6 Inspiring Podcasts You Should Be Listening To (plus a funny one!)
Today’s post is a bit different from the usual topics I blog about, mainly because I have been listening to podcasts quite regularly these days. Have you jumped on the podcast bandwagon yet? My friend Chhavi has been the biggest podcast evangelist in my life, and she co-produces some fab podcasts over at Indus Vox Media (this is NOT a plug!). A few months ago I downloaded Podcast Addict on my phone, and I have been listening to podcasts on everything from food to writing. I thought I’d share some of my favourite ones (listed in no particular order). Have a listen…
1) Burnt Toast
Burnt Toast is my absolute favourite food-related podcast. It’s by the foodie folks at Food 52 – that veritable encyclopaedia on cooking, eating, baking, cheat recipes and more. In this bi-monthly podcast, the Food 52 team talks about what’s new in the world of cooking, food culture, cookbooks, weird food they have eaten etc. Most of the episodes also have a guest speaker. I love the casual, conversational style of the podcast, with an added dash of humour. One of my favourite episodes was on smart meal planning and another one was on throwing dinner parties.
The Real Food Podcast is from Audiomatic and is delivered by renowned food writer Vikram Doctor. Every fortnight, Doctor regales us with food stories, complete with origins, legends and anecdotes about some of our most beloved foods and ingredients. Like the episode on how monoculture has flooded Indian markets with Cavendish bananas (those tasteless ones called ‘golden yellow’). Or why tea time in India is till associated with Marie biscuits.
I don’t listen to many travel-related podcasts, so suggestions are more than welcome! I like Rick’s podcast, not just because it’s based on my favourite destination, but also because it’s quite informative. The latest episode was a fantastic introduction to Italian wines by podcast guest Jennifer Martin, an Italian wine specialist and writer. The episode covered some lesser known wine regions of Italy – Lazio, Campania & Sicily. I loved that my favourite Sicilian wine, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, got a thumbs-up from Martin. As they say in Italy, cin cin!
Whether you’re a newbie blogger or an established one, you need to constantly work on your blog. That’s why when I came across this ‘31 days to build a better blog‘ podcast by ProBlogger, I signed up immediately. The presenter Darren Rowse runs the immensely popular Digital Photography School blog, and obviously knows what he’s talking about. Every day Rowse takes you through one aspect of blogging – be it generating ideas, or using social media more effectively, or how to grow your blog readership. I particularly liked the episode on creating an editorial calendar for your blog. Each episode gives you an action point, and I have found most of the episodes inspirational.
This one is sort of work-related. I find that reading or listening to other writers (except when they are whining!) often motivates me and gives me productivity tips, and also sometimes sparks off an idea. Joanna Penn is a prolific writer and podcasts every Monday on all things related to writing – creativity, publishing, marketing and also some interviews. I especially liked the episode with Chandler Bolt on productivity and smart working tips.
Stories at the intersection of science, culture and history – that’s what Audiomatic’s podcast The Intersection brings you every fortnight. The podcast is hosted by Padma and Samanth, and each episode focusses on an interesting topic – the mysteries of the Harappan civilisation, India’s research into neutrinos or the invasion of pacu, the fish with human-like teeth!
Bonus
India’s most famous funnyman, the inimitable Cyrus Broacha takes on the news of the day (or rather twice a week), and gives his humorous spin on everything from politics to sports, and from food to movies. A word of warning – don’t listen to it on a commute, unless you want to shock your co-passengers by your maniacal laughter every few minutes 😉
What podcasts are you listening to? Let me know in the comments below, and I might just add them to my podcast app 🙂
All images used in this post have been sourced from respective podcast websites.
Ciao! Thanks so much for the kind mention!!
It's my pleasure, Rick! I really enjoy your podcast 🙂
Will be checking out the Pro Blogger Podcast!
I have found it very helpful, Hanisha.
Thank you very much for enjoying the podcast on Italian wine and recommending it to others!
My pleasure, Jennifer! I really enjoyed it 🙂