We'll admit to being pretty big podcast nerds here at Needmore. There's nothing like being gripped by a compelling story on the ride into the studio or learning about the latest and greatest gizmo gadget on a brisk walk home. Our team has rounded up the podcasts we are listening to this week with notes in our own voice. Some you may know, some you may delight in discovering. All of them should be on your playlist.
Melissa Allen, UX designer
"I spend a good part of the day binging on podcasts, from my 45 minute bike ride to and from work to the 8+ hours at work. Everything from personal stories and NPR, music, science, and art & creativity. I tend to start my week with some good laughs and embarrassingly awkward stories."
- Grownups Read Things They Wrote as Kids (here's a favorite) and The Mortified Podcast - These two podcasts are about revisiting stories, journals, and diaries as an adult and sharing it with a room of total strangers. Being an avid journaler as a child, these stories bring me back to my awkward middle and high school years with plenty of good chuckles.
- StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson What more can I say, a science-packed podcast with guests like Bill Nye, Seth MacFarlane, Chuck Nice, Bill Clinton, etc... Here's a favorite.
- Science and Creativity from Studio 360 They cover a wide variety of tops including: science in Hollywood, micobiomes, space, animal extinction, dark matter and more!
- Science Friday Highlights and recaps of science news.
- The Moth People sharing their experiences live.
- KCRW's UnFictional Very Moth-like with true stories that expand on the human experience.
- 99% Invisible The show's about the unnoticed things that shape our world, and where your curiosity is answered.
- This American Life Each week they present a theme and base unique and interesting stories around it.
Kandace Brigleb, producer
"I like my podcasts to scratch that curious, insatiable Anthropological itch, to give insights into how people think and feel. Bonus for something that will make me laugh or cry, or both."
- Serial The most addictive podcast on the planet.
- This American Life Sorry, Ray, but Ira Glass is basically my man crush.
- The Moth Became a fan after seeing The Moth live at a Literary Arts event. If I walk into the studio in tears, I've been listening to The Moth or This American.
- The Message Basically War of the Worlds in a podcast. Don't panic.
- The Archive Project This is a collaboration between Literary Arts and OPB. An incredible archive of some of the most engaging talks from the word's best writers recorded right here in Portland, Oregon.
- The Creative Agency Podcast Insight into creative studios. I had the pleasure of kicking-off this podcast and have been listening ever since.
- Coffee Podcast by Cat & Cloud Gotta dig their focus on empathy and service in coffee. They are currently opening their first brick & mortar shop so we are getting a fascinating glimpse at the business of coffee. Plus, they're high energy and hilarious.
- Coffee Sprudgecast This relatively new podcast feels almost like having lunch with Sprudge founders Jordan and Zach (which is a hoot).
- Also just discovered The New Yorker Radio Hour and Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin. They're in audition mode. So far, so good.
Raymond Brigleb, creative director
"Being kind of an Apple nerd... ahem... I do listen my fair share of Apple-specific shows. They are a category unto themselves. I also listen to a lot of plain old nerdy, non-fiction, NPR-type shows as well. (Plus a few that fall on the spectrum between the two.)"
- The Talk Show with John Gruber I'm not likely to miss an episode of this podcast. The formula is simple: John with a guest, sometimes two, talking for two hours. Mostly about Apple. Sometimes about Baseball (but I just skip over those parts).
- Accidental Tech Podcast Also mostly about Apple, generally just three extreme nerds chatting. And yet, I find myself listening again and again.
- Ctrl-Walt-Delete Less nerdy, but still often about Apple. This is Walt Mosssberg chatting with Nilay Patel of The Verge. Good 20 minutes to spend here every week.
- Exponent Ben Thompson and James Allworth tend to talk mostly about disruption, innovation, and the marketplace of technology. This tends to focus on business. Often the business is, unsurprisingly, Apple.
- FiveThirtyEight Elections Now that we're deep into election season, this podcast is a guilty pleasure. I love to nerd out about statistics and politics, so this is perfect.
- Planet Money Also rather nerdy, but often about a wide variety of things. I don't miss an episode of this one.
- Radiolab Quite a variety of topics. Consider this the nerdy sister to This American Life.
- Dan Carlin's Hardcore History Do you have 15 hours to learn about WWI? If so, this podcast is your new best friend. It is friggin fascinating.
- Coffee Podcast by Cat & Cloud Presently the only coffee industry podcast I listen to (except ours, of course).
Unpacking Coffee
Finally, there is one we can all agree on! Unpacking Coffee, our own video podcast introducing new coffee roasters one episode at a time.