22 of My Favorite Podcasts to Listen to While Working

I love listening to podcasts while I drive, cook, and work. But not all podcasts are good for listening to while working. Some are too long, some are too involved, some are too confusing.

If I’m trying to put in long hours working, I need to listen to something more engaging than music to help keep me focused. I’ve compiled a list below of my favorite podcasts that I listen to while I work, in no particular order.

These podcasts are interesting enough to keep my attention sustained and my booty in the chair working, but clear and digestible enough to allow me to split my attention between the podcast and my tasks. I like to have a good mix of topics to pick from depending on my mood, as well as a range of light-hearted vs. more serious. So here are my top get-to-work podcasts!

Arts

• All Songs Considered: Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton share their favorite new music finds each week, including all genres of music.
• Tiny Desk Concerts: Intimate, live-recorded, acoustic concerts
• Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert: Author speaks with other artists, from amateurs to big names, about making art and living as an artist.
• Creative Pep Talk: Motivational interviews with artists

Business

• StartUp: Stories about how businesses get started.
• How I Built This: Interviews with entrepreneurs about how their business began.

Stories

• This American Life: Stories about everyday Americans centered around a common theme. The storytelling, editing, and topics are spot on. Sometimes funny, sometimes a tear-jerker.
• The Moth: Stories told in front of a live audience by anyone who signs up. Sometimes funny, sometimes serious.
• Snap Judgement: Stories told by various people, usually dramatic/edgy/thought-provoking. Hosted by Glynn Washington.
• Modern Love: Recorded essays on love, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always poignant.

Interviews

• How to Be Amazing with Michael Ian Black: Interviews with a sorts of big name people of all backgrounds, but focusing on creative fields.
• Fresh Air: Interviews about current events and contemporary art. Really good for staying on top of issues, with a good mix of topics.
• TED Radio Hour: Interviews with TED talkers, kind of like recaps of their talk, sometimes diving deeper.

Current Events

• All Things Considered: A recap of the day’s biggest stories.
• Intelligence Squared: Each episode is a debate between two teams of experts on a provocative topic trying to convince the live audience to vote for their side by the end of the debate.

Society/People/Life:

• RadioLab: Self-described as “a show about curiosity.” And that’s probably the best description.
• Reply All: Investigations/stories about all types of random and interesting things, focusing on people.
• Freakonomics: Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt (authors of the book, Freakonomics) talk about all kinds of patterns and topics in economics, and society in general.
• 2 Dope Queens: Hosted by Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams and performed live as a comedy show in Brooklyn. They’re usually joined by a comedian friend.

Food

• The Splendid Table: Interviews and stories about food including food issues, recipes, preparation tips, and trends.
• America’s Test Kitchen Radio: Food, cultures, recipes, product testing
• The Eater Upsell: Eater editors Helen Rosner and Greg Morabito, the Eater Upsell interview big people in the food world and talk about food!

And those are all the podcasts that I keep coming back to again and again. I’m always on the look out for new ones, so if you have any suggestions, let me know!