Chris and I both love listening to podcasts. They’re our go-to for long drives (Chris), long walks (Melissa), workouts (Chris), and cooking (Melissa). The podcasts sometimes become topics of dinner conversation. They keep things interesting. Have you been looking for a new podcast to listen to? If so, you might want to check one of these out.
Chris's Top 3 podcasts
Conan Needs a Friend is a favorite of mine, because I’m a big fan of Conan O’Brien. The podcast airs twice per week. There’s typically one episode where Conan chats with a celebrity much like he did on his late night show and one where he meets one of his fans. His celebrity interviews go for about an hour and lead to more authentic conversation than there’s time for on television. I feel I get a much better insight to the guests and great information about the struggles one endures to make a living in such a creative industry. When he meets his fans there’s a lot of improvising and that’s when I feel Conan is at his best. During each episode there’s also some great banter between Conan, his assistant, Sona and the sound guy, Matt.
Three celebrities: Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes host SmartLess. It’s this weekly podcast where one of them brings on a mystery guest and they spend the rest of the time doling out impromptu questions to said guest. I love the podcast’s friend dynamic. How the three give each other shit is so very much like how I communicate with my three brothers and my group of friends. I also love hearing the tidbits of their journeys in the entertainment industry. They typically have some high-profile people on the podcast and they really seem to be enjoying what they’re doing.
I like Behind the Bastards because it covers present-day and history’s worst people, from Hitler to Amway’s founders. Sometimes I learn more about someone who I knew was bad and sometimes I’m surprised to learn how bad someone really was (or are). I think it’s important to hear the stories of how and why these people did what they did, or do what they do. It’s been interesting to learn the common causes of what might have contributed to these people becoming bastards. For me, it’s important to pay attention to what powerful people are up to. This podcast gives great information on some of the world’s most powerful bad people.
Melissa's Top 3 Podcasts
Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell’s exploration of “the overlooked and misunderstood.” In each episode he re-examines something from the past. I love both how he seeks to understand and his tone of amazement. I’ve learned all sorts of things from the show, from why country music makes you cry, and rock and roll doesn’t to the relevance, validity, and impact of US News & World Report’s rankings of colleges and universities. In case you haven’t heard of Gladwell, he’s a journalist whose accomplishments include writing 5 New York Times bestselling books.
As John August says at the beginning of each episode, Scriptnotes is a podcast “about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters.” On it, screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin discuss both the craft and the business of screenwriting. I first learned about the podcast’s existence from one of my instructors at InFocus Film School in Vancouver, B.C. Since I’m a screenwriter, the podcast is quite interesting to me. I also enjoy it when their banter wanders over into philosophy and logic. To be honest, my favorite episodes are the ones in which Craig takes umbrage with something. There are many of those.
Video Creators is all about creating better videos, so creators can connect with more people. Its main host, Tim Schmoyer has been on YouTube since 2006. His company has helped brands like Disney, HBO, and Dave Ramsey with their YouTube strategy. Since we’re hard at work growing our YouTube channel, I listen to this each week. When there’s someone with more knowledge and experience in something I want to be successful at, I like to learn from them. Sometimes it’s through a book, or audiobook. What I love about learning via a podcast is that so long as new episodes are being put out, I’m getting current information on the topic.