Podcasts are magical because they are as entertaining as they are educational. Sometimes it can feel terrible to waste hours on Instagram, YouTube or television…but podcasts? You could listen for hours and leave with as many hours of conversation topics.
As a communication student, it’s to your benefit to soak up information wherever you can and to learn new ways to share information. Every podcast holds value in content and delivery. You can learn so much about storytelling through listening to others speak.
Here is a list of four podcasts that will whet your appetite for radio and feed your hunger for knowledge.
If you are interested in design or architecture, you have probably heard about 99% Invisible. The show is a deep dive into the invisible world of things that exist around us every day and the origins we never question. The host, Roman Mars, brings listeners behind-the-scenes of their own daily lives. He is also a master at taking a highly visual subject and explaining it through words — a skill any communicator can appreciate.
Start with episodes like The Trend Forecast, which looks into the forces behind what’s “in,” and Interrobang, about an ad man’s solution to statements that warrant both exclamation and question marks.
Oh how we love AP Style! Grammar Girl, hosted by Mignon Fogarty, is your one-stop-shop for learning how to be a better writer. Whether through explaining technicalities, common mistakes or jumping into new updates to the AP Style Guide, Fogarty will whip you into shape for your next LinkedIn post or press release.
The title usually says it all for this podcast so flip through the episode list for great explanations on your grammar struggles. Maybe even tackle the evil hyphen with Co-Worker or Coworker?
You might be tired of the term “fake news” or sick of hearing about the media in general but this is where we are. On The Media steps up as a critical eye of the media that considers all angles; from the dilemmas reporters face to how Americans are adapting to our ever-changing media landscape. Listening to On The Media is a good way to keep sharp on how information is engineered and how to stay ethical in our time.
Try Big, If True and The Other Side of Everything.
It’s a podcast about the internet which is an amazing, scary and vast place. Alex Goldman and PJ Vogt fearlessly wade through stories of the world wide web to gain explanation and introspection for why we are how we are. The biggest takeaway for a communication student is how effortlessly the hosts weave the stories to appeal to your every sensibility. They are truly adept storytellers and you won’t want to stop listening.
There are many good episodes but you can’t dislike What Kind of Idiot Gets Phished? and An Ad for the Worst Day of Your Life.
Have you listened to any of these podcasts before? Comment below your favorite episodes. If you haven’t listened to these, what other podcasts are on your go-to playlist?
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Morgan McCoy is a senior Public Relations and Advertising major at Point Park University. On campus, she is the vice president of the PRSSA chapter, active in the Advertising Federation chapter and director of the university’s student-run firm, Bison Media. She is also a PRSSA 2018-2019 Regional Ambassador. Morgan has worked for Pittsburgh-local brands I Made It! Market and The Neighborhood Flea for over four years, was an event planning intern with Grant Street Group over the summer and will be interning with WordWrite Communications in fall 2018. On the side, Morgan enjoys running a small-scale vintage resale business with her partner and volunteering with the Bill Nunn Theater Outreach Project.