These days, everyone is using podcasts and audiobooks to cultivate specific interests, distract from mindless chores, and get into a productive headspace while their ears are free, if not their eyes. Thankfully, the world of listening entertainment is basically a limitless catalog. Everybody’s Got A Podcast is not only a true sentiment, but it is literally the name of a podcast, and is merely one among the countless numbers that are bubbling up on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever it is that you listen.

Given that it can be overwhelming to begin sorting through the endless lists of audiobooks and podcasts available, here are some recommendations to get you started:

Interviews

Let’s start with one of the more popular podcast formats. Listening to remarkable people open up about their struggles in interviews that prioritize authenticity can be a transportive experience. Thankfully, there are plenty of shows that cater to this style of entertainment: 

• Off Camera with Sam Jones is great for those who enjoy intimate interviews with celebrities. You can either watch it as a video or listen, which makes it a versatile show that viewers and commuters alike can enjoy.  
• Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard is a personal favorite of mine, in which celebrities and experts are interviewed in a casual manner…Some may say too casual.
• The Moth is popular with my friends because everyday people get to tell their stories, and you never know what to expect. 

More and more of these heart-to-heart programs are gaining popularity, so I suggest exploring until you find a host that you gel with. If you prefer another interview style, don’t worry. There’s a variety to explore.

Educational Podcasts

If discovering new things is what you crave, there are shows that make it easy for an audience on the move to listen and learn. 

• Stuff You Should Know is a widely acclaimed 15-minute podcast that covers a variety of topics. (Perfect for a walk to campus!)
• Ologies with Alie Ward is an acclaimed science-centric educational show in the same vein.

Trust me, there’s a show for whatever subject you want to indulge in: business, music, food, you name it. Savor learning without being graded, for a change.

Fiction Podcasts

Another style of podcast that is catching attention is scripted fiction performed over audio, although there are some exceptions to that definition if you favor improv (i.e. a space comedy called Stellar Firma, or Hello from the Magic Tavern). Unlike audiobooks, fiction podcasts are intended to be more like a TV show than a book. 

• The Amelia Project is a British show about an agency that fakes the deaths of their upper-class elite clientele for the most bizarre reasons.
• There is an abundance of fantastic science fiction podcasts to fall into, such as Sayer, Our Fair City, or Give Me Away. 
• Mysteries and thrillers thrive in this format, as shown by the success of 36 Questions and its precursor series, Limelight.
• Victoria’s Lift is one of the best in the horror realm. 
• Often, familiar voices from Hollywood dominate these shows. You’ll find Oscar Isaac and David Schwimmer in Homecoming, which has now been adapted into a TV show on Amazon Prime. 

Audiobooks

It seems like reading for pleasure goes by the wayside for most college students, but a way to make it more convenient is by trying out audiobooks to save time.  

• Libby and Overdrive give you access to your favorite reads in a wide range of genres from your local library. (I’m planning on listening to a last minute book for my Nigerian Lit class, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky, this way.)
• LibriVox is a free catalog of public domain texts read aloud and recorded by volunteers. You can use the app, download audiobooks from their website, or even come across recordings on YouTube. (If you need an older recommendation in order to make use of this site, the Anne of Green Gables series and L.M. Montgomery’s other delightful works have made my part-time shifts as a custodian on campus fly by.)
• ZeroAvenue, Scribd, and Audible are paid monthly services that tend to fill in the gaps of your library’s catalog for a reasonable fee. (Better Than the Movies, a hilarious YA ode to rom-coms, is one that I was lucky to find browsing ZeroAvenue.)

Spotify and other music and podcast streaming sites also offer audiobooks. (On Spotify, the entire The Hunger Games series is available for free.)

There are books and shows in every genre to try, and a few ways I’ve listed here to save your money along with your time while finding the best content to listen to. It’s no exaggeration to say that audiobooks, along with podcasts, can change your life.  Adulthood leaves less room for leisurely reading and Netflix binging in everyone’s schedule, so just listen up instead.