NO, I’m not saying podcast can replace music, nothing can. Music is the only medium that makes you feel good about the shitty mood you’re in. Music is so powerful that I don’t feel like I need to explain why it is. But, what I am saying is for people who listen to music by default whenever they’re alone, traveling or doing something unimportant just to kill time, podcast can be a great alternative to entertain, educate and also keep you company.
I have an hour drive to college and a specific playlist that I put on every time I get on my bus, after which I completely zone out. I don’t necessarily enjoy the music per se, but mostly music acts as a white noise to silence all the outside noise. When I say I don’t enjoy the music, it’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that I’ve heard them so many times and unless I’m in a certain type of mood, they act as filler music.
The truth is, I always used to hear about podcasts from different creators I follow, but apart from a few video version of podcast I watched on YouTube, I don’t really follow the podcast space or its creators. It was mainly because I saw podcast as another entertainment medium that’s going to suck my free time. That is still true for talk show, content creator interviews and other types of entertainment podcasts. But I mostly want to talk about the ones that provide you with some kind of real knowledge.
It was actually an article about the absurd amount of money podcast creators made, that made me dwell into the podcast space, and I’m thankful I did. The amount of useful stuff you can find is insane, it’s very similar to YouTube in that regard but without the fear of wasting your entire afternoon in a random rabbit hole. You click a podcast, listen to it and that’s it. I feel way more in control with podcasts, than with YouTube.
I now view podcasts as a convenient knowledge platform at my fingertips, that weirdly sits between reading and watching. If you are someone like me with a tight schedule, but is always hungry for more knowledge, podcast may be the thing you’ve been looking for. And if you are completely new to the space here are a few I listen to, that got me started:
The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast (Financial Tips and Business)
The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish (Interviews with great minds)
Huberman Lab (Health and fitness)
Naval (Life, Happiness and Truth)