What I'm Listening To (Podcast Edition)

Last year, I started working at my current job which is located in downtown Houston. Several days a week I arrive during the morning rush and leave during the afternoon rush, making my time on the road a total of 2 hours each day. Luckily, I found solace in the morning in The Roula and Ryan Show on 104.1KRBE. But in the afternoon, podcasts have saved me. I have become obsessed, tried different ones, and I've picked 5 that are my favorites and I always listen to.

Disclaimer: The Serial Podcast is not on my list because it has been so widely shared and recommended that I feel most people have already listened to it or heard about it. But if you haven't listened- it's amazing, so what are you doing with your life?

Movie BS with Bayer and Snider is the podcast I look forward to the most each week. These two movie reviewers are good friends and they are fun to listen to. They are not afraid to disagree with each other while still keeping things light and fun. They try to see all of the movies that come out each week, not just the big blockbusters. So if you're an indie movie person, they've got you covered. They are currently in the middle of their annual Summer Box Office Challenge, a bet where each of them picked 10 movies in May that they thought would make the most money on their opening weekends. Start your weekend off with these guys. I've been warned away from some bad films because of them, so for that, I thank them.

Episodes Air:  Every Friday morning

Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig is a randomly funny podcast hosted by Grace Helbig of the YouTube channel it'sGrace as well as the actress in Camp Takota(see Netflix) and her new show, The Grace Helbig Show on E! She is part of the Hannah Hart, Mamrie Hart, and Grace Helbig power trio on YouTube, so how could you go wrong? Here she has a guest each week, usually someone with a large internet presence, and asks them a series of random, fun questions. My favorite question she regularly asks has become, "if you could throw cold spaghetti on someone, who would you choose?" Check out her 'Ep. 1: Tyler Oakley' and 'Ep. 27- Steve Zaragoza' for my favorite funny episodes to get the vibe of her show.

Episodes Air: (usually) every Monday

TED Radio Hour (NPR) is something for you if you don't like sitting through some of those long TED talks. Or do you not know which TED talks to listen to? Maybe you just want to hear more TED talks in general. Each week the host, Guy Raz, will have a theme, and then talk to 5 people who have given talks on the TED stage about topics related to the theme. He interviews each person and plays a clip from their original TED talk. The beauty of this podcast is that you can choose to listen to only the topics that you care about. They range in subjects from technology, science, psychology, art, etc. Recently, I've particularly enjoyed listening to 'Animals and Us' and 'Shifting Time'. This podcast is so universal, because no matter your age, occupation, or interests, everyone can stand to learn something and listen to new ideas.

Episodes Air: Every Thursday or Friday

Nerdist is a podcast that I was pleasantly surprised to find, and it's one that I wish I would have discovered much earlier. The host, Chris Hardwick, is known for many things, but I know him from Talking Dead and as the host of many Comic Con panels. A range of guests come on each show from writers, actors, musicians, and comedians. There are often guests whose names I don't initially recognize, but I end up being happy I listed to the episode (such as the 'Scott Weinger' episode- who turned out to be an actor on Full House and the voice of Aladdin). Chris and his team are so funny (after all, they are comedians). My favorite recent episodes are 'Andy Samberg Returns' and 'The Stand Up Cluster 2015'. Enjoy your burrito!

Episodes Air: Twice a week

Psychobabble with Tyler Oakley & Korey Kuhl is a fun and silly show that Tyler Oakley fans will love. For those unfamiliar, Tyler and Korey have a big presence on the internet, Tyler with over 7 million subscribers on his YouTube channel. The guys have been friends since college and they alternate episodes between talking about their lives and discussing pop culture. While it is usually just the two of them, they occasionally have guests. It is the shortest podcast on this list and it makes me laugh out loud. They also make the podcast interactive, calling their listeners "cyclebabies" and encouraging people to live tweet while they listen. Some of my favorite episodes are 'PB 7: Celebrity Conspiracy Theories' and 'PB 34: Hannah Hart- Our Biggest Superfan'.

Episodes Air Every Tuesday

Listen responsibly!