Introduction 

• I find podcasts an excellent form of media as they’re easy to engage with, can be listened to almost anywhere and cover an extremely wide range of topics, in this post I want to highlight and explain which podcasts I think are best and most informative for Millennials.
• Podcasting compared to many other types of media: film, TV, radio etc. is still very new. There seems to be a consensus that the term started to be banded around in late 2004, and soon after very rapidly took-off. Why? There are many reasons, but the best two in my opinion are: (1) it’s comparatively easy to create the content (2) it’s cheap for the consumer – FREE.  These two things make the barriers to entry very low and the required profitability also very low. As a result, many people are willing to create and receive a large and diverse amount of content.
• According to myndset (http://myndset.com/2012/01/how-many-podcasts-are-there-whats-the-future-of-the-podcast/) there are ~115,000 English language podcasts currently available (in 2012). Whilst I have to admit I haven’t tried them all out, I have sampled a good number and below I will highlight the 6 I think are most applicable for millennials right now across a number of different topics. If having read this piece your interest is spiked in podcasts but not in the specific ones I suggest, then watch this space, a post targeted at you guys will be coming along soon.

Best for Inspiration of Betterment – The Tim Ferriss Show 

• Tim Ferriss is the author of the ‘Four Hour’ series which all started with the ‘Four Hour Work Week’ and he’s one of the people who inspired me to create this blog. If you haven’t checked Tim out before I highly recommend that you do, in any of his media. In each podcast Tim aims to ‘deconstruct world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, sports, business, art, etc.) to extract the tactics and tools you can use.’ He really isn’t joking when he says any area, some of my favorite podcasts include: Neil Strauss, Shaun White, Derek Sivers & Wim Hof. Understanding the common traits that exist between those at the top of their fields across so many different disciplines is extremely insightful. Finally, too many ‘betterment’ podcasts are too ‘self-helpy’ for me, Tim manages to get to the heart of what influences peoples’ success and ask the important questions without preaching, plus there are some incredible stories mixed in as well!

Best for Easy Listening Comedy – Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4

• The best way to describe Friday Night Comedy is ‘sophisticated comedy’, it allows you to pick up topical news in a light hearted and enjoyable format. The podcast covers 3 of BBC Radio 4 biggest programmes; The Now Show, The News Quiz & Dead Ringers. Personally my favourite is The News Quiz, I think Miles Jupp has done an incredible job taking over from Sandy Toksvig and I have to force myself not to burst out laughing on the tube when listening. Dead Ringers is probably my least favourite, but that is just a personal preference. Another great thing is that the panel changes weekly (apart from a few regulars) therefore the satirical take on the news  comes from different viewpoints.

Best for Political, Economic & Social Stimulation – London School of Economics: Public Lectures & Events 

• London School of Economics (LSE) is one of the greatest universities in the world and that really shows in the quality of speakers they get presenting. The Public Lectures & Events series are guest lectures given as public events by some of the most influential figures in the social sciences. I am an Economics and Politics graduate therefore this is right up my street. But even if you don’t share the same background as me, this series is extremely topical and can help supplement your understanding of some of the biggest events in generations, which have recently included: Brexit, Artificial Intelligence and the role of prisons in modern society.

Best for News – The Economist Radio 

• The Economist Radio has all the good things in The Economist magazine without the bad things, i.e. excellent insight and detailed understanding of subject matter without the ridiculous amount of detail and the cost. Busy millennials don’t have time to read the Economist every week, or the money, but The Economist Radio podcast fills this void excellently. The Economist Radio includes series from The Economist such as; The Week Ahead (looking ahead at major events coming up in the next week), Tasting Menu (looking ahead at the main articles in this week’s Economist), Money Talks (discussing important financial stories) and my favourite Babbage (discussing important science and technology stories).

Best for History – Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History  

• This is a relatively new addition to my podcast repertoire although Dan Carlin has been podcasting since 2005. He has two podcasts; (1) Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History (2) Common Sense with Dan Carlin, although I have to admit I haven’t listened to his second one yet, it’s on my to do list! In Hardcore History, Dan takes an unorthodox and ‘Martian’ stance on some of the biggest individuals and civilizations of the past. I am a massive detail person so I love how much depth he goes into on his topics, which is very different to most other podcasts. He is also a master of narrative delivery and has my full and undivided attention every time he speaks.

Best for Personal Finance – The Financial Mentor Podcast 

• There are far too many personal finance podcasts out there and the majority are complete rubbish, teaching you to suck eggs, while boring you to death. There are a couple that I sometimes enjoy but don’t listen to regularly; ‘Eventual Millionaire’ by Jaime Tardy and ’So Money’ by Farnoosh Torabi. But for me, the best out there is ‘The Financial Mentor Podcast’ by Todd Tresidder. Todd is the creator of the financialmentor.com blog, which I also highly recommend, as well as being a former professional hedge fund manager turned financial educator. Todd makes it crystal clear that the podcast isn’t just another ‘get-rich-quick’ or ‘get out of debt’ podcast. He says himself that the podcast is about ‘carefully engineering your finances to take charge of your life so you can live the adventure you always imagined life could be.’ There are only 21 episodes, the last published in April 2015, but they really do cover everything important for personal finance and show you how to ensure you are covering all the bases.

Conclusion 

• Above are the top 6 podcasts across 6 different categories that I am loving at the moment and I think are excellent for Millennials regardless of your individual interests. As with many things in life podcasts are in a constant state of flux: new podcasts are being added all the time and new gems are being unearthed. Therefore, I suggest you start with those I’ve listed above and then do your own investigating to see what else is out there. If/when you stumble across something incredible please do let me know!

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