Podcast Recommendations for a Focused February
By Jonah Goldberg
Whether this year you are beginning to commute to work again, facing extra long drives through the snow to get groceries or renewing a commitment to daily walks or runs to make sure you leave your remote office, the right podcast can be a rewarding addition to your downtime. Here are three insightful and uniquely interesting podcasts to carry you through the rest of 2022.
The Knowledge Project
The Knowledge Project is one branch of the website Farnam Street, another lifelong learning platform featuring an array of articles and recommendations, with topics ranging from investing to decision making and interpersonal relationships. Farnam Street also puts out a weekly newsletter called Brain Food for over 300,000 readers.
The podcast is hosted by Shane Parrish, a former Canadian intelligence expert and founder of Farnam Street. Under the motto, “Mastering the best of what other people have already figured out,” Parrish leads in-depth conversations with guests including Ray Dalio, Apolo Ohno and Adam Grant. Episodes are one-to-two hours long, with many barely brushing over the hour mark.
Consider starting with #37: “Getting Better by Being Wrong with Annie Duke.” Duke is a former professional poker player and a cognitive psychologist, and that combined background makes for a fascinating perspective on making decisions under pressure.
Made You Think
Made You Think is co-hosted by Nat Eliason, founder of the SEO content marketing agency Growth Machine and now a regular guest on others’ podcasts to talk about the immense success of his personal blog, and Neil Soni, a consultant who is the author of “The Startup Gold Mine” and creator of the SaaS app Open Innovation Leads.
Each episode is centered on a book, though the discussion often branches out to business trends, philosophy and challenges the hosts are facing in their own entrepreneurial ventures. Books featured include “Antifragile,” about cultivating resilience personally, professionally and in investing; and “The War on Normal People,” Andrew Yang’s proposal for universal basic income, an episode that was followed by an interview with the then-presidential candidate. Episodes average at 90 minutes.
Consider starting with #18: “What Chefs Can Teach You About Productivity: Everything in Its Place by Dan Charnas.” Charnas joins the hosts for their discussion on the principles of “mise-en-place,” the system that allows chefs to churn out high-quality work with incomparable efficiency, and how to apply them in your professional and personal life.
On Principle
On Principle is Olin’s own podcast, currently airing its second season. Each episode interviews a business leader about a pivotal moment in their company, then provides commentary and broader expertise on the decisions from an Olin professor.
On Principle is hosted by Kurt Greenbaum, a former journalist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sun-Sentinel and Chicago Tribune, and communications director at Olin. Guests have included John Mozeliak, the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations, discussing a high-stakes negotiation after a victorious 2011 World Series, and Alaina Maciá, CEO of the broker of medical transportation services MTM, discussing trying to rebuild her company’s technology foundations without sacrificing their growth. Episodes are all under 45 minutes.
Consider starting with #4: “Out of the Breach.” Paulino do Rego Barros Jr. describes his actions to overcome the 2017 Equifax crisis when hackers breached the credit bureau and accessed the records and personal information of more than 140 million consumers. Do Rego Barros stepped in as interim CEO soon after, and he needed to restore the trust of all Equifax stakeholders and policymakers. Then Kurt Dirks, vice chancellor of international affairs for the university and the Bank of America Professor of Leadership, recalls his own reaction to the crisis and shares current research about how corporations should approach damage control.