There were only 11 podcasts on my playlist that I felt should be on the long list. Some of them were easy to drop. Others were harder to cut.
Those that didn’t make the list might be the kind of thing that really appeal to you, so here they are, with brief notes.
The Owner’s Mind with Chris Brogan
This used to be my favourite podcast. Then Chris went on a ex-military bender that went on too long for me. By the n-th former US Navy Seal, things had become pretty dull for me.
I also felt Chris was losing interest himself in the podcast. That’s just a personal feeling, rather than fact, though.
Mostly, Chris interviews people who have a new book to sell. Such guests are the kind of folk who crop up on other podcasts in my feed, where the conversation is, I find, much better.
Chris likes to keep it short. As a result, I often feel I don’t get much more than the blurb on the back of the guest’s book in terms of information. He doesn’t really dig very deep. A lot of people like that, given their schedules. I prefer a deeper, more complete discussion.
As a result of all these things, Chris’s podcast often feels like an infomercial to me.
One of the quirks of the podcast that I liked (and have blatantly copied) was his post credits chat. A secret part of the podcast where he spoke to his audience directly, read out emails, acknowledged folk. Recently, that space seems to have become his place to sell his own stuff. Nothing wrong with that of its self, but just not compelling listening.
If you’re looking for a show that is short and will give you a taster of current business and personal development thinking in the US, Owner’s Mind is a good place to start.
The Eelco de Boer Podcast
I wish I could have put this in my top five. If only because all of my top five are US podcasts. One European would have made me happy.
Eelco is a Dutch entrepreneur. When I listen, he makes me think of Adam Curry and Jeroen van Inkel, two disc jockeys I grew up with on the radio in Holland.
Eelco talks about entrepreneurship and gives advice on how to grow your business and improve your life.
The main reason The Eelco de Boer Podcast is outside the top five is one of personality. Eelco and I don’t really gel. His podcast persona is that of an uber-alphamale. Alphamales make me giggle. He likes to bring the tough love, tell it like it is. He’ll tell you to stop be ing a “pussy”. Real men lift weights. That sort of thing. I don’t get on well with people like that.
That doesn’t stop me listening. Because Eelco’s persona is so clear, I can pass what he says through that filter. Take the Eelco out, as it were. What’s left is useful. Enough for me to keep me listening, anyway.
TED Talks Audio
These are audio tracks from video recordings of TED Talks.
If you don’t know TED Talks, you’re in for a treat. You’ll find a trove of 15- to 20-minute talks by some of the most interesting and insightful people you could ever hope to encounter from all walks of life, talking about all manner of things. Often, what you hear is eye-opening. It will challenge your thinking and broaden your horizons.
The only reason this podcast didn’t get into the top five is because I get similar insight from another podcast—one that is designed for audio rather than merely the audio taken from a video.
Build Your Own Business Story Podcast
Another podcast hosted in English by someone from Holland. (Don’t let the language setting in iTunes put you off—it is in Engish).
Maaike van Dijk-Bokker’s podcast would have romped into the top five with ease were it not for one thing. It’s currently on hold. I do hope she returns to it.
Why is it so good?
This is one of the few podcasts that interviews people you won’t have heard of, but should. Interesting people who operate outside the space occupied by the “Big Names”. That makes them approachable. You can relate to these people. And, importantly, you are hearing something new and fresh. Not the same stuff from the same people everyone else has on their podcast.
Maaike, please come back.
The Bletchley Park Podcast
Like many people of my generation, I feel closely connected with World War II, despite the fact that it ended more than 20 years before I was even born. Nevertheless, it informed my upbringing. The outcome of the war determined the political and cultural context of the first decades of my life. It was also part of the national psyche in both England and Holland, where I grew up. Moreover, both my grandfathers acquitted themselves well in the terrible war years.
My English grandfather sailed on the Atlantic convoys from the start of the war onwards. I can’t imagine how awful the mutual worry for my separated grandparents must have been. My grandfather at the mercy of U-boats and the harsh sea. My grandmother vulnerable to air attacks. A family in their street died in a bombing raid.
In occupied Holland, my other grandfather joined the resistance. He would vanish for days. My Dutch grandmother hated that. I think she was resentful too, maybe. She was left to care for three children in Occupied Holland. They also hid in their home young men who had been called up to go to work camps in Germany. Ironically, they were forced to house a German officer in the front parlour at one point too. The war came to their house in other ways as well. My grandmother once described people dying on the street outside during fighting.
In any war, information about the enemy is vital. In the Atlantic, the war turned when the Allies were able to read encoded German messages. Many Allied convoy lives were saved. I’m sure the Allied cause in Europe benefited from the codebreaking too.
A lot of this work was done at a secret location in England. Bletchley Park. For decades, this was the untold part of the story of World War II. Now, the Bletchley Park Podcast is helping to tell that story. I’m not a regular listener, but when I do I learn about modest people with great talents doing a remarkable job they weren’t able to talk about or given credit for until very recently.
The podcast is also produced by my great friend Mark Cotton. If you’re looking to create a podcast, but don’t know how, I can’t recommend Mark highly enough as a producer. He helped immensely with one of my previous shows.
The Tuesday Club
My absolute favourite podcast.
This podcast is hilarious, uplifting and of absolutely no use to anybody who isn’t a supporter of Arsenal Football Club.
As such, it takes itself out of the running for major honours. Much like Arsenal do themselves, in fact.
Next up: The Top 5.
Life as a Visual Storyteller 