Wed, Jan 01, 2025 12:40

I’ve listened to a lot of podcasts this year, but it’s often hard to recall what stood out. So, I went back to my favorite app, AntennaPod, and picked some highlights worth sharing:

• NPR Radiolab
  • “How Stockholm Stuck”: The origin story of how the myth of “Stockholm syndrome” began, what aspects of the story (such as the actions of the police) are often left out, and why the narrative may be misleading.
  • “Memory and Forgetting”: Explores how memories are made, re-made, and forgotten. This quote really stuck with me: “The act of remembering, on a literal level, is an act of creation. Every memory is rebuilt anew every time you remember it. […] Every time you remember something you’re changing the memory a little bit. We’re always changing the memory slightly.”
  • “Stochasticity”: A series of stories exploring randomness in our everyday lives. (For a similar theme, check out the Flemish podcast “Wereld van Sofie: Dit kan geen toeval zijn!” featuring how the phrase “this can’t be a coincidence” is a favorite in soap operas.)
• Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
  • “Murder at Halloween: The Edinburgh Body Snatchers”: Discusses what makes econimic markets acceptable.
  • “Flying Too High: AI and Air France Flight 447”: Examines the dangers of automation and the deskilling of workers.
  • “The Revenge of the Whales”: Explores how we interpret intentionality and meaning in animal behavior.
• Medieval Podcast
  • “Medieval Fish with Richard Hoffmann”: Fascinating insights into medieval fisheries and research techniques, such as on how researchers can analyse diets by identifying whether people consumed freshwater or saltwater fish.
  • “How to Focus Like a Monk with Jamie Kreiner”: A humorous look at how monks dealt with noise and distractions—and the strategies they used to maintain focus.
• Tech Won’t Save Us has been a fantastic discovery for me this year. The “Data Vampires” series, for example, was eye-opening about the energy and resource costs of building massive hyperscale data centers—and the opposition to them. Episode 1 Link
• 99% Invisible: Their series “Not Built For This” was especially memorable. While it focuses on the U.S., I still found it fascinating to hear about the real struggles arising between the built environment and the impacts of climate change.
• History Extra: I enjoyed their episodes on Tudor England, particularly because I’m also currently watching the phenomenal Wolf Hall and The Mirror and the Light TV series.