Podcast hack
You learn how to speed read growing up, why not speed listen? Listen to your podcasts at either 1.5x or 2x speed. The brain can comprehend ~200 words per minute visually, but can comprehend ~400 words per minute audibly. All of a sudden that 45 minute podcast becomes much easier to tackle and it my secret to be able to listen to so many.
Top podcasts
Here are some of Rob Weidner's favorite podcasters to listen to while working out, driving to set, or just looking for inspiration.
- Tim Ferriss
- Tim's interview style and formula is one of the best I have ever heard. His admiration of getting world class performers on his podcasts and ask them a beautiful balance of unique questions particularly relating to their field, but then always ended with a similar handful of rapid fire questions, make for easy relatability to his eclectic guests.
- The School Of Greatness with Lewis Howes
- Lewis Howes was a professional football player that after a freak injury decided to dedicate his life to teaching greatness. The guests he brings on his show vary from hustling mogul Gary Vaynerchuk to sleep expert Shawn Stevenson. His style is similar to Tim Ferriss, but the conversations are more casual and always have a video version as well. Lewis also has a great newsletter that you can subscribe to in which he sends out awesome content like his top ten podcasts ever which is a great way to start listening.
- Planet Money
- Short and sweet episodes all relating to economics, told using brilliant storytelling techniques and micro-case studies. Particularly enjoyable title examples that also do a good job describing the variety of topics include, "How The Government Set Up A Fake Bank To Launder Drug Money" and "The Tale of the Onion King".
- Art of Charm
- The Art of Charm (AOC) is an awesome company designed on improving the social, professional, and personal lives of men. The have managed to get various billionaires on their show as well as the who's who of disruptive business including Gary Vaynerchuk, Simon Sinek, and Ramit Sethi.
- TED Radio Hour
- Technology, Education, Design. The first thing you learn on this podcast in the intro is what TED even stood for. If you enjoy a good TED talk video, these made-for-listening episodes will do the same trick.
- Optimal Living Daily
- Quick awesome nuggets of greatness that are usually under 10 minutes long, but are narrated blog posts, stories, or articles from across the internet. Think of it as a curated list of pick-me-ups.
- The Smart Passive Income Podcast
- This podcast is very similar to Tim Ferriss' mentality of a "4-hour workweek" which is an ultimate goal for many, but even more unthinkable for most. Focused on various people who have setup their lives to have enough passive income to do whatever they feel like wherever they feel like whenever they feel like. Very admirable and there are many episodes in the archives to dive into.
- TGIM - The Essential Podcast for Ambitious Entrepreneurs
- We hear people congratulate each other around the workplace, classroom, or house that they had made it to Friday. TGIM is for the people who get really excited about Monday and a new week of opportunities. Shopify is putting out a lot of great material to accompany their fantastic e-commerce platform.
- Shopify Masters
- For those who run their own business, specifically ones that have an e-commerce aspect to them, this podcast is for you. Legendary guests share their "success" with the Shopify platform from Kickstarter champions to moms and college students wanting a way to make passive side income.
- Filmmakers Drinking Bourbon
- You get what you expect with this one. Slightly more comedic than the others on this list, staying on top of the filmmaking industry is important and there are great insights to be found here.
- Modern Cinematographer
- Matt Workman at CinematographyDB has made it his mission to pull the curtain aside from modern day filmmaking, specifically from the cinematography standpoint. Matt's conversations run the table on all aspects of a camera person's interest, specifically his episode about determining your day rate with DP Phil Arntz who made the epic Emirates #hellojetman video that went viral.
- Serial
This podcast raised the standard and popularity of all podcasts with its success of season 1 following the confusing and convoluted conviction of Adnan Syed. Season 2 is all about the controversial American POW Bowe Bergdahl who was "exchanged" with five detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
- Stuff You Should Know
- When you have no idea what to listen to, Stuff You Should Know is as the title states, a podcast that should not be overlooked. This show covers the topics that everyone should know of or at least heard of, but probably have not taken the time to look into.
- 99% Invisible
- Design is everywhere in our lives. It is on our websites, phones, and magazine covers. Aside from the obvious though, there are many other types of design all around us from interaction design to urban planning and even golf course and nature preserve design. 99% invisible covers what goes into all of the invisible designs that people take for granted. Super interesting and informative.
- American Cinematographer Podcasts
- Every cinematographer or wannabe cinematographer has probably declared the American Cinematographer magazine their bible of choice and this podcast is a phenomenal accompaniment to the excellent content covered in their print form.
- The #AskGaryVee Show Podcast
- Gary Vaynerchuk is a hustler in the business world and was an early investor in some of the biggest companies today. Starting off with his business career making YouTube videos about wine to now he uses his success to run Vayner Media whose clientele include all-star athletes, grammy-winning musicians, and Fortune 100 companies.