The Messiness of Being Human: A Love Letter to Podcasts
Like no one, I don’t own a television. It’s not for virtuous reasons, I just know myself and I can loaf and avoid like a pro. I grew up in a house where the tv was on 24/7, but it didn’t seem like my parents were really getting anything out of it – it was just on with the same constant rotation of news, more news, soap operas, game shows, sports, the same news again, and then some late-night interview show. Those were the ones I’d wait for and hope I could stay up to watch. Conan O’Brien was my absolute favorite, he had a lot of heart within his absurdness, and I enjoyed the way he leaned into his role.
I admire people who are authentic and goofy and who seem to embrace the human experience, which brought me to Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert in 2018. I had been a casual listener of podcasts before then, but this one hit differently. Shepard admits his flaws on the reg, and his co-host Monica adds a mindful perspective. I have been a “day one Armcherry” from the jump, so I have compiled a list of my top listens of the past year, along with a few others focusing on our area and the people in it!
Armchair Expert – Experts on Expert
Gabor Mate (on trauma and addiction) Mate is a physician who specializes in addiction and childhood development.
Matthew Desmond (on poverty) Desmond is a sociologist and a principal investigator.
Charles Duhigg (on being a super communicator) Duhigg is a journalist and has won a Pulitzer for Explanatory Reporting.
Maureen Dunne (on neurodiversity) Dunne is a cognitive scientist and neurodiversity expert.
James Doty (on the neuroscience of manifestation) Doty is clinical professor of neurosurgery at Stanford and the founder of the Standard Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.
Ramani Durvasula (on narcissism) Durvasula is a clinical psychologist and has her own podcast called Navigating Narcissism with Dr. Ramani.
Cody Delistraty (on grief) Delistraty is a writer and culture editor at the Wall Street Journal Magazine.
Kimberly Quinlan (on anxiety and self-compassion) Quinlan is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and founder of CBT School. She has her own podcast called Your Anxiety Toolkit.
Jenny Taitz (on stress resets) Taitz is a clinical psychologist who specializes in distress tolerance.
Blaise Aguirre (on overcoming self-hatred) Aquirre is an Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, as well as a child and adolescent psychiatrist.
Honorable Mention: Day 7 (This episode highlights Dax’s relapse in 2020.)
Local Mentions:
Coffee at the Cottage (#65 – Suicide Prevention in our Area)
The Menom Podcast – Padraig Gallagher (of Stepping Stones) and Tom Sampson (of Machine Shed)
I have personally found all these episodes to be insightful and educational. I have found that listening to each of these has made me a better communicator and listener, which not only helps me in my professional role, but also just as a human. There is always a story to be told but how we hear it makes a difference, regardless of how it is consumed.
