Chris Stanford

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Podcast listening

I’ve recently returned from a week of vacation in the U.S., which involved 10 hours of free time on a roundtrip trans-Atlantic flight. I won’t say I “caught up” on podcasts, but I made a very small dent in my backlog. My current rotation, which, as ever, features a heavy dose of tech, self-improvement and pop culture:

  • Art of Manliness: A goofy title but some useful advice. Specifically, I recommend this episode about decluttering your digital life.

  • Automators: As someone who spends a fair amount of time at a computer, I’m interested in off-loading repetitive tasks to the machine. Nevertheless, I’m a novice, and this podcast offers a good introduction with practical tips.

  • Conversations With Tyler: I’ve been a fan of Tyler Cowen’s since discovering his guide to ethnic restaurants in the D.C. area years ago. He’s an economist with wide-ranging interests whose interviews with similarly smart people rarely disappoint.

  • The Ezra Klein Show: Another podcast in the category of “smart people discuss the things they know about.” I’ve admired Ezra since his time at the Washington Post, where we overlapped but didn’t meet.

  • The Incomparable: I’m a nerd/geek who enjoys pop culture, and this is a podcast by nerds/geeks who enjoy pop culture.

  • Literary Friction: Book talk and recommendations. Good for getting me out of my comfort zone and introducing me to the unfamiliar.

  • Reply All: The popular celebration of all that’s wacky, weird and wonderful on the internet, with a human heart.