Podcasts to Make Learning New Things as an Adult Fun!

Y’all, it is back to school season and I am feeling the itch to learn something. In this season of life that I’m in, I don’t have the bandwidth to add an actual class to my schedule. I’ve compiled a list of podcasts that can help me, and hopefully you, scratch that learning itch that comes with fall and the back to school season. Learning new things is fun with these podcasts!

Links from this Episode:

Learning New Things about Language: The Allusionist

The first podcast is called The Allusionist. This podcast is great for anyone interested in learning new things about language and words. Helen Zaltzman, the host, takes us on adventures where we learn about all sorts of word related things. From why all but two planets in our solar system are named after Roman Gods, to a brief history of Brazilian Portuguese. We all use language every day and I know I’ve stopped myself at least once a week to think about a word or phrase that I’m using and wonder where it came from.

This podcast helps me answer those questions. Each episode is around 30 to 45 minutes long, and as a bonus, there are also episodes published every once in a while called the Tranquillusionist. These are episodes where the host just says words that all relate to each other in some way to, “shut up your interior monologue for a moment.” When I looked into these, a lot of people use them to meditate or to fall asleep, so if you have trouble with that, then maybe you could try those episodes.

If you’re looking for a place to start with this show, the recent episode about Uranus is hilarious and informative. I’ll make sure to link it in the show notes.

Ologies with Alie Ward

The next podcast on the list is Ologies with Alie Ward. It’s a podcast that teaches you about interesting, but maybe slightly random things from the professional ologists that study them.

This podcast covers all sorts of things from neurotechnology, to squirrels, to missions on Mars. The host Alie is a humorous and science correspondent who asks all the questions you wish you could ask these very smart people. Just as a warning, this podcast does have strong language. There are three different types of episodes of Ologies: regular episodes, smologies, and field trips.

The regular episodes are roughly an hour to an hour and a half long and give you an in-depth take on whatever fascinating thing that professional research is. The smologies are shorter, cleaner, and kid-friendly versions of longer episodes that have previously aired. The field trip episodes are when Alie goes on the road to help us learn about fascinating things from cool places like France, the Writer’s Guild strike line, and getting a colonoscopy.

The recent field trip episode where Alie actually went down to the writer’s strike line was informative and interesting, especially as she talks about her experience as a writer. I’ll make sure to link it in the show notes.

Decoder Ring

The next podcast on today’s list is called Decoder Ring from Slate. The tagline for the show is Cracking Cultural Mysteries. It’s a great show for people who want to think deeply about things in our culture. It doesn’t talk about boring stuff. It focuses on interesting things like what’s really going on inside a mosh pit, and who owns the tooth fairy. Willa Paskin is the host and she talks to several experts and enthusiasts in each episode to figure out what these cultural things mean and why they matter.

Each episode is about 30 to 45 minutes with teasers that get you excited before each new season of the show. I recently listened to the episode about the Tooth Fairy and found it incredibly interesting and fascinating. I’ll make sure to link it in the show notes.

Podcast Consultations

I’ve been able to talk to some amazing podcasters about their shows while doing interviews for the friendly podcast guide. Along the way, I’ve learned so many tips and tricks on how to start a podcast from personal experience and from the hosts I’ve interviewed. I’ve talked to them about what made their launch successful and what made it more difficult. I for sure know what I would do differently if I could go back and launch my show again.

Now I want to share my knowledge with you. I’m offering podcast consults and I have a couple of spots open in the next month. If you need help nailing down your podcast idea, figuring out your niche, or any other podcast questions, I would love to work with you to make your show’s launch the best it can be.

If you’re interested in working with me, fill out the intake form in the show notes. I can’t wait to make a podcast plan that is tailored to you and your podcast, and we’ll make your launch as smooth and successful as possible.

Learning New Things About History: The History Chicks

The next podcast on this list is The History Chicks podcast. I’ve talked about this podcast before, but I love it so much that I’m going to talk about it again. If you want to listen to the other episode, this podcast is in the podcast that highlights women in history. I’ll link it in the show notes.

The History Chicks podcast is a podcast that deep dives into the lives of women in history. This podcast is in the words of the hosts, is interesting for adults, but appropriate if kids are in the room. Each episode starts with a 32 second summary, so you have an idea of what kind of story you’re getting into. After that is a thorough exploration of that woman’s life. The hidden gem of this podcast are the great show notes on the website. They have pictures of the women featured in the episodes and all of the books, articles, and other information they use to put the episode together.

The episode I recommend starting with is episode 223, Mary McLeod Bethune, part one. Obviously, I like the second part too, but you gotta start with part one. It talks about this amazing black woman who touched almost every aspect of women’s and civil rights in the first half of the 1900s. You’ll not only learn about a remarkable woman, but you’ll also get a feel for the fun rapport between the hosts and the flow of the show. I’ll make sure to link it in the show notes.

Duolingo

The next podcast or set of podcasts are from the makers of the Duolingo app. There are actually four different podcasts that Duolingo produces content for. There is Spanish for English speakers, French for English speakers, English for Spanish speakers, and English for Portuguese speakers.

I am on a lifetime journey of trying to learn Spanish. I’ve only listened to the Spanish for English Speakers podcast. I have really enjoyed practicing my Spanish through listening and comprehending conversational Spanish beyond this dress is red, or where is the library? So if you’re looking for a way to level up your language learning, I highly recommend listening to these podcasts.

I got to talk to one of the producers of the Duolingo podcast about these shows on an episode of the Friendly Podcast Guide. It was so much fun hearing about some of the cool series and standalone episodes that this team has put together. A couple that she recommended in that episode, and I second those recommendations are a true crime series called the Great Argentine Heist. It is in the Spanish for English Speakers Podcast. Also, A Tour of Black Paris, which is an actual audio walking tour of Paris that tells you all about the city’s black history and culture. That one is on the French for English Speakers Podcast. I’ll make sure to link both of those in the show notes.

Carry the Two

The last podcast on today’s list is called Carry the Two. It’s a podcast all about math. Before you push the skip forward 30 seconds button, hear me out. I know that math was a lot of people’s least favorite subject in school. This podcast shows us that math is much more than just figuring out where the decimal point goes and what X equals.

The hosts of the show Sadie Witkowski and Ian Martin aren’t mathematicians. They make sure to use words that we actually can understand and explain things in a way that makes sense without having to use a piece of scratch paper. They use stories to convey how mathematical research drives the world around us in a way that’s actually interesting. It makes it fun to be learning new things about math.

Each episode is about 30 minutes long. If you’re looking for a place to start, I recommend listening to the episode that was inspired by the first season of the TV show Foundation on Apple TV. It dives into how math and science is portrayed in Hollywood. It specifically talks about how the writers for the TV show foundation created a scene where a science fiction space traveler figures out where her rocket ship is in space using math. So cool! I’ll make sure to link that in the show notes.

Have Fun Learning New Things

Happy back to school season. Hopefully you found a podcast that has piqued your interest and will help you to start learning new things about the world around us in a fun way. Also, just a reminder that if you’ve been wanting to start a podcast but you need some personalized help, fill out the link in the show notes so that I can help you make a podcast plan that will help you launch your show smoothly and successfully.