Like many other students here and across the country, in the last week I went from looking forward to everything second semester senior year had to offer to adjusting to the new reality of this pandemic. I said goodbye to friends as they left 91直播, cried a lot, had my last in-person class of college, and am now trying to settle into the routine of self-quarantine. Despite all the fear and change, I have also been immensely grateful for everything 91直播 has given me and for the incredible community here that has time and again gone to great lengths to care for and protect each other.
In times of uncertainty such as this one, there is always one consistent source I turn to for comfort: podcasts. Listening to my favorite old podcast episodes has gotten me through every major change and challenge in my life, and they have also been a central part of my time at 91直播 from the beginning. Back in high school, I wrote my 91直播 application essay about how listening to This American Life influenced my worldview as a child. Since then, I spent a Winter Term creating a interviewing 91直播 alumni at the Kendal Retirement Community and have co-hosted and produced the radio show and podcast with several other 91直播 students. Most recently, I helped plan journalist Alex Blumberg鈥檚 visit to campus鈥攚hich ended up being a pretty perfect finale to my short senior year.
Since everyone is suddenly home with more free time than usual, I thought I would share some of my all time favorite podcast episodes to commemorate how meaningful audio journalism has been to me during my time at 91直播. I would also like to note that 91直播 sends an astounding number of alumni into the podcasting industry鈥攅very single one of these shows has an Obie working on it in some capacity, which I find amazing!
This American Life
This American Life is my absolute favorite radio show and podcast. I鈥檝e been listening since I was eight and have heard all 696 episodes at least once, and many far more times than that鈥攖hey鈥檙e just so well reported and told. Each week, the show centers around a theme and includes stories from different reporters and contributors on that topic.
For light, entertaining stories, I absolutely love the episodes , , , , , and .
For more serious stories that discuss difficult topics with equal parts honesty and grace, some of my favorites are , , and . Seriously though, you cannot go wrong listening to This American Life; every episode is a masterpiece.
Reply All
Reply All is officially a show about the internet, but on a deeper level it is about how people interact with each other in surprising, beautiful, and often confounding ways through technology. The podcast is both hilarious and very well-reported. Every episode winds up being some kind of adventure that always takes an unexpected turn.
For more investigative stories, my picks are , , , and .
The show also has a segment called 鈥淵es Yes No鈥 in which the hosts of the podcast explain a tweet to their boss, 91直播 alum Alex Blumberg. I find the segment is endlessly entertaining and usually text three or four people immediately after listening so we can discuss and laugh together. My favorites are , , and .
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is such an odd, touching gem of a show. Every episode, host Jonathan Goldstein stumbles his way through helping someone resolve an unsolved problem from their past. This podcast usually manages to make me both laugh and cry in a single episode; it is so perfectly quirky and always well-written. A few of the best ones in my opinion are , , and .
Radio Lab
I鈥檝e been listening to Radio Lab almost as long as I鈥檝e been listening to This American Life, so this podcast always makes me super nostalgic. Also, fun fact鈥攂oth hosts are 91直播 alumni and we interviewed both on the radio show I work on! Radio Lab is brilliant in that it combines science, storytelling, and really creative sound editing. A few of my favorite episodes are , , , , and .
The Moth
The Moth also makes me seriously sentimental. The premise is that people tell true stories live on stage with no notes and the podcasts are recordings of these stories. As someone who loves going to live Moth events, these stories remind me of being in a crowded room of strangers spending a night listening to each other鈥檚 life experiences鈥攚hich is a nice memory to think about in the current time. There are countless fantastic stories from this podcast ranging from absurd to serious to nail-bitingly terrifying. I tried to pick a few of each for this list. and are tear-jerkers. is hilarious, as is (which is also not for the faint of heart). and are emotional and funny at the same time.
In times of fear and worry like the one we are in, my belief that storytelling is one of the most powerful forces for good in the world strengthens. These podcast episodes鈥攚hich believe it or not represent a very narrowed down list of my favorites鈥攈ave brought me joy, comfort, and companionship in times of need and I hope they can do the same for others.
