If you’re consumed by resentment of the time you waste in traffic on a daily basis, then you might want to use your ears to do something useful besides listening to music. These podcasts will get the job done.
99% Invisible by Roman Mars
Available for free on the SoundCloud channel of its creator, Roman Mars, 99% Invisible will know how twist and turn your thoughts and show you perspectives you haven’t seen before. He calls it a tiny radio show about architecture and design — the 99% invisible activity shaping our world.
The episodes – through music, interviews and sound effects – know how to activate your imagination, surprise you, and even make you emotional.
Intelligence Squared
This podcast is all about debates! They pick a topic, summon two sides for it, and debate it. There is even an audience that gets to vote before and after the debate which side they’re more inclined towards. What more could you ask for?
The panelists they choose create valuable conversations, come from different backgrounds, and presumably possess different interests in general.
The topics range from debating whether or not the world should recognize Jerusalem as the state of Israel to whether or not pornography is good for us as a society. Intelligence squared debates are all also available on SoundCloud.
Radio 3 Documentary by the BBC
Although this is not really a podcast, it still deserves a spot on the list. Documentaries are amazing. And nothing is as inspiring and educating as a good BBC documentary. Well, why not listen to them?
On a SoundCloud channel titled ‘Radio 3 Documentary’ you can find documentaries with titles that will surely grab your attention like ‘Brainwash Culture’ and ‘Palace of Shame’ and ‘I’ve Been Here Before’. And it’s almost always as good as it sounds.
You Are Not So Smart
This is another SoundCloud gem for all the psychology lovers out there. The show knows – as it claims – how to celebrate science and self-delusion.
Each podcast aims to expose and explore lessons and provocative theories on our decision-making, reasoning, judgment and biases. This could take from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. But all in all, it’s definitely worth it.
