Two Podcasts to Jump-Start Your New Year

As an erstwhile podcaster and content marketing consultant (a career that lets me tell other people how to podcast, to my heart’s content), I listen to a lot of different podcasts. From productions made by two people on a laptop to fully professional affairs, I like to hear what’s out there.

Since it’s the beginning of the year, there are a lot of great podcast episodes on self-improvement being released/re-released, and I wanted to share two that really struck me as wonderfully inspiring.

Hidden Brain: How Silicon Valley Can Help You Get Unstuck

Hidden Brain is NPR’s podcast on social psychology, behavioral economics, and “life’s unseen patterns.” Since these are topics that I teach, they’re also topics that I enjoy learning about.

In this episode, host Shankar Vedantam and producer Maggie Penman explore how design thinking can help when you’re feeling lost and unsure about what’s next in your life (career, relationships, etc.) and how to get unstuck. Full of personal stories and useful advice, it’s definitely worth listening to.

Freakonomics Radio: How to Become Great at Just About Anything

Another show that explores behavioral economics and the impact of economic thinking in our everyday lives, I love the unique perspective with which Freakonomics views the world.

In this episode, host Stephen Dubner interviews scientists and writers to find out how we can become better at anything through “deliberate practice.” Not only does the story that forms the throughline of this episode have a lovely pay-off, but the whole episode has inspired me to be more deliberate in several of my hobbies.