That being said, I find podcasts more enjoyable when I am able to sit down and pay attention to them, even watching the interview or oration on youtube. I’ve only consistently been listening to podcasts for about a week or so, but my interest in learning has been revitalized. While I do learn in school, choosing specific topics to learn about myself through podcasts is better because each episode is self-selected.
I have a few podcast recommendations for those of you who will approach them with an open mind. Mind you, I know that it may be too difficult to do so. My dad had actually recommended a few podcasts to me recently. I had heard about podcasts and how they are on the rise but figured they weren’t my thing. A few podcasts changed my mind and allowed me to realize that it is not podcasts that are uninteresting but rather that each person has to find the podcast best suited for them.
There are two podcasts I can currently recommend and one I would like to get into myself. Modern Wisdom hosted by Chris Williamson has an amalgamation of different guests on the show. The topics covered can include relational psychology, optimizing performance physically and mentally, and much more. While I enjoyed learning about an assortment of things, my favorite episodes have been when I learn about how to optimize my own life in different ways. That being said, I found the second podcast that I have grown fond of Huberman Lab by Andrew Huberman. Huberman is a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University. Because of his specialty in neuroscience, his podcast primarily focuses on bodily functions and how one can use their knowledge to improve their own life. The podcasts I have listened to thus far have been about muscle growth and recovery, leveraging dopamine to overcome procrastination, and mastering sleep. Whether I choose to implement some of these strategies he discussed is still up in the air, but learning about how I can scientifically avoid procrastination, improve motivation, de-stress, fall asleep faster, and be happier is fascinating to me. I often wonder how I could do some of these things, but I was unaware that there are relatively simplistic methods to do each of these.
I originally heard Andrew Huberman on the first Joe Rogan podcast episode that I ever listened to. Joe Rogan’s podcast on Spotify is one of the largest podcasts online in terms of viewership. Spotify and Rogan currently have a $200 million contract for Rogan to publish his content on Spotify. Joe Rogan was an excellent interviewer and podcaster in the episode, but I found that my interests primarily align with Huberman. Even still, I would like to try and find some other episodes where Rogan has done episodes with celebrities or public figures who I am familiar with.
I find myself at an interesting point in my life right now. I am starting to take more of an interest in biology and general science than I ever have. Unbelievably, learning applicable things in my life is more captivating to me than my favorite television shows (I did finish Friends if anyone was wondering, however). In my next blog post, I think it is highly likely that I will continue with information about podcasts rather than tv shows because I see myself continuing to listen to podcasts in the future.
Chris Williamson and Andrew Huberman are accessible on Spotify, apple, and youtube. If anything I have described peaks your interest in the slightest, I encourage you to try out an episode. If you are like me, you will find it more appealing than you think. I do not want to oversell it, however. Huberman described how hyping up something sets an expected dopamine release for people. Once one experiences the hyped-up thing, it won’t have nearly the same dopamine release. If it were an excellent book, for example, if your expectations were extremely low, the dopamine release would be far more elevated for the same quality of book than if I told you it was the best book ever. You may already be familiar with this concept but Huberman does a good job explaining why this is the case through science. 
Try out a podcast.
Hey Chris,
Your blog post this week was quite refreshing and I find that I can relate to it. I have also been on the podcast grind for the past couple of months, but I do think our tastes differ. Since it is the month of Ramadan in Islam, I often gravitate to learning about my religion more through podcasts instead of listening to music. Instead of Chris Williamson and Andrew Huberman, my top two podcasters are Mufti Menk and Omar Suleiman.
Although I am not the biggest fan of more scientific podcasts, the way you describe Chris Williamson intrigued me. Because I have recently found a passion for psychology, when you said he also covers “relational psychology” it caught my attention. Honestly, I did not know exactly what relational psychology meant so I went to trusty Google. My initial idea was that it was about building relationships, however, I was off. It is more about how one’s past experiences create patterns in how they perceive themselves in a relationship – definitely more nuanced than I assumed.
Although I did not expect to be listening to a new podcast tonight after finishing up this blog comment assignment, I am pleasantly surprised. I will get back to you about how I enjoyed my episode of Modern Wisdom soon!