Hey – this is Pat. I am sure that a lot of people have extra helpings of anxiety right now — I know I do. One thing that has helped calm my brain is listening to podcasts.

Here’s a quick rundown of some podcasts that I have been listening to recently, helping me keep my sanity through this pandemic. Most of these are music-related, as I am pretty obsessed with listening to stories about songwriting and also the Beatles. But there are a few non-music podcasts that also have been helping to keep the anxiety in check, either because they are funny, or they are providing good information about the world, or just something interesting to listen to.

Enjoy! If you have suggestions, feel free to drop a note through the Contacts page! Thanks!

(Click on the images to get more info.)

Music Podcasts

	Sodajerker on Songwriting. These guys have set the gold standard for interviewing songwriters and musicians about their craft. You can tell that artists love to be interviewed by Simon & Brian because they do their homework and ask really great and insightful questions. With more than 150 interviews, it seems like they have interviewed just about everyone (although I’m still waiting for them to interview Chetes and Ken Stringfellow, but they know that :). I have listened to every episode they have put out. If you are looking to binge something, this is a great place to start!
	Song Exploder. Artists decompose one of their songs to the piece parts and show how it comes together. Really cool glimpse “behind the scenes” of songcraft and recordings. Also a very eclectic set of artists. This is another podcast where I will listen to every episode, even if I’m not familiar with the artists. Very engaging, very well produced episodes.
	Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcom Gladwell, etc. These are really candid and interesting interviews with musicians about their process, or backstories about records, etc. Rick Rubin has such amazing history in the music biz, and loves music so much. It is really cool to hear him engage with these bands/artists.
	My Favourite Elliott Smith Song. Each episode features a prominent musician talking about their favorite ES song, as well as how ES has influenced their own music. I am fan of Elliott Smith, so of course this is on my list. But the interviews are great, and it has been interesting to hear how ES has impacted other artists. Recommended even if you are not already a fan of Elliott Smith…
	I am the EggPod. One of the two best Beatles podcasts out there. In each episode, host Chris Shaw talks with a super-fan about a Beatles record or solo record. This is probably my current “go to” podcast if I need a break. Partly because the subject matter is great, but mostly because Chris Shaw is a fantastic host and gets really interesting and engaging guests. I think I could listen to Chris Shaw read the phone book and find it engaging 🙂
	Nothing is Real – A Beatles Podcast. This is my other favorite podcast about the fab four. In each episode  Jason Carty and Steven Cockcroft go deep on some aspect of the Beatles career (a record, a time period, and event, etc). The hosts are extremely knowledgeable, and are passionate about the Beatles and everything Beatles-adjacent.
	Chris and Rick Talk Guitars. Two local Seattle-area guitar players talk about different aspects of guitars, gear, playing, modding, etc. Sometimes it is hit and miss, but for the most part I find their discussions really fun to listen to. They are good friends with a long history being guitar geeks and if nothing else it is great to hear how passionate they are about guitars. Plus one of the hosts has my same guitar amp (a rare transition model 1964 Fender Princeton) so that’s kind of cool.
	U Talkin U2 2 Me? aka RU Talkin REM RE: Me? aka <something about RHCP> aka U Talkin Talking Heads 2 My Talking Head? This is a completely absurd but entertaining series by Scott Aukerman (Comedy Bang! Bang!) and Adam Scott (Parks & Rec, tons of other things). It started as a U2 podcast where they would do an episode on each album, for each of U2s records. Once they were done with U2, they did a series on REM (where I found it). After REM they started Red Hot Chili Peppers, but bailed after the first episode and switched to Talking Heads. The episodes are absurd and bizarre and funny, but when they talk about the records the discussions are really interesting and they are both very knowledgeable and big fans. If you are a fan of one of these bands and can deal with some of the strangeness, it is really a great podcast.

Other Podcasts

	The Adam Buxton Podcast. Adam is a comedian, actor, TV personality, etc in the UK. Each episode he interviews someone (usually an actor, comedian or musician). He’s a great interviewer, has really interesting guests and stories, and has great rapport with his guests. Usually the episodes are both interesting and funny. His recent interview with Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien was one of the best interviews I’ve heard in while.
	Binge Mode Weekly. From The Ringer, this podcast started out as a 60-episode binge of Game of Thrones, where in the run-up to Season 7 of GOT, the hosts watched all 60 prior episodes of the show and for each episode did a 1-hour podcast debrief/discussion. Their depth of knowledge from both the show and the books is amazing, and the original GOT episodes were great. I found this while I was recently binge-ing the entire run of GOT. I had never seen it before, and watched all 73 episodes in about 45 days. I found Binge Mode along the way, and it was very helpful to understand some of the details and complexity of the show. They have moved on to other TV shows and movies, such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, Mandalorian, West World, etc. Pretty consistently good, especially if you are interested in whatever they are talking about.
	Today Explained by Vox Media. There are a lot of decent daily topical podcasts (The Daily, What a Day, News O’Clock, etc) but this one continues to be my “go to”. They have good, well-researched explainers of topical issues. No agendas, interesting topics, good sense of humor. I’ve learned a lot listening to this one.
	Lions Led By Donkeys. This one is a bit out there, but I really like it. In each episode, Joe (host) explains some historic battle or military event to one of his co-hosts, over cocktails. Joe has a very deep understanding of history, and as a veteran of GWOT his personal experiences add a lot to the narrative. Funny and educational. Kind of like hour-long “drunk history” episodes. “The Lions Led By Donkeys podcast is a military history podcast for laughing at the worst military failures, inept commanders, and crazy stories from throughout the history of human conflict.”
	Reply All. Kind of a tech geeky podcast about interesting aspects of internet culture and experiences, chasing weird stories, etc. If nothing else, I suggest you listen to the episode about The Case of the Missing Hit. It is pretty remarkable story with many twists and turns — it may be one of my favorite podcast episodes ever.
	Wind of Change. This is more of a documentary than regular podcast, but it is a really interesting story that is told very well. The premise: the host is trying to figure out if the CIA wrote “Wind of Change” by the Scorpions as a piece of cold war propaganda. There is a lot more to it than that, and it is a very engaging story and investigation. I listened to the whole thing twice, it was that good.