So many podcasts, so little time! With a seemingly unlimited amount of podcast options at our fingertips, it’s hard to devote ourselves to a listen worthy of our ears, hearts, and minds. Allow us to take the decision fatigue out of finding your new favorite podcast. 

After polling both faculty and freshmen, we’ve gathered a handful of handy podcast recommendations that run the gamut – just in time for #InternationalPodcastDay! From American controversies to engineering disasters, these podcasts cover a vast array of unique and fascinating subjects. 

We also posed the question: If you had a podcast, what would it be about? (You know you’ve thought about it). Check out the responses below for some aural inspiration. Get your headphones or your aux cord ready – it’s time to listen and learn from the best. 

My favorite podcast is Ologies with Alie Ward. Moths, volcanoes, death, and gorillas. Alie Ward sits down with -ologists of vastly different specialties to ask them about their expertise and passion. I always find myself gaining some niche scientific knowledge from this humorous, conversational, and infinitely interesting podcast. 

If I had a podcast, It would be called "Happily Ever After" and it would be full of wholesome scenarios with happy endings that you can fall asleep to.

The podcast I follow the most is This Week in Startups with host Jason Calacanis. I listen because Calacanis is an extraordinary operator and investor – e.g. not a journalist covering tech, but rather someone in the middle of the sausage-making of breakout technology companies. Listening regularly keeps you up to date with technology news and trends and it also provides a strong perspective on techniques and best practices that you can use in your own ventures. Some people find Calacanis abrasive and too candid but I find him to deliver the best signal to noise ratio of any podcast or blog I've found related to startups and the tech industry.

I don't plan to do a podcast, but if I did it would be about techniques and case studies showing how different entrepreneurs found product market fit. It would have special emphasis on the guerilla aspects of testing core assumptions and simple non-technical prototypes.

-Chris Swain, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Interactive Design 

Claima Stories with Bimma is a podcast that brings on entrepreneurs of color and interviews them on their stories, and most importantly, how they got to where they are today. Whether that be through their upbringing, education, career, or the hardships that they faced on their journey, whatever that may be, each guest brings their own unique wisdom that Bimma, the host of the show, is able to effectively extract. Bimma also includes immaculate vibes that encapsulate the theme of each new addition to the series. From guests such as South Central LA’s own Gavin Mathieu, the genius behind Supervsn and the incredible work they’re doing, to IYA Class of 2022’s commencement speaker, industry legend, entrepreneur, author, and CEO Jason Mayden (who just also happens to be my awesome pops, so big shout out to him). Every episode features a new person and along with that comes priceless knowledge for the next generation of entrepreneurs of color. 

If I were to host my own podcast? It’d be one of two scenarios. I’d do it very similar to Bimma in how I bring out these legends to tell their tales of growth and struggle – not  to discourage those on their way, but to shed light on what to expect on their own adventure. The next option for a podcast would be to literally just spend an endless amount of time goofing off, talking about random topics of the day with my friends such as games, pop culture and memes, and whatever new thing we find hilarious that day. Overall, any way it goes, I would love to focus on the joys of life, big or small. 

Well There’s Your Problem. It's a podcast about engineering disasters – with slides. In each episode, the hosts Justin, Liam, Alice, and occasional guest breakdown a historical engineering disaster to understand the origins of the project, the issues that arose, decisions made along the way, and ultimately what went wrong. While the content is often about serious disasters, the material is approached with levity and humor that makes it an enjoyable learning experience. I highly recommend Episode #87: UCSB Student Housing and Episode #17: The Atmospheric Railway.

The Dollop, hosted by comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds. In each episode, Dave tells a well-researched, in-depth story about a historical event, a person's life, or contemporary public figure to Gareth who then reacts in highly comedic fashion. I highly recommend Episode #356: The Resnicks: Water Monsters and Episode #376: The History of Meat Pies.

 If I had a podcast of my own, it would be a video-based podcast and more likely a livestream focused on the topic of visual information design. I would cover recently published information, design work, book reviews, and maybe even do live redesigns of bad data visualizations. It would be great to have students and professionals on as guests to discuss their recent work and their opinions on the work of others.

-Aaron Siegel, MFA, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Design 

I'm a huge podcast fan so it's hard to choose. One of my current favorites is American Scandal, a podcast by Wondery that explores various scandals throughout American history. I love this show because it explores a wide variety of controversies ranging from very well known to more obscure. The host uses an immersive narrative structure where he not only explains what happened, but reenacts interactions between the key players in the events which really pulls you into the story. I've always found history fascinating and I think the psychological element of how far people are willing to go to cover up their lies and get what they want is super interesting and is explored really well in this show. Definitely check it out!

If I had a podcast, I would want to interview people I know or even strangers and just hear about their life stories. I think that when you really dig deep, everyone has very unique lives and experiences that have taught them life lessons that are worth sharing with the world. 

So many podcasts, so little time! With a seemingly unlimited amount of podcast options at our fingertips, it’s hard to devote ourselves to a listen worthy of our ears, hearts, and minds. Allow us to take the decision fatigue out of finding your new favorite podcast. 

After polling both faculty and freshmen, we’ve gathered a handful of handy podcast recommendations that run the gamut – just in time for #InternationalPodcastDay! From American controversies to engineering disasters, these podcasts cover a vast array of unique and fascinating subjects. 

Podcast Recommendations for International Podcast Day

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