3 Podcasts that Are Slowly Changing My Life

These are the podcasts that I am currently devoted to on Spotify… and they are giving me some serious inspiration!

How I, a Non-Listener, Was Introduced to Podcasts

I was never one to solely listen to information or stories or advice, so audiobooks and podcasts never really grabbed my attention. That is, until I finally realized that I was missing out on a lot of gems, and that I should get on the bandwagon while their popularity was rising.

At around the same time, I was beginning to make my content consumption more intentional as a mid-year resolution, to spend my time more wisely. This was all due to the fact that I began reading self-help books (I hate that phrase). Not just any of them, mind you, but the ones that I saw to be the most impactful for other people who wanted to get past a procrastination slump like I did.

I think that reading the wrong, poorly thought out self-help book can actually be very detrimental to your vision of yourself and your life, so I would recommend digging around quite a bit before you commit to one.

I will write an article on that exact topic some time soon, with a few of my favorite recommendations.

Anyway, while searching for more engaging content that I could consume intentionally, I decided to try something new and explore the world of podcasts. After picking out some that sounded interesting, I began to listen, normally doing it while getting some fresh air during the quarantine or while stretching in the mornings.

I absolutely cannot just sit and listen, of course, so I even made some pressed petal bookmarks (I will write up a how-to one of these days…) and worked on some illustrations for a marketing campaign that I am doing.

Here are some that I have loved so far. I am sure that there are so many more that I will enjoy — once I discover them — but for now, these have been really impactful in getting me to think in a different way and gain a fresh perspective, especially about the ideas that have been handed down to us from history. Yes, that might be the general theme of these three.

I find that I can gain value from every minute that I spend listening to the content that they put out, which makes me feel so much more productive and fulfilled.

The Art of Manliness

Yes, I know. Damla, you are not a man. Except, the “manliness” part of this podcast really means nothing except for the stereotypical masculine energy that tends to emanate from the material that they cover, which, let’s be honest, is all fun and games in small doses. I would recommend this podcast to all of us girls out there, because there is no reason that we cannot learn something new and valuable from the massive library of material that they have. Apart from the podcast, their website, with its extensive blog, is wonderful too. That was actually where I first found them, several years ago.

Their podcast archive is waiting to be explored by you 😀 Their articles on historical figures are also extremely engaging. One of my favorite pieces by them is the one called Theodore Roosevelt’s Advice on Reading, which is actually more of Teddy’s own words quoted by the website, but still.

Deviant Women

This podcast is all about the cool, interesting, and inspiring women from history, fiction, mythology, and the contemporary world. What more could a girl need? I would suggest the episode on Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, because she is one of my favorite writers ever, not just because of the story that she created but also because of the life that she lived and the triggers that led to her coming up with the story for what is probably one of the most iconic literary characters of all time.

Juana Inés de la Cruz is another recommendation from me, unsurprisingly, because I did lots of work on a research project for her in the last two years! I now feel connected to her in ways that I could not imagine before I started investigating her life and her passions, which caused a schism between her life as a Catholic nun and as a philosopher.

However, do not by any means feel constrained by these names — explore for yourself! I am sure that you will be able to find at least a few characters that absolutely speak to you, and then you can use them as guides for the types of decisions that you want to make and the kind of life you want to live.

The Troubadour Podcast

If you want to sit back and relax to some poetry but also want to hear some fascinating and relevant discussions about how and why humans create, then this is the podcast for you. The focus is on the historic artistic movement of Romanticism. Kirk Barbera, the host, describes the project in his own words:

“This podcast seeks to reach those of us who wish to improve our inner world, increase our stores of happiness, and yet not succumb to the mystical or the subjective.”

Therefore, it is a sweet combination of both Reason and Romanticism which might be refreshing for those of you who are looking for something more, and cannot find it in the New Age stores or the street corner fortune readers.

This last point also ties in well with The Art of Manliness, which has a similar aim in many of its episodes, so is also worth checking out if the idea of walking the path of the imagination while not losing touch with your dearly beloved faculties of reason sounds appealing to you.

That is all for today! I hope that you will enjoy these podcasts as much as I have these past few weeks — and even if you do not, I hope that you can find one that you really want to return to again and again. I also want to warn you that Deviant Women and The Troubadour Podcast both seem to have paused the uploads, but I never care about being up-to-date with those anyway, since the format is such that you can go back and visit all of the many previous episodes without any loss of relevance!

Happy listening 🎧