I am a huge fan of podcasts* – I download them directly onto my mobile phone and listen as I travel around. The key attraction is that I get to listen to what I want when I want, and there is an almost unlimited number of podcasts to satisfy pretty much every interest.
That said, my absolute favourite is the weekly Freakonomics podcast from the authors of the self same titled book published in 2005.
The podcast takes the concept from the book, sifting through data to find amazing correlations, facts and information and taking it all to a new level or as they say – the hidden side of everything. Hosted by Stephen Dubner, with regular contributions from his co-author and Chicago University economist, Steven Levitt, it continues the theme of quirkiness that I loved in the three books (Freakonomics, SuperFreakonomics and the recently published Think like a Freak).
Recent episodes include an amazing game show (game shows are not my thing, but this was) titled Tell me something I don’t know. Others include Why does Norway buy so many Teslas (because of the tax rebates they get); Bribing your kids for better kids; The three hardest words in the English language (and they’re not I love you); The perfect crime and tons more.
But this podcast is more than just great minds entertaining us with amazing information that we’d never otherwise have found out; it is about the production. Great content is important but without great production nobody would listen and this podcast is as good as it gets. The beauty of audio (radio or podcast) is the old cliché, theatre of the mind, and they absolutely revel in it – producing the best audio shows I have ever listened to. You’ll find it all here and a new show comes out every Wednesday. Best of all, it’s free.
Find more details and subscribe here.
* – A podcast is essentially a radio show you download on demand using one of many podcast applications, either on your computer or mobile device.
