I’ve always felt podcasts have become this type of niche piece of media slowly dying out. Yet, Google tells me that they’re actually reaching an all time high in popularity. This is surprising to me because I’ve never met anyone else who would ever admit to listening to podcasts.
Either way, I wanted a place to talk about my favourite podcasts, and it might as well be on my website. These are my top three, saving the best for last.
Reply All
Reply All was one of the first podcasts that I ever listened to, and it’s still one of my favourites for short episodes I can listen to on the go. The podcast itself tells stories about the internet, internet culture, and how people have shaped the internet over time.
One of my favourite episodes (that I can think of off the top of my head) is one of the very first ones, named We Know What You Did. The episode begins with the host introducing the hypothetical scenario: What would you do if someone knocked your door and told you, “I think we both know I’m here. We know what you did. Let’s go.”
I love this hypothetical scenario. Anyone who answers that door would confess to something, and I think everyone has that one thing they’ve gotten away with in life. The episode goes on to tell the story of Ethan Zuckerman, and the consequences he’s faced due to his creation of the pop-up ad in the late 90s.
I won’t go into the specifics of the episode, but it’s a prime example of how the internet has evolved over time. This is exactly what the podcast aims to convey every episode, and it’s why I enjoy it so much.
Heavyweight
This is another one that I love, and it’s definitely up there with Reply All. It’s created and hosted by Jonathan Goldstein, who helps people resolve past conflicts and regrets. This is exactly where the title of the podcast comes from—the heavy emotional burdens that some individuals hold their entire lives.
I honestly don’t know why I enjoy this podcast so much, but the blend of good storytelling, narration, and humour from Jonathan Goldstein make every episode worth listening to.
It’s also worth saying that everyone has a regret in their life, something from the past that you just wish you could change. For some people, these regrets can snowball into bigger burdens that shape them into who they are. Jonathan Goldstein’s handling of these peoples’ past conflicts is what really draws you in. He acts like both a detective and therapist, and always manages to bring closure to these problems from the past.
Casefile True Crime
This my favourite podcast of all time, and the funny part is that I never even knew I was a fan of true crime before I discovered it. Casefile manages to portray each case like a story, which is really what pulls you in.
My favourite episode from this podcast is the episode detailing the case of Jennifer Pan. This story is incredibly heartbreaking, and what made it even more tragic was the fact it happened in GTA, where I’ve lived my entire life. The episode begins with a frantic 911 call, where you can hear a young girl panicking and screaming for help when three armed intruders break into her house. After demanding money, the three men took the girl’s parents to the basement, and shot them several times.
Throughout the episode you learn about the life of 25-year old Jennifer Pan, who had lived her past lying and deceiving her oppressive parents about her grades. She was the one who initially called 911, and throughout the episode you learn the horrible truth of the case: Jennifer had paid people to kill her own parents.
This of course, is a merely a short summary of the case. The case in itself is an extremely interesting one, and goes much deeper than my explanation. You can research online for more information, but it really does show the toll that bad parenting can have on people.
Many episodes from this podcast make me very interested in the psychology of the perpetrator. Human nature is an interesting subject, and true crime often takes a deep dive into it. When you listen to the stories and doings of disgusting, awful people, you’ve ought to wonder, “what could possibly drive someone to do this?”