What Makes a Podcast Truly Great? My Top 5 Picks

In today’s incredibly busy and fast-paced lifestyle, one of the areas I’ve heard people struggle with is, finding time to read. People feel inspired, become more informed or feel entertained by reading books. However, there are alternatives that fulfil the same craving: inspiration, information, and entertainment. Believe it or not, we live in the ‘podcast era’. Open your Spotify or Apple App and tens of categories with hundreds of podcasts pop up to be explored. Listening to podcasts is comparatively more flexible and convenient. Just click play and enjoy jogging in the nature, running on your treadmill, cooking your meal, or driving to your destination. There are podcasts that suits your taste.

In the past, books and articles shaped people’s social and political perspective. You can find books that have transformed societies and cultures. For example, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith explains topics that helped build nation’s wealth and basically introduced capitalism. The book laid the foundation for economic theories that emphasized on the importance of free markets, the division of labour and the role of self-interest in promoting economic growth. Or The Art of War by Sun Tzu has influenced military strategies and tactics not only in East Asia but also the western military philosophy. The book has helped great many leaders pursue ambitions in warfare, politics, and sports competitions. Or take the example of the greatest fantasy book, The Lord of the Rings that modelled the modern-day fantasy genre. It’s a 1954 book but still continues to captivate audiences in literature, cinema or anyone visiting New Zealand.

In the same way, the podcasts are becoming influential as they become more accessible to general audiences through YouTube versions. Gone are the days when people would sit in front of TV screen to watch famous talk show hosts deliver solutions for social, cultural, and political issues of their time. I was a fan of some, now I hardly find any of them informative let alone entertaining. Just look at the Presidential campaign in the United States of America, where the Republican nominee, Mr. Donald Trump has been sitting with famous podcasters to spread his political agenda; whereas, you find Democratic nominee leveraging on social media to reach new generation of voters. We will be able to measure the impacts of podcast in 5 – 10 years as larger audiences tap into this spectrum of information source.

Here are top five influential podcasts that I believe present the most relevant, informative and inspiriting content to help you start your podcast journey:

The Joe Rogan Experience:

As I’m writing this blog, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspends his presidential campaign and endorses the former President, Donald Trump. Many political analysts assume a possible change in the polling results thus outcome of the US election in November 2024. One of the biggest supporters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been Joe Rogan, which means Joe Rogan could draw a lot of voters for the Republican party. The Joe Rogan Experience podcast deal with Spotify brought hopes for new content creators, which is believed to be worth $250Million. If you don’t follow Joe Rogan Experience, you are missing a lot: in depth political discussion, history lessons, scientific mysteries, social phenomena, and hilarious conversations. As Prof. Jordan Peterson once said, Joe asks the best questions, which makes every episode a pleasant experience. Some of the most popular and diverse people have been his guests making his content fresh to his broad audiences. This includes Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, Bernie Sanders, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Tucker Carlson, Zack Snyder, Russel Crowe and his old-time friend, Bobby Lee. There’s no bad episode but 2 episodes are on my re-listen list: the most hilarious one with Jimmy Dore and the most informative one with Dave Smith. Which episode did you enjoy the most?

2. The Tony Robbins Podcast

My podcast journey started by listening to The Tony Robbins Podcast. Most of my friends know I’ve been a fan of Tony Robbins watching his videos, reading his books or articles for inspiration. His philosophy and techniques have transformed lives, business and careers of millions around the world. His famous annual event, Date with Destiny is attended by hundreds of people around the world and by thousands when held virtually. He’s not just a self-help guru but unquestionably the most influential coach in areas such as: happiness, relationship building, personal development, financial management, business growth and life in general. His podcasts are intimate in setting and content. He’s usually accompanied by his wife, Sage Robbins and mostly hosted/ facilitated by their friend Mary B. One of the most famous episodes is about the movie, ‘Sound of Freedom’, with Tim Ballard (the main character of the movie) and the co-founder of Angel Studios that produced the movie. I bet the episode will make you watch the movie.

They sometimes invite guests to share their life experiences more in TED talk fashion. One of the most inspiring stories/ speeches I’ve ever heard is by Immaculée Ilibagiza, who forgave the man who killed her mother and brother during genocide of Tutsi tribe in Rwanda in 1994. The episode title is ‘Forgiveness is for YOU’. I remember listening to her story on the way to work and felt the most relaxed in many days. It’s a long yet life-changing story worth your time. You will find many more such inspiring stories on the Tony Robbins Podcast.

3. Lex Fridman

You may find the list of guests and topics overlapping with those in Joe Rogan Experience, however, the language is toned down and content is more educational. They both draw audiences who enjoy being part of their communities. You’ll always find him dressed in a suit. He’s a computer scientist; hence, he brings in knowledge in modern technology, political battles within America and beyond, social dynamics and future of human race while letting the guests influence the audiences intellectually and psychologically. It seems more a two-way communication making the listening experience immersive with consistently quality content. Some of the guests have been on Lex Fridman Podcast a couple of times including Andrew Huberman. And Elon Musk seems to love coming to the show to talk about politics, freedom of speech, human civilization, and the future of AI. The episodes with Yuval Noah Harari, David Huberman and Bassem Youssef explore unconventional ideas and diverse viewpoints making us realize the power to change (change of the better) lies within us. Who is your favourite guest on the show?

4. Modern Wisdom Podcast

In an episode on ‘Stop Feeling Lost and Find Your True Purpose’, Arthur Brooks delves deeply into the interpretation and state of happiness.

One of the benefits of podcast is ‘accessibility’ to essentially valuable information the mainstream media is short of. And you’ll find valuable information on Chris Williamson’s Modern Wisdom Podcast that will benefit your wellness in terms of financial management, personal growth, and activism. You will find an in-depth analysis and commentary on topics that resonate with listeners of diverse demographics. One of the topics covered most frequently is modern relationship and the pertaining dilemma affecting our lives. You’ll find an episode focusing on a controversial topic, Modern Feminism with young influencer, Brett Cooper where they discuss relationships, motherhood and feminism through a lens of Gen Z. You’ll become more informed about yourself by listening to an episode with Arthur Brooks, a Harvard Professor discussing elements that influence our happiness. The topic is smartly summed up at the very start of the episode. ‘To improve oneself, you need to get 3 micronutrients right for happiness: Enjoyment, Satisfaction and Meaning.’ Listen to the full episode to learn how we fall for the 4 Idols and ways to find true happiness. Listen and share your favourite episode.

5. Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal

‘The secret to productivity isn’t discipline. It’s joy’. This is what Ali Abdaal, a doctor by qualification and author/ speaker/ influencer by profession explains in his book ‘Feel Good Productivity’ `book and on most of his platforms. In the trailer of Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal, he mentions focusing the content on 5 Pillars: Health, Wealth, Love, Happiness, and Impact. That in view, the expert guests share personal experiences with the aim of coaching or inspiring the audiences. He’s relatively new in Podcast world, which is why there’s mention of entrepreneurship, business growth and career development by leveraging social media platforms. You can get inspired by Alex Hormozi on building million-dollar business (es) or listen to the episode with Sahil Bloom on ways of becoming successful creator while raising a family. Did I mention the incredible Matthew Hussey talks about his book, ‘Love Life’ and deep dives about relationships in one of the episodes?

If that’s not enough to draw you, check out the conversation with Mo Gawdat, who is on the mission to Making 1 Billion People Happier. He was a Chief Business Officer in Google but began a new journey of instilling hope in lives of people after a tragic experience. The range of topics Deep Dive presents can grow his influence and audiences in the coming years. And you’ll be one of them, so I welcome you to explore Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal.

Here are few honourable mentions before I end this blog: