Not too long ago I shared a list of books – fiction primarily – that I have found to be essential reading in my development as a person, a leader and a teacher of leadership. Since then, to my great satisfaction, I have discovered the world of podcasts; the world of essential listening. It has been revelatory.
The channels by which we can learn today (and by learning I mean: inspire our creativity impulses, give us confidence to pursue our ideas, give us space to laugh, think, cry and connect more readily with the broadest context of our shared human condition) are so numerous and useful that it is both energizing and, sometimes, overwhelming to figure out how to take full advantage. As I attempted to make sense of all that is on offer in this “new” space of podcasting I was fortunate enough to stumble across a site called Podcast Thing. They organize their podcast recommendations by category and recommend a “where to start” episode for each one. In that spirit, a few recommendations for you:
For Meaning:
On Being with Krista Tippett
Where to start: Seth Godin, Parker Palmer
For Storytelling:
This American Life with Ira Glass
Where to start: Hit the Road
For Mindfulness and Meditation:
Where to start: Four Week Introduction to Meditation
For Science and Education:
Where to start: The Golden Rule
For Politics, Culture and the Arts (and a fun “insider” vibe)
Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin
Where to start: Jerry Seinfeld, George Will, David Letterman
A final thought: education is being revolutionized before our very eyes…it is not even remotely farfetched to think that with a reasonable investment of time and energy you could create both a curriculum and a community that would make some of our more formal and traditional learning avenues obsolete, or at least seriously antiquated. If you want to create, define and engage your own path to learning there has never been a better time to do so.
Feedback? Thoughts? Recommendations from your experience? Always invited and eagerly accepted…
