Listen to This

LISTEN TO THIS | Books Changed My Life

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I’m a podcast junkie, and LISTEN TO THIS is a recap of my favorite tidbits, soundbites and short bursts of brilliance that I have to share with everyone who will listen. After digesting hours and hours of podcasts, here’s the best 9 minutes from this week.

I NEVER WASTED TIME

THE THOMAS JEFFERSON HOUR | #981 Dear Thomas

Thanks again to Patrick Ball for introducing me to The Thomas Jefferson Hour which is one of my top-five, must-listen-to podcasts, and this week’s show is my favorite episode so far. This week, Clay Jenkinson, who plays Jefferson, answers questions from listeners. I enjoyed his description of different kinds of genius at 6:33, but the best section is at 24 minutes when Jefferson talks about his personal productivity. I’m amazed at how many habits that worked well in the 18th century still apply today. Inspiring, educational, and extremely practical, check it out.

THE POINT ISN’T TO KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING

BLANK ON BLANK | Kiki Smith

Blank on Blank brings sections of previous interviews that didn’t make the first round of cuts back to life by sifting through the editing room floor and professionally producing them into fascinating bite-sited podcasts. This conversation with artist Kiki Smith runs barely over seven minutes long, but if you want a quick soundbite jump in at 3:15 to hear:

Kiki Smith quote on Todd Chandler's Observation Paper

In addition that quote, I also pulled this nugget from 5:37.

BOOKS CHANGED MY LIFE

SIX PIXELS OF SEPARATION | #351 A New Kind of Startup With Chris Guillebeau

One of the reasons I like Mitch Joel’s weekly podcast so much is he consistently introduces me to innovative thinkers. His interview style leads to serious thought-provoking dialogues, and this week’s conversation with Chris Guillebeau particularly stood out. I’m eager to start reading Guillbeau’s latest book, $100 Startup, as soon as I finish this post. I heard three noteworthy bookmarks in this episode:

  • 22:08 - One of the best ways to figure out what you’re good at is to pay attention to the topics your friends are asking you questions about.
  • 25:11 - “Books changed my life. I love using Twitter, but I can’t think of any tweets that changed my life.”
  • 37:05 - The productive benefits of being disobedient - the must-listen of the three.

Podcast Test Drive:

NSFW Show - a little too morningzooesque for me.

Unsubscribing from:

Office Hours - I discovered this one by searching for Daniel Pink’s Office Hours. I’ve listened to three episodes and just haven’t clicked with it.

OTHER PODCAST POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

What about you? What podcasts did you enjoy this week and what do you recommend? Leave your favorites in the comments below.

LISTEN TO THIS | Bro Call

in ,

I’m a podcast junkie, and LISTEN TO THIS is a recap of my favorite tidbits, soundbites and short bursts of brilliance that I can’t help but share with everyone who will listen. After digesting hours and hours of podcasts, here’s the best 9 minutes from what I heard this week.

THE JOHNNY CARSON OF PODCASTING

THE BRO SHOW | Dan Benjamin

Thanks to Myke Hurley and Terry Lucy for inviting Dan Benjamin to switch sides and be interviewed instead of interviewing. Dan Benjamin is the Johnny Carson of podcasting. He’s thoughtful, authentic, funny, intelligent and a genuine giver. I am impressed by the quality of everything Dan does. His explanation of the Talk Show demonstrated a level of class that serves as a new personal standard for me to try to achieve. My favorite section of this Bro Show interview comes at 15:03 where Hurley asks about the current state of podcasting. Check it out.

TREAT A CUSTOMER AS THEY SHOULD BE

HBR IDEACAST | Who Your Customers Want to Become

“If customers don’t want to go where you want them to go, my goodness, you’re going to have a problem winning in the future.”

~ Michael Schrage

Michael Schrage is looking to update the question “What business are we in,” originally posed in Ted Levitt’s Marking Myopia, by asking, “What are we asking our customers to become?” The question provides a slightly different angle of attack in approaching your business strategy. If you want a quick intro to the idea, skip to 4:28 where he illustrates the premise with Disney princesses.

EMOTIONAL EXPERTISE

THE MOTH | What Can’t be Fixed

Martha Manning tells a powerful story of serving as a therapist for Annie who suffered from a terminal case of breast cancer. I highly recommend that you listen to the entire story (it’s only 16 minutes long) and that you have a tissue on hand when you do. Manning frames the journey with a powerful perspective that challenges what it really means to be an expert. At a minimum, catch Annie breaking the bad news of her diagnosis to Martha at 3:21.

Podcast Test Drives:

  1. WNYC’s Radiolab - well crafted and edited. Dan Benjamin recommended during his interview.
  2. On the Media - another exceptional WNYC show. This one recommended by Merlin Mann in his Back to Work Bulk Bag newsletter.
  3. Roderick on the Line - Clowns, pirates, and gangsters. Downright funny.

Unsubscribing from:

Get-It-Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Work Less and Do More - one too many corny puns (like running the local prison’s literary book club - Prose and Cons).

OTHER PODCAST POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

What about you? What podcasts did you enjoy this week and what do you recommend? Leave your favorites in the comments below.

LISTEN TO THIS | You Can't Give More Than 100%

in

I’m a podcast junkie, and LISTEN TO THIS is a recap of my favorite tidbits, soundbites and short bursts of brilliance that I can’t help but share with everyone who will listen. After digesting hours and hours of podcasts, here’s the best 9 minutes from what I heard this week.

HE WAS A MAN WHO BELIEVED IN CURIOSITY

SCIENCE FRIDAY | Why Ignorance Trumps Knowledge In Scientific Pursuit

Ira Flatow’s interview with neuroscientist Stuart Firestein, author of Ignorance: How It Drives Science, is a stimulating conversation about creative thinking and innovation. I bookmarked several quotes like this one about placing too much emphasis on answers and went back to listen to them again and again. But my favorite section is the story Ira tells about physicist I. I. Rabi’s mother and the role she played in developing the way Rabi approached problem solving. Start at 17:54 (or go straight to the direct quote from Rabi).

GIVING 110%

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | The Hobson and Holtz Report - Podcast #654: June 4, 2012

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say they gave 110%. Maybe I’m too literal, maybe I’m too much of a curmudgeon, but you can only give 100%. I know the phrase is meant to embody the notion of doing more than what was thought to be possible, but to me it puts the emphasis on the wrong element. It’s not that you did more than you could, which is impossible, it’s that you had the wrong assumption about what was possible to begin with. That’s why the fun anecdote from Steven Green at TemboSocial resonated so well with me. It begins at 1:04:35 in the podcast.

BEN’S STORY

MARKETING OVER COFFEE | Conversation with Simon Sinek

First off, I love how John Wall labeled this rerun as “From the Archives,” and second, I’m so glad he brought it back. I’ve seen Simon’s TED talk, and I’m familiar with his book Start with Why, but I had not heard this powerful human interest story of Ben who despite having cerebral palsy still ran on his high school track team. The moral is not what you might assume. Stop what you’re doing, go this this podcast, jump to 23:40, and listen.

New Podcasts I Tried:

  1. The Thomas Jefferson Hour - it’s a keeper and high my list. Thanks Patrick.
  2. Stuff You Should Know - fun one that I hope to get my kids listening to. Thanks Ariadne.
  3. Get-It-Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Work Less and Do More - love these short and helpful types. Thanks again Ariadne.
  4. The Beerists Podcast - curious but not sold. Will give it another week.
  5. RunRunLive - I like running, and I like listening to podcasts, not sure I like listening to podcasts about running. Going to try a few more of John’s recommendations to see for sure.

Unsubscribing from:

  1. NPR: Snap Judgment - the storytelling techniques are overly dramatic.
  2. Joy the Baker - too many inside jokes and not enough interest to invest in learning them.

OTHER PODCAST POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

What were some of your favorite listens from the week? What podcasts do you recommend? Let me know by leaving a comment. Thanks.