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Ask HN: What is the best podcast you listened to in 2022?

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Re: Ask HN: What is the best podcast you listened to in 2022?

#71
post #33

As an aside, I really wish Lex Fridman would make his interviews shorter and edit them a bit. Plus, I'm not trying to diss him but genuinely asking - he's not a particularly remarkable or interesting or entertaining interviewer (he's okay, and smart, but nothing out of the ordinary), how did he become such a prominent podcaster?

I listened to 20 or 30 of his podcasts and enjoyed them. But then let it slide. It felt more like Lex was asking interviewees for thoughts on his ideas and worldview than letting their own ideas breathe.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best podcast you listened to in 2022?

#73
Two podcasts mainly related to history:

- El Weekly listen [0] from Engelsberg Ideas and I recommand this episode [1].

- Jacobin's Long reads by Daniel Finn, only available from Jacobin's main feed (just search 'long reads') [2], and for instance I recommand this episode on Belgium [3].

[0] https://audioboom.com/channels/5029938.rss

[1] https://audioboom.com/posts/7839871-ei-weekly-listen-iskande...

[2] https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/619be5c0705138001b9c847...

[3] https://shows.acast.com/jacobin-radio/episodes/long-reads-an...

Re: Ask HN: What is the best podcast you listened to in 2022?

#74

The Moth (story telling) Planet Money (economics and finance intersecting with everything else) Heavyweight (investigate lost connections)

Can you give a link to "Heavyweight"? I searched for it in my podcast app but there are loads of results - I'm not sure which one you're talking about

It's exclusive to Spotify, sadly (didn't use to be) https://open.spotify.com/show/5c26B28vZMN8PG0Nppmn5G

Re: Ask HN: What is the best podcast you listened to in 2022?

#76
Revolutions podcast by Mike Duncan. The series is wrapping up after almost a decade, and the 13 appendix episodes he's just finished releasing are a great summary of the causes, courses, and effects of revolutions throughout history. https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/

The Prince by Sue-Lin Wong of the Economist. 10 episodes, but see also the followup weekly podcast from them called Drum Tower. It's interesting as a biography of Xi Jinping, but more insightful, I thought, as a recent history of the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to control society. https://www.economist.com/theprincepod and https://www.economist.com/drum-tower-pod / https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/633ebf6dfc7f5a0012acdc9...

Re: Ask HN: What is the best podcast you listened to in 2022?

#78

Capitalisn't [0] > "Is capitalism the engine of destruction or the engine of prosperity? On this podcast we talk about the ways capitalism is—or more often isn’t—working in our world today. Hosted by Vanity Fair contributing editor, Bethany McLean and world renowned economics professor Luigi Zingales, we explain how capitalism can go wrong, and what we can do to fix it." EconTalk [1] > "Econlib carries the podcast, E…

I've been listening to EconTalk since 2007. It's one of the only podcasts that I never skip an episode, even if the topic or author doesn't initially seem too interesting.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best podcast you listened to in 2022?

#79
I'll give three:

"Philosophize This" by Stephen West is a quite good and accessible series on philosophy. It's largely worked through the historical overview and several of the recent segments have been on (reasonably) modern and unfamiliar (to me) topics, with the "Ethics of Care" episode this post August being standout excellent.

https://www.philosophizethis.org/>

Ethics of Care episode: https://www.philosophizethis.org/podcast/episode-158-the-cre...>

My notes on EoC: https://diaspora.glasswings.com/posts/60cf1410e72f013a68ef44...>

Peter Adamson's "History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps" is now well into its third decade, 400th episode (in the mainstream podcast), and the 16th century (Jean Bodin). I rank it after West's effort only because I feel West can use the advocacy more. Both podcasts are excellent, Adamson is well supported through a tenured faculty position and institutional funding. Older philosophy provides insights into the development, and history of ideas, including (many, many, many, many) false starts and wild-goose chases, but also often startlingly modern thinking in ancient times. Having caught up with the full back-catalogue, I've returned to the beginning for a second listen.

https://historyofphilosophy.net/>

A third excellent series is "Complexity" from the Santa Fe Institute, largely looking at systems and complexity research. Topics, production, and editing are excellent, and definitely definitely definitely check out the show notes for additional references.

Actually, that last goes for all three of these podcasts, which really put the additional effort into documenting what was discussed.

Complexity: https://www.santafe.edu/culture/podcasts#Complexity>

All of the above are commercial-free (West does solicit Patreon support at the beginning of each episode, Complexity notes SFI goings-on, both are brief and appropriate), which I find makes a huge difference for me in how approach and rate podcasts. There are any number of podcasts which include commercial spots which I have to steel myself to listen to.

I'll throw in a "fourth" as a cheat: the New Books Network, which is not a single podcast but literally a collection of well over a hundred channels on academic topics (though many individual episodes will appear on multiple channels). This is the project of Marshall Poe.

Quality is uneven, both in production and hosting, and there is advertising, often sudden and intrusive. Still, as a place to find academic work and deep dives into topics very often not dominating news cycles or other cultural coverage, and for the huge back-catalogue (dating to the mid-aughts), again, an excellent resource. Some hosts are excellent, others ... grating with time. But I find myself returning frequently and being well rewarded more often than not.

https://newbooksnetwork.com/>

There are a number of other academic and book-related podcasts, including from the London School of Economics, Yale Press, Intelligence Squared (both UK and US), and more which I can't help but mention, though the four pods listed above deserve top billing. I'm also increasingly listening to a number of foreign-language / foreign-service podcasts, in a number of languages, which I'm finding useful as a learning tool.

Readers may note that none of these podcasts feature current or technical topics. I consider both aspects strong positives, as overexposure to both news and tech has been a constant. Deep dives into specialised topics outside the mainstream is useful for surfacing new (and old) ideas and associations.

I have well over 100 subscriptions, which I dip into as informational, entertainment, and relaxation resources. I've listened to nearly 2,500 hours of podcasts so far in 2022, including several not listed above.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best podcast you listened to in 2022?

#80

The Moth (story telling) Planet Money (economics and finance intersecting with everything else) Heavyweight (investigate lost connections)

Can you give a link to "Heavyweight"? I searched for it in my podcast app but there are loads of results - I'm not sure which one you're talking about

I did the same, looks like it is Spotify only? https://gimletmedia.com/shows/heavyweight/episodes#show-tab-...

Assuming that is the show they are talking about.

God, I hate these walled gardens

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