This isn’t my first time to this rodeo (of trying to narrow down my favorite podcasts). I wrote up lists in 2018, 2017, 2014, and also published an article about podcasting in the University of Austin’s Flow Journal.

Each time I start a new, annual list, I avoid looking at the prior year’s lists. I want to avoid being influenced by prior year’s posts and start with fresh eyes. Here are the shows that came to mind for this year’s list, by category.

I still marvel at how amazing it is that we can have all these learning opportunities for free – on our smart devices – wherever we are. If you haven’t ever listened to a podcast, it is easy to do. Once you start, I suspect you won’t ever turn back…

Teaching and Higher Ed

Gettin’ Air with Terry Greene – Terry prepares for each interview with care and asks authentic questions about open education.

Teach Better – Doug and Edward bring on superb guests who help to challenge us to be better at teaching.

The Black Goat – These psychologists help others in their field to navigate higher education. Even though my discipline isn’t in psychology, I learn a lot from every episode.

Leading Lines – “…a podcast on educational technology in higher education” from the expert podcasters at Vanderbilt.

Tea for Teaching – “a series of informal discussions of innovative and effective practices in teaching and learning. Hosted by John and Rebecca, who run the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the State University of New York at Oswego.”

EdSurge On Air – “A weekly podcast about the future of education, featuring insightful conversations with educators, tech innovators and scholars, hosted by EdSurge's Jeffrey R. Young and Sydney Johnson.”

News and Politics

Amicus, with Dalia Lithwick – smart conversation about the law.

The Gist, with Mike Pesca – Mike cracks me up on a regular basis and challenges my mind.

Skimm This – Concise, engaging overview of what’s happening in the news. Recommended by my students.

Pod Save America – “A no-bullshit conversation about politics hosted by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor that breaks down the week’s news and helps people figure out what matters and how to help.”

Political Gabfest – Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the week’s politics in an entertaining and informative way.

The Daily – “Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, hosted by Michael Barbaro and powered by New York Times journalism.”

Pod Save the People – “Organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson explores news, culture, social justice, and politics through deep conversations with influencers and experts, and the weekly news with fellow activists Brittany Packnett and Sam Sinyangwe, and writer Clint Smith.”

On the Media – “WNYC’s weekly investigation into how the media shapes our worldview.”

Technology and Science

Automators – “Automation makes your life easier and everyone can do it. We tell you how.” (Mac-centric, though also covers web services that enable automation).

Mac Power Users – “L earn about getting the most from your Apple technology with focused topics and workflow guests. Creating Mac Power Users, one geek at a time since 2009.”

Reply All – “A podcast about the internet’ that is actually an unfailingly original exploration of modern life and how to survive it.” – The Guardian

Radio Lab – “Radiolab, with Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, is a radio show and podcast weaving stories and science into sound and music-rich documentaries.”

Parsing Science – “The unpublished stories behind the world’s most compelling science, as told by the researchers themselves.”

Mind-expanding Shows

Hidden Brain – “Hidden Brain Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.” (Thanks for recommending it such a long time ago, Isabeau Iqbal.

Armchair Expert – “celebrates the messiness of being human.” Hosted by Dax Shepard. Recommended by John Warner on Teaching in Higher Ed episode 233 (he warned us, though…).

This American Life – “This American Life is a weekly public radio program and podcast. Each week we choose a theme and put together different kinds of stories on that theme.” (One of the all-time greatest!)

On Being – “A Peabody Award-winning public radio show and podcast. What does it mean to be human? How do we want to live? And who will we be to each other? Each week a new discovery about the immensity of our lives. Hosted by Krista Tippett.”

Code Switch – “Code Switch is a race and culture outlet and a weekly podcast from American public radio network NPR.” Recommended by Rob Parke on Teaching in Higher Ed episode 126.

Business, Marketing, and Economics

Planet Money – “The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, “Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy.” Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.”

Marketplace – “…helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. ”

Akimbo – “A Podcast from Seth Godin. Akimbo is an ancient word, from the bend in the river or the bend in an archer's bow. … Akimbo's a podcast about our culture and about how we can change it. About seeing what's happening and choosing to do something.”

Coaching for Leaders – “Leaders Aren't Born, They're Made. It's a myth that leadership skills can't be learned. Almost nobody is a born leader. Most leaders I know learned how to lead through the school of hard knocks, good training, years of hard work, effective coaching, and great mentors.” (Hosted by this guy I know – who I happen to be married to – Dave Stachowiak.)

Work and Life

Radical Self Trust Podcast Channel from Katie Linder – “The Radical Self-Trust (RST) podcast channel is a collection of content dedicated to helping you seek self-knowledge, nurture your superpowers, playfully experiment, live your core values with intention, practice loving kindness toward yourself and others, and settle into your life's purpose.”

Women at Work – Produced by Harvard Business Review. It was on hiatus for a while – and is now back. Excellent interviews to helps us all fulfill our potential with excellence and joy!

Worklife, with Adam Grant – “Organizational psychologist Adam Grant takes you inside the minds of some of the world’s most unusual professionals to explore the science of making work not suck. From learning how to love criticism to harnessing the power of frustration, one thing’s for sure: You’ll never see your job the same way again.”

GTD – “Our GTD podcasts are here to support you at every stage of your GTD practice. … The podcasts include personal and professional stories, as well as practical tips about GTD systems for desktop and mobile, using apps and paper. Start listening now and you'll be well on your way to stress-free productivity.”

Focused – Great productivity show, hosted by David Sparks and Mike Schmitz.

The Productivity Show – The team from Asian Efficiency helps us up our game on this practical podcast.

Look and Sound of Leadership with Tom Henshel – Tom is a former actor turned executive coach – and he gives us superb advice on how to be better leaders in this concise and thoughtful podcast.

Your Turn

What are your favorite podcasts lately and what makes them so good?

This column was originally posted on EdSurge. It is reposted here with permission. The following is the latest installment of the Toward Better Teaching advice column. You can pose a question for a future column here.

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Dear Bonni, My question is how to prepare yourself for a doctorate in leadership in higher ed, even when you are over 50! I am a former high-tech executive with an MBA, turned severe special needs elementary educator, mother of 7 (4 in college, 3 in high school) who is looking at that next step in my career. I am entering a doctorate in Leadership in Higher Ed program in the fall and am working hard at preparing myself. I have created what I’m calling my “prep syllabus” and hope to set a solid foundation for myself. I’ve filled my podcast app with 5 plus podcasts to learn about various challenges, trends and best practices. I would love to get your feedback on what should be in my “prep syllabus” and how to make that transition. Thanks so much!

—Maureen McLaughlin, returning student

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While this column typically is focused on teaching, it is great to get to have it shift to learning for this question. How wonderful that you are taking these steps to be ready for this big transition. Here is some guidance on how to approach this season of preparation.

Conduct a Tools Audit

When I teach a course to doctoral students, I begin by inviting them to perform an audit on their technical skills. This process helps them discern the most essential features within the various applications that will best help them through their coursework and completing a dissertation.

The document I created for the doctoral students specifically identifies those applications that they will use most in pursuing their doctorates with that institution. Download this sample tools audit and customize it to meet your needs. Below are some links to help strengthen your capabilities in some of the fundamental applications I mention in the tools audit:

• Master Microsoft Word using courses from Hoonuit or Lynda
• Format more effectively and efficiently using tips from LifeHacker
• Maximize the Capabilities of Zotero through these videos from Nicholas Cifuentes-Goodbody

If possible, correspond with someone at the institution where you will be attending to see if they have requirements about what word processor or references manager you need to use and be sure you maximize the time you spend learning those.

Develop Your Knowledge of Structures, Research and Writing Styles

In a doctoral program, the structures of your written work will be similar. You will develop many literature reviews and will regularly need to create similar structures for research papers. I have found the following people and organizations essential to growing my research writing skills over the years.

Purdue Online Writing Lab: this website is one I keep open on a regular basis when writing in a formal, academic style. It features guidance on various citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, and more) and on how to list references properly. There are also exercises to practice the art of the academic citation. This video (by Nicholas Cifuentes-Goodbody) on developing outlines for larger writing projects is another great way to prepare for the kind of writing you will be doing.

Raul Pacheco-Vega’s website: This assistant professor in the Public Administration Division of the Center for Economic Teaching and Research in Mexico has written extensively on his website about academic writing. I suggest exploring the entire resources section here, including the advice on writing literature reviews, guidance for graduate students, and approaches for writing a research paper, book chapter or dissertation.

Oregon State University Research in Action podcast: one to consider adding to your queue, if it is not already there. Katie Linder, the host, has gathered together scholars who share about all different types of research methods, as well as how to deal with common challenges that occur (such as writer’s block, choosing a dissertation topic, setting research goals, and keeping yourself organized).

Acquire a ‘Good Enough’ Mindset

I used to travel to instruct in the doctoral program I teach in a couple of times a year. Once, I did not set boundaries well enough and found myself in a conversation with a doctoral student about her final paper, at the same time as I was supposed to be returning to the airport to fly back home that evening. I had told the class that I would not be able to stay after class, but that I would be available to answer any questions they had, once I returned home. But I did not stick to my word, and 45 minutes later, was frustrated at what had happened.

The student was unhappy with her grade and kept flipping through all the pages she had printed out with her highlights marking the discrepancies between my perceptions and her own. Flying home, without having had enough time to grab lunch on my way to the airport, I was angry with myself for not having left after the class was over.

Once I was back in our house and able to access wifi, I took a look at her situation. It turned out that the small number of points she was missing from the assignment had absolutely zero impact on her overall grade. She was still at well over the range of what was required to earn an A in the course. This was already evident to her through the grade book. The entire time we had been talking, I was assuming her goal was to earn a higher grade in the class. Instead, it was regarding a single paper and her wanting to have earned 100 percent in the class. To be clear, this fact would never have shown up on her transcripts or anywhere outside the LMS.

That example is a bit more extreme than what I typically witness. However, we can all struggle with knowing what is “good enough” on something and knowing when we should move on to other priorities. As harsh as it may sound, there are times when we need to do that with our families and friends. Being fully present for our loved ones is essential, but during this season of your life, it may be more helpful to think in terms of quality over quantity.

I came into my doctoral program thinking I was going to read every word that was assigned (I didn’t). While I did maintain my desired GPA, I had to think more transactionally than I would have liked to about finishing papers and working collaboratively with other students.

One of my doctoral professors used to tell us that he wanted us to be “famous by Friday,” in reference to writing our dissertations. His use of the word ‘famous’ was delivered dripping with sarcasm. Most people’s dissertations won’t wind up being highly cited. Once we finish them, however, we are freed up to have the time to do the work that may be more meaningful to us and potentially be more visible. The goal is not to try to change the world with our research. The aim is to be done.

As you prepare to begin this journey, equip yourself with the tools you’ll need to support you in the process, re-orient yourself with the kinds of writing you will be doing and be ready for good enough to be good enough.