always have these secret dreams of becoming a creative entrepreneur.  I love the subjects they cover - I love how they're applicable to me now even though I'm not a creative entrepreneur.  I love how candid they are and how they keep things real.  It's a good listen.  

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Gimlet Media does good things...and maybe I'm a fangirl.  I really wanted to be into their new show called Surprisingly Awesome - and I just wasn't really.  Until they covered Cement and Chumbawamba.  

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I'm brand new to The Intern but, it stole my heart for two reasons:  she interviews her Granpa and she answered a question I've been dying to understand.  I'd say she's got something good going on here.  Also, major props to Allison because I tweeted my love for it and she promptly responded.  

Lastly, Get Up On This is a podcast I've been listening to for awhile.  It's funny, I like the interviews, and I love their suggestions for 'what to get on'.  For example, they turned me on to Beats 1.  (This article is about one of their most prominent DJ's but it talks a lot about Beats 1 also.)

Here's the truth:  I'm officially subscribing to more Podcasts than I can actually listen to.  I definitely get caught up at work on long sea watches but, in the day to day, not so much.  I listen when I'm in the kitchen, I listen when I'm exercising, I listen if i'm on a longer car ride.  I have my favorite shows that I don't like to miss and then I have my so so shows where I tune in if the show notes interest me.  I also have frustration when a favorite show goes on hiatus and I don't have any 'must listens' but hey, such is life.

I'd LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to know what shows you don't like to miss! 

(and yes, I know Serial is back....I'm tuning in and forming opinions...)

you can read my previous recommendations here.

Using Ad Blockers - Brought to you by a Podcast Lover

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If you talk to me often, you know you'll hear this at some point during a discussion:  I was listening to this podcast and they were talking about how...

I'm taking this (possibly) annoying habit one step further and, am opening up a podcast discussion here in Nautie Mermate Land.  

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Yesterday, I was getting caught up on a podcast I love called Note To Self.  They were talking about how Apple gives the option to Ad Block with their most recent update.  You should really, really give it a listen.

Seems pretty straight forward right?  We hate it when we get pop ups.  Or when we have to stop to watch an ad before we can read an article.  Except, it's not that simple.  Publishers rely heavily on advertising revenue to stay afloat.  What do we do when these publishers go out of business?

We have to be prepared for small publishers to go out of business and large companies like Apple and Facebook swooping in to save the day.  We'll hear them saying, 'oh don't worry that your news isn't free anymore because Ads stopped paying the bills and Mr. Small Publisher had to close up shop - just head over to our News Service'.  Apple News.  Facebook News.

I realize this makes me sound like a conspiracy theorist but, I think anytime a free flow of information is jeopardized as a society we need to be worried.  We need to consider who is controlling the flow of information.  We need to consider the long term consequences of not being able to hear alternate view points.  

Last week I listened to a podcast by Planet Money - an ultimate favorite podcast.  It was about the concept of 'Free'.  How people rebel when things that used to be considered free now have a price attached.  The example they gave was how Veterans feel about the Red Cross.  Super Interesting!  Give it a listen!  NY Times online articles are another great example of this - you get ten articles a month for free and then they require a subscription - except we're used to getting news for free!

Where am I going with this?  The internet has always been 'free' - except it hasn't - it's been paid for by advertising.  How does Google make money?  Google is an advertising agency.  As per Wikipedia 96% of Google's revenue is from advertising.  

This poses an interesting ethical dilemma.  Should we stop allowing large companies to track our every move with cookies and bombard us with advertisements?  Even if it means death to the indie publication and the start-up?

Some of the App Developers who have created Ad Blockers have removed them from the App Store after having second thoughts.

I encourage you to read the original article by Casey Johnston which Manoush references on Note to Self.  

Most of you know that I love the internet.  I love it.  Being a sailor it has allowed me to stay connected in a way that has never before been an option.  When I was a cadet we lined up at payphone's (wait, what are those?!) on the dock.  I received snail mail!  Later, we had email that went through the Captain.  He'd print it out and put it on your door.  My last vessel had wifi.  I could iMessage!  Download podcasts!  Instagram!

I won't be installing Ad Blockers.  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Podcast RoundUp

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I've done a lot of driving in the last 12 months.  When I was getting ready to drive from Houston to The Bay Area by myself I reached out on social media asking, 'what are your favorite podcasts?!' - I got TONS of recommendations!  From those initial recommendations I fell down a slippery slope into Podcast Land. 

I'm one of those Humans who can't watch TV and be productive.  Enter the Podcast.  They're perfect for multi-tasking and are especially perfect when you need to escape top 40 pop in the car.  I have also found that I really enjoy exercising to them.  A walk / jog to an interesting podcast flies by!  

Serial put Podcasts on the tip of everyone's tongue but, there is so much goodness out there past Serial - although I will admit that Sarah Koenig must be a hypnotist because I was hooked.  

I've compiled a sampling of my go to podcasts - click on the picture to link through to more information.

Favorite Podcasts

This was the Podcast that launched me from casual podcast listener to rabid podcast downloader.  I listened to this episode about food and then I think I howled, 'MOOOAAAAR!!!'.  I was alone in the car when I began to binge listen to TED Radio Hour hosted by Guy Raz.  I haven't missed an episode since.

Everyone enjoys listening to TED Talks but what makes this podcast so special is that one topic is chosen and a couple TED Talks pertaining to that subject are referenced - Guy Raz also interviews the presenter.  What we're left with is a really seamless but well rounded discussion that is thought provoking, educational and lots of times completely inspiring.

99% Invisible talks about design - or rather design that we don't notice in our daily lives.  That is an incredibly simple statement to describe something almost indescribable.  I love how diverse this podcast is.  I've learned about the design of high heels, the longest burning lightbulb and the origin of the octothorpe (or hashtag as we know it).  Again, a podcast I don't like to miss an episode of.

99% Invisible was a founding member of Radiotopia.  They're essentially a network of podcasts.  Recently they had an incredibly successful kickstarted campaign (which I would like to proudly say I contributed to!) and were able to add some new shows.

I love Radiotopia for a slew of reasons.  The obvious reason being that they are incredibly well produced.  I also love that they have an equal number of male and female hosted shows.  

All of these shows are in the Radiotopia network....and they're all really good.  One favorite pick would be Benjamen Walker's Theory of Everything.  He recently did a series about the Internet called the Dislike Club.  It was an eye opener.

Continuing on this Radiotopia love fest we have Strangers.  Strangers is brought to us by Lea Thau.  Lea Thau is a peabody award winning producer and was the former director of The Moth.  Along with Sarah Koenig she is also a hypnotist.  I could listen to her talk for hours.  She shares with us the stories of people - and they're captivating.  She recently did a series on love...particularly on why she's still single.  I loved it.    

I think Fugitive Waves is so cool.  They take old bits of recordings and lace them into grade A story telling.  This one called Shirley Temple had me riveted so did this one about cigar factories of the 1930s.

Then we have Criminal.  True stories about crime.  This episode about breaking the internet was great.  If you're a Serial fan you'll love this.  

I'm done gushing about Radiotopia now...

Uhh Yeah Dude (UYD) is hil.ar.i.ous.  I geniunely laugh out loud when I listen to these two 'American-Americans'.  They've been doing this together for a long time which means their banter is smooth...and funny.  I guess this is obvious but should be mentioned - UYD is a comedy podcast.  Warning:  lots of bad words...not safe for work....and all that jazz.

Song Exploder takes a song and dissects it.  It's brilliant.  The musician shares what was added, how it was added and maybe even why it was added.  Where ideas for songs come from, how they're elaborated upon, where inspiration was found.  Besides getting a brand new view on the music making process you get to discover new music.  Did I mention it's brilliant?

StartUp is the brain child of Alex Blumberg.  Alex was a producer I've been listening to for along time on This American Life and Planet Money (these are both available as Podcasts - and I listen to both as often as I can).  

StartUp is the accounting of starting a business - Gimlet Media - and all that it entails when you really know nothing about starting a business.  Alex Blumberg is the perfect person to follow on this journey because he's just so relatable...and likable.  

Gimlet Media is an actual media corporation and they have their first podcast out - Reply All.  

All of these are great:  This American Life, Planet Money, StartUp and Reply All.

Remember way back when we read the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed (you can read about it here and here.)?  Wild was my introduction to Cheryl Strayed and from there I quickly dove into Tiny Beautiful Things a collection of advice from her column Dear Sugar on The Rumpus.  Please meet Dear Sugar Radio.  Sugar is back and she's giving advice over the airwaves.  The first episode aired just before the new year.  It's new but I don't see what's not to like.  

Death, Sex & Money talks to people about things that aren't necessarily easy to talk about.  Namely:  Death, Sex & Money.  It's more than that though.  It's an audible looking glass into humanity.  Give it a listen.

I am always looking for new music - Stones Throw is a musical adventure.  Stones Throw musicians and DJs make mixes and sometimes they're crazy cool.  Like this one here.  

I hope you've found something to listen to here!  Happy listening!

This is just the beginning of what I've been listening to.  I know that a lot of these podcasts can be found right at the top of the iTunes chart - this is not a groundbreaking list - but, I hope if you're new to podcasts or even just in a podcast rut there was something here for you.

My new goal is to begin reviewing podcasts as I discover new ones.  If you have a recommendation for me I'd love to hear it! Drop me a line:  nautiemermate@gmail.com