I've been in a bit of a depressive funk this weekend, one of those joyous periods where I just can't force myself to do anything other than sit around and be grumpy about not doing anything. I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling this way given the current world situation so I'll tell you what I am now telling myself:
GO. FOR. A. FREAKING. WALK.
When I'm feeling this down, that's about the only thing that can snap me out of it and if I don't feel better after a walk, I'll just give up and cocoon myself in a quilt on the couch and watch some Star Trek: TNG (aside from just being a good show in general, it's like a warm balm of nostalgia for me). Sometimes you just gotta let the feels happen, but don't go down without at least a little bit of a fight.
Anyway, one of the things that motivates me on the walk itself is listening to a podcast. It sets a specific time for my walk- I can't stop early, I gotta finish the show!- and fully takes my mind off whatever it is that's getting me down (assuming I actually know what that is). Sometimes music just feeds my feelings; either that or it leaves room for my mind to wander.
If you're interested in trying out some podcasts for the first time, I've made a list of my top 5 most listened to podcasts, with an extra bonus at the end.
And without further ado:
Stuff You Missed in History Class is probably heaviest in my rotation at the moment. I love hearing random fun historical stories because I am endlessly curious (nosey?) about other people's lives and this is a good, more respectable and less brain melting way to get my fix than watching the
Kardashians or something. Seriously though, I always find their topics interesting and the delivery is pretty concise and to the point but friendly, if you know what I mean.
Stuff You Should Know is a pretty popular choice. If you haven't heard about it, it is probably exactly what you think it is- a podcast where each episode is about a random thing you, you know, should know. The topics are all over the place (the last two I listened to were about sloths and barefoot running) and I find myself cherry picking which ones I listen to (as opposed to just listening to them all as they come out) but they're all pretty good, I just only have so much time. There's more banter between the two hosts in this one than Stuff You Missed in History Class but I like it and you can tell the dudes get along well.
Sawbones features a medical doctor and her husband who talk about medical history and some... misguided, shall we say, current and past medical practices. It's super interesting and the banter between the doctor and her husband is pretty funny and entertaining. If you're into interesting medical info but don't want to listen to a boring, dry podcast, give this a listen.
Another popular choice (they have a whole
fan cult!), this one is good if you're a fan of true crime and also laughing. An odd combo maybe but I feel like it totally works, mostly because they do so while still being respectful to the victims. They put out two episodes a week; one is about 1.5 hours long and in it, each host (there are two) talk about a different murder/crime. The second one is about a half hour long and features the hosts reading "hometown murders" as sent in by their listeners.
There's a lot of banter and side bars and whatnot in this podcast-which, to be honest, I found off-putting at first- but I've come to enjoy it. That being said, it may not be for everyone.
I tried to find a good way to say what this one was about but couldn't do any better than the website (link below picture) itself so here goes:
"Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships." I can only listen to this one when I'm feeling more serious and able to focus but every episode I've listened to has been super interesting. I also really like the hosts voice which is weird to say now that I type it out but an important consideration when choosing podcasts.
Flash Forward is an incredibly interesting podcast and I highly recommend it for anyone that likes science fiction. In this podcast, the hosts examines a potential future scenario. For instance, the last couple I listened to was about pregnancy in space and teleportation. Its a good mix of interesting science mixed with educated speculation, all supported by knowledgable guest experts.
Bonus:
Ok so this is a bonus podcast I like that I didn't want to put in my top 5 because 1. then it'd be a top 6 which isn't the same now is it? and 2. it's only a 10-part series.
Finding Fred is about, you guessed it,
Fred Rogers who is a personal hero of mine. The host examines the impact of Mr. Rogers work and discusses it, and relates it to current day issues, with various guest experts. Very good, very well done, and I may or may not have cried a little bit at some points.
All podcasts, with the exception of Finding Fred of course, have a ton of backlogged episodes and continue to regularly put out new episodes (at least one a week) so you've got a pretty big pool to dive into. I didn't think I'd be able to pay attention to someone talking without seeing them but that hasn't proved to be the case so don't let that stop you from trying it out.
Well, I'm off to listen to a Stuff You Missed in History episode about poison control. If that doesn't get me out of this funk, I don't know what will.
I have never listened to a podcast! Of course, that may be because I don't have a phone...
ReplyDeleteI like music when I walk (I have my library on shuffle), and I never skip songs when I'm out for a walk, preferring to let them wash over me as I take in nature. But I totally agree, walk when you're in a funk!