Lighten Your Lockdown: Podcast Edition

Have you discovered Podcasts yet?

Have you thought about Podcasts? In Spain, we are entering our third week of lockdown due to the COVID-19 virus. Like in many countries around the world, schools and businesses are closed, with the exception of key infrastructure and health industry workers.

So, many of us have more downtime to discover the plethora of podcasts that are available. (There are currently 30 million podcasts episodes!)

Podcasts are great because whatever subject or personality you are interested in, you can bet that there will be something for you.

What is a Podcast?

Not yet familiar? Let’s start at the beginning…

A podcast is a digitized audio file. Made available on the internet for download to a mobile or computer, they are typically recorded as a series. Subscription to the series usually initiates automatic downloads of new episodes.

But simply said, podcasts are the new radio!

Podcasts are free!

Thousands of podcasts are currently available covering the news, arts, music, health, education, business, politics and current affairs, pop culture, hobbies, sports, technology, and spirituality.

They are uploaded onto many popular listening platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast and Stitcher.

How to listen

I like to use the podcast app on my iPhone to search for, subscribe and to listen to my chosen podcasts. Easily synced to my iPad, laptop and car – the app also looks familiar to me as it’s part of iTunes.

Google Podcasts do the same job as Apple, and other listening platforms include Spotify or BBC iPlayer. You can also download to android devices. If your not sure how, start below:

Self-isolate with our Podcast recommendations

As with the Bora team’s Netflix Edition, we thought it may be helpful to each share our Top Three Podcast Recommendations so you can start or add to your podcast library something you may never have thought of listening to.

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Joe

That Peter Crouch Podcast: Join Tom Fordyce, Chris Stark and of course, Peter Crouch. They bring you their guide to being a professional footballer.

Marketing School Podcast: This podcast with Neil Patel and Eric Siu brings you 10 minutes of actionable marketing advice every single day. Get the right trips to take your business to the next level and get to work right away.

I Had Trials Once: A weekly football podcast hosted by two non-league strikers from recent years; Gareth Seddon and Jordan Hulme. The pair played together at Salford City under the Class of ’92. Joined by different guests each week, they share stories you won’t find elsewhere.

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Emma

Can’t believe I only get to pick 3!

Have you Heard George’s Podcast?: I will not do this justice. Its a mix of storytelling, music and downright genius. Created by ‘George the Poet’, it won 5 awards at the 2018 British Podcast Awards – in both Fiction and Non-Fiction categories.

The podcast takes on big themes – empowering George’s community, family, self-belief, crime, drugs, racism, inequality and international politics. Stylistically, the eight-part series is a mash-up: poetry, sketches, interviews, archive, music, performance and sometimes off-mike chat with his producer. It’s often difficult to know what’s real and what isn’t. And believe me, I’ve undersold it.

How to Fail: Based on her book, Elizabeth Day celebrates with her guests the things that haven’t gone right. In her one-to-one interviews, she explores with highly successful people what failure has taught them. Believing that it’s big moments in life often come through crisis and make us who we are yet we so often airbrush them out of our narrative. Favourite guests for me include Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lemn Sissay and David Baddiel – but if they aren’t you cup of tea you have 65 others to choose from.

The Guilty Feminist: ‘The show that explores our noble goals as 21st century feminists and the insecurities and hypocrisies that undermine them’. Hosted by comedian, Deborah Frances-White, it features an array of outstanding comedians, guests and musicians to explore the weekly topics. It starts each show with “I’m a feminist but…” and continues with each persons contradiction.

A favourite of mine goes, “I’m a feminist but… one time I went on a women’s rights march, and I popped into a department store to use the loo, and I got distracted trying out face cream. And when I came out the march was gone.” It’s hilarious but often inspires action and a call to arms. Listening to this show saw me hosting a young refugee from Afghanistan in my home for 3 months.

That’s my 3 but these narrowly missed the cut: Revisionist History (Malcolm Gladwell), Reasons to be Cheerful, and Griefcast.

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Patrick

All mine are from the BBC and more series than true podcasts:

You’re Dead To Me: Gregg Jenner brings together a historian and a comedian to learn about a significant historical event or person.

Evil Genius with Russell Kane: RK gets 3 comedians to vote on whether famous and controversial (deceased) people were evil or geniuses, He produces 3 lesser known facts about them as evidence that will ‘challenge what you thought you knew about them’. Highlights just how grey the world truly is. And how important good PR is!

The Infinite Monkey Cage: Brian Cox and Robin Ince host a panel consisting of scientists and a comedian. They discuss and explain all things science. I recommend the one about Quantum Theory!

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Tassos

I am a music lover. Therefore all podcasts below are about music. Here we go:

Broken Record: If you want to listen to what your favorite artists are up to, join Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, and Justin Richmond on Broken Record. The musicians you love talk about their life, inspiration, and craft. And of course, they play live your favorite songs.

NPR’s All Songs Considered: This weekly podcast brings you all the latest releases in the music industry. Hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton bring you the week’s best new music discoveries, including conversations with emerging artists, icons and more. Hear songs that can completely change your day. Directions for use: Turn up the volume.

BBC’s Desert Island Discs: Currently hosted by my all-time favorite Lauren Laverne.

This is the show where you can listen to famous or not so famous people discuss about their life and their desert island discs. Amazing variety of music styles from the longest running radio show of BBC.

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Jo (Me)

Duolingo Spanish Podcast: Improving my language skills while listening in Spanish to these riveting true-life stories feels like a really good use of my leisure time.

Hosted by Martina Castro, these stories are deeply personal and filled with cultural insights from within all of the Spanish speaking latin countries. Duolingo also produce podcasts in French.

The Joe Rogan Experience: I love comedic talk radio and interviews. Joe Rogan has this combination down to a tee with 1449 podcasts under his belt. There’s something about his easy style and Boston accent. I’m not a fan of all his opinions but he gets all the big guns in – those people that I want to hear. In my listening line up Bill Maher, Robert Downey Jr., and Joey Diaz. (FYI Joe’s podcasts are also available on You Tube).

Avina Wine Business Podcast: This one is a bit of a plug as I hosted and produced this podcast! This series of 18 podcasts is for both wine lovers and those in the industry of wine. The episodes cover starting your own champagne brand, wine and golf experiences, life with the vines, career changes into wine, millennial diversity in the industry and growing up in the business. There are lots of wine industry tips and social media highlights. Go on…give it a listen!

***my podcast listening tip – speed it up and listen faster!

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David B

Thank goodness for David’s wife! He didn’t think that he listened to any podcasts until his wife reminded him that they listen to the following two podcasts together 😂.

Gastropod: With Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley. Explores the science, experience and ongoing love of food.

Ologies: With Alie Ward. Free-wheeling exploration of different sciences and areas of studies, or “-ologies.”

Both are extremely informative and entertaining!

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Podcasts and Cybersecurity…

This wouldn’t be a Bora blog without us mentioning cybersecurity in some way. We, like Ask Leo, advise caution with all downloads. Here’s his episode on How Can I Tell If a Download is Safe.

For all you tech heads – Player FM have recently published (March 2020) their top 50 Best Cybersecurity Podcasts!

Talking of great podcasts, our Joe Pettit was recently interviewed by Jenny Radcliffe for Human Factor Security. Ironically (as this was recorded before the COVID-19 outbreak), Joe and Jenny discuss among other things, the benefits of remote working, especially across different time zones.

We also recommend Tripwire’s new Cybersecurity Podcast hosted by VP of Product Management and Strategy, Tim Erlin.

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And lastly, if you are interested in some cool Podcast statistics, look no further than this great infographic below by Music Oomph.