The Five Best Podcasts To A Better YOU in 2024

 Podcasts can impact our lives in many ways. Some listeners want to escape and be entertained with audio fiction such as Underwater. Some listeners want to laugh and forget their student loans, healthcare co-pays, and escalating rent with a podcast such as How Did This Get Made. Still others, want to be learning things with a podcast like Stuff You Should Know. 

 Podcast listeners are an aspirational bunch. They view life as an ongoing, immersive inquiry in which they learn how to adjust the parameters of the experiment. In short, podcast listeners want to be better people, and they turn to their most familiar and useful resource -- podcasts.

Now, the five podcasts here are not happiness podcasts or self-help podcasts. Why, you say? Happiness is a highly personal endeavor, as is helping yourself. Being a better person has a social and interpersonal focus. In short, your human community is better off with you than without you. 

 There's a group of accounts on TikTok that follow explosions by Karens. It's disheartening and depressing that people act so despicably. Conservative podcasts attack people for being gay, transsexual, drinking a brand of beer they're boycotting, and not calling the NFL's Washington Commanders by their old, racist name. That's dispiriting.

But have no fear, Robert Peterpaul is here. 

The Art of Kindness (AOK) bills itself as "A positively star-studded podcast that converses with and celebrates artists from all areas of the entertainment industry (Film, TV, Broadway, etc.) who use their platform to make the world a better place. Join The AOK as we sprinkle positivity around like confetti and get to the bottom of what kindness really means through compassionate conversations."

In every episode, host Robert Peterpaul elicits tales from Broadway people about how they sprinkle kindness throughout their world. Peterpaul always asks each guest, "What does kindness mean to you?" He also asks guests how they react to people praising them.

Robert Peterpaul is one of those rare hosts who can be so engaging that, as a listener, you say, "I could listen to him for the entire episode."

Peterpaul could probably carry a one-man show on Broadway. I'd call it, "Peterpaul on Kindness." If there was a blackout in New York City, Peterpaul could probably power all of Manhattan with his pent-up, personal energy.

On his 100th episode, Peterpaul interviewed the show business icon Carol Burnett. After all the questions about Burnett's legendary career, Peterpaul asked the most important: "How did Burnett spread kindness in the world?"

Anger is the lubricant of discontent and eventually morphs into violence.  Listen to The Art Of Kindness. Be kind to yourself and to others.

My second recomendation is The Open To Debate podcast, which plays a critical role in our society today.

Open to Debate is a call to action: All of us should keep an open mind to solve the complex problems we face as individuals and as a nation.

Open to Debate is a reminder: To solve our greatest problems, we must operate in a contempt-free zone. We need to be able to sit in the same room and exchange ideas with people we disagree with. Being open to debate is a gesture of respect for the good faith arguments of those we disagree with, for the intelligence and integrity of those who watch or listen, and for the value of debate done right.

Open to Debate is a duty: The future of American Democracy depends on the strength of communities to work together and overcome our differences. “Us vs. Them” thinking is destructive to our social fabric, and we need a national model to guide debates to a healthy and free exchange of ideas.

The mission of Open to Debate is to restore critical thinking, facts, reason, and civility to America’s public square. Open to Debate is a platform for intellectually curious and open-minded people to engage with others holding opposing views on complex issues.

Check out Open To Debate. Perhaps you'll have a prejudice exposed or a firmly held belief questioned. 

"The unexamined life is not worth living" is a famous dictum supposedly uttered by the Greek philosopher Socrates at his trial for impiety and corrupting youth, for which he was subsequently sentenced to death.

Open To Debate can help us examine our lives, our beliefs, our biases, and dogmatism.

My third recommendation is Preconceived, which exists to question the current state of affairs. Why are we groomed to accept norms as they are? Are we all destined to go to school, find a stable job, get married, have kids, then enjoy our retirement and older age? Do we hold certain beliefs because we value them, or because someone else told us to?

By challenging the paradigms that shape our world view, we discover what we want and why life is worth living. Yes, agency can be overwhelming. 

"But when we simply ask the question 'why', we are free to take control and live our most authentic lives," explains Zale Mednick, the podcast's host, who is a Canadian ophthalmologist with an eye and ear for insightful interviews.

In my interview with Mednick earlier this year, he discussed how preconceived notions hurt us and damage our connection to others.

"Echo chambers and social media have made it easier than ever to not think differently, and to just follow the status quo. I’ve been discouraged at times by the response to certain episodes I’ve recorded. I posted the episode regarding Transgender Athletes with Joanna Harper on our YouTube channel. Furthermore, I thought Joanna spoke very articulately and presented a balanced viewpoint on what many consider to be a controversial topic. Some of the comments to the video were hateful and rude to Joanna, and it was clear that those writing the comments hadn’t even listened to the episode; they just saw the subject line and started typing away."

During the year, episodes of note included reimagining marriage, life extension, the truth about recycling, our attention span, and trends in parenting.

Mednick continues: "I think one of the biggest problems in society is that we don’t listen enough. People are often so set in expressing their opinions, that it feels like they aren’t hearing what is being said to them. When observing conversations, whether on the news or in our own lives, it can feel like people aren’t really listening, but just waiting for their turn to interject with what they think."

For all the stubbornness out there, there are people who do want to listen, have honest conversations, and just be better people.  

My fourth recommendation relates to our society's inability to adequately address mental health. 

Speaking of Psychology is an audio podcast series highlighting some of the latest, most important, and relevant psychological research being conducted today.

Produced by the American Psychological Association, the objective of these podcasts is to help listeners apply the science of psychology to their everyday lives.

The host of the podcast is Kim Mills, who is the senior director of strategic external communications and public affairs for the American Psychological Association (APA), where she has worked since 2007.

As a host, Mills is as dry as Lake Mead will be soon, with a voice I can only describe as molasses with a touch of gravel. Having made that criticism, let me say that Mills is an incredibly good host. I know what you're thinking. How can both attributes be accurate? 

Easy. Although Mill's voice and sonic demeanor may not trigger a dopamine release, her interviewing skills and her ability to ask bullseye target questions make her superb at unearthing valuable information from the guests. 

For example, the February 1 episode, How to live with bipolar disorder, not only revoked some persistent myths about the disorder via Dr. David Miklowitz but also offered listeners a stark, first-hand account from entertainment lawyer Terri Cheney, who suffers from the disorder. Mills and her guests shake us up with the knowledge that this disorder affects about four percent of the population but is mired in misunderstanding about its symptoms and treatment.

In the category of relevance, the episode called, Can a pathological liar be cured, offered listeners insight into the roots of the misinformation and disinformation that impacts social media and political dialogue. In the episode, the two guests, Dr. Drew Curtis and Dr. Christian L. Hart, explain that pathological liars often display their dishonesty with lies that are too incredible or inconsistent.

The example given is when Republican NY Congressman George Santos claimed his mother died at 9/11, but then later on, claimed she died a decade later. The guests assert that pathological lying should be classified as a mental health disorder. They also note that liars are more prevalent in professions such as sales -- timeshare, anyone? -- or politicians -- hello, my name is Donald Trump.

In the November 2, 2022, episode, Why you should apologize even when it's hard to, Mills interviews Dr. Karina Schumann, who details why apologizing is so important -- hear that, men -- and what makes a good apology. Schumann explains that offering an apology -- even a good one -- does not always mean forgiveness should be expected immediately.

Other recent topics covered include procrastination, living a single, happy life, why we care so much about fairness, and mass shootings.

What makes this podcast accessible to listeners without a psychology degree boils down to Kim Mills as the host, transforming academic blabber into understandable language, and the objective of the podcast, which seems to be using psychology as a valuable tool to interpret and manage our lives.

Check out Speaking of Psychology. You do not need a degree in psychology to listen. Just an open mind. 

My fifth recommendation is a podcast that refreshingly addressed the mistakes we make in life. What's even more surpsising is that the show spoke to a different celebrity every episode about the mistakes they've made. 

Consider what Albert Einstein once said about mistakes: “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”

People mess up all the time. We all do. That's why I'm excited about this podcast about screwing up royally.

 Interval Presents, Warner Music Group’s (WMG) in-house podcast network, released its new series in July called, Yeah, I F*cked That Up.

The interview series premiered with featured guests Kelly Rowland and Steven Van Zandt.

 

I listened to every episode but the first two episodes were so fresh and elegant in their narrative about "what I've would have different."

 

In Rowland's case, she is frank about her regret of not speaking up more as the group, Destiny's Child, went through personnel changes. Van Zandt reflects on leaving the E Street Band too early in his career.  Both episodes illustrate the need for greater reflection in our culture of past missteps.

 

The maestro here is the podcast's host is Grammy-nominated hitmaker Billy Mann, who has produced and written songs for some of the world’s most well-known musicians over the course of his 25+ year career. 

Mann dazzles as he carefully guides his guests through their journey of self-reflection. When you're a podcast host, and you're interviewing a guest about how they became a billionaire, you just ask a few perfunctory questions and enjoy the ride.

 

When you're talking to a guest about mistakes, screw-ups, or decisions they'd take back, the journey can get bumpy. Thankfully, Mann is a pilot who navigates the show even in the most intense storms.

Inspired by his personal experiences, host Mann delves into the humanity behind success in Yeah, I F*cked That Up, stripping away the polished exterior to explore stories of failure, redemption, and personal growth. In the episodes, Mann engages with a diverse lineup of famous guests who have weathered their fair share of struggles and professional setbacks during their careers. 

The full guest lineup included Kelly Rowland, Steven Van Zandt, Renée Elise Goldsberry, L.A. Reid, Liz Gillies, Aly & AJ, Hari Kondabolu, Evan Handler, Jill Kargman, Peter Asher, and Chely Wright.

According to Warner Music, "Yeah, I F*cked That Up aims to inspire, enlighten and entertain listeners with candid and revealing conversations as they learn from the brightest stars’ best—and worst—experiences building endurance on the way to the top." 

“In a small screen world of autotuning faces and voices where we tend to only post our highlights, my goal in creating this show is to remind listeners that it’s actually the scary, vulnerable moments of self-doubt and failure that often turn out to be the best breeding ground for growth and success,” expressed host Billy Mann.

Listen to Yeah, I F*cked That Up here. 

I listed this podcast last because it dredges up a key insight about life. Even if we don't make any major mistakes, we can better ourselves, make life better for others, and make the world a better place. 

And, if you want to know what your 2024 will be like, check out the  Psychic Scoop with Spirit Sis podcast. The Psychic Medium Steffi can delve into the forces influencing matters of love, career, and unforeseen cosmic surprises. 

"Let me see the palm of your hand. Yes, I see it all so clearly now. I can see your podcast feed. Hey, why are there not more indie podcasts on your feed?"

 

Photo by Andi Lindsay