After my mom died two years ago, my 30 minute morning commute to work every day became very difficult for me. It was January, so it was cold and still pitch dark at 6:45 a.m. when I left the house. I was alone in the car, and there was nothing to distract me from my thoughts.
The radio wasn’t a good option, because there were too many songs that touched a nerve and ignited still raw emotions. Then I discovered the world of podcasts. Podcasts were new to me at the time, but it didn’t take long to find one, and then another, and then another, that were engrossing enough to keep my mind busy for the whole drive to work.
Two years later, I still don’t love my commute to work, but I do kind of look forward to listening to the next episode of whichever podcast I’m hooked on at the moment.
Today, I’m going to share some of my recent favorites.
A lot of what I’ve been listening to is in the True Crime genre. These types of stories are captivating, intense, and have an emphasis on history, which I love, so they have worked to keep my mind from going places I don’t want it to on my drive.
Catlick
Catlick is the lost story of how spies, villains, & midnight vigilantes nearly destroyed the South’s grandest city. Catlick is part true crime, part memoir, and part history-teacher-you-wish-you had. B.T. Harman weaves masterful storytelling into a riveting sonic experience that traces one of the most tragic series of events ever to befall a single American city.
You guys! This is the current podcast I’m listening to each morning, and I am hooked! I’m on episode 5 and can’t wait to hear more. It’s very mysterious with a lot of historical details woven in. We’ve only been back to school for 2 days after winter break, but Catlick is helping me with that early-morning transition. I was dragging myself to the car this morning when all of the sudden I remembered that I had left off at a really good place the day before. I think I almost ran the last couple of steps to get in the car and get this story turned on again. 🤣
Bear Brook
Two barrels. Four bodies. And the decades-long mystery that led to a serial killer. A podcast about a cold case that’s changing how murders will be investigated forever.
This is another true crime story that drew me in from the beginning. I have a deep interest in genealogy and DNA testing for ancestry purposes. This podcast is a murder-mystery, but it also has a strong science component it to as they explain how family tree DNA is now being used to help solve cold cases all across the country. I found this podcast fascinating.
Root of Evil
When Elizabeth Short, also known as The Black Dahlia, was brutally killed in 1947, it gripped the entire country. More than 70 years later, it remains America’s most infamous unsolved murder. Many believe Dr. George Hodel was the killer, thanks to an investigation by Hodel’s own son. But murder is just part of the Hodel family story, one filled with horrifying secrets that ripple across generations. Now, through never-before-heard archival audio and first-time interviews, the Hodel family opens up to reveal their shocking story.
Yet another true crime story that engrossed me, but I will warn you, it’s the most gruesome of all the podcasts I’ve listened to. If that is not your thing, this might not be the story for you. I had to fast-forward through some of the parts that were just too graphic for me. I stuck with it though, because the story of this family is captivating and horrifying at the same time.
The Drop Out
Money. Romance. Tragedy. Deception. The story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos is an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. How did the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire lose it all in the blink of an eye? How did the woman once heralded as “the next Steve Jobs” find herself facing criminal charges — to which she pleaded not guilty — and up to 20 years in jail? How did her technology, meant to revolutionize healthcare, potentially put millions of patients at risk? And how did so many smart people get it so wrong along the way? ABC News chief business, technology and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis, along with producers Taylor Dunn and Victoria Thompson, take listeners on a journey that includes a three-year-long investigation. You’ll hear exclusive interviews with former employees, investors, and patients, and for the first-time, the never-before-aired deposition testimony of Elizabeth Holmes, and those at the center of this story.
This is probably my favorite so far of all the podcasts I’ve listened to! Elizabeth Holmes is currently awaiting trial, so if you haven’t heard of her, or her now defunct company Theranos, you will, because it will definitely be in the news again soon. It amazes me that so many smart people were taken in by her “scheme”. But, that’s just it. I can’t decide if it was a scheme all along, or if she just had so much darn confidence in herself that she really believed her plan would eventually work out. I mean, I alternated between thinking she was really brilliant and really stupid. I still can’t decide which. Just listen to this podcast. You won’t regret it.
Broken Brain
In THIS POST a couple of months ago, I talked about how I was learning to give myself permission to rest. This podcast by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith was so helpful in re-thinking my perspective on what it means to “rest” and the consequences to mind, body, and spirit if we don’t get enough of all the different types of rest. If you’re feeling depleted, exhausted, drained or run down, this podcast is worth a listen.
What are you listening to?
Do you listen to podcasts? If you have any favorites, I’d love to hear about them. I’ll be done with Catlick soon, and need some backups ready to go!
podcast there are so many of them any more I truly love them myself as well Thanks for sharing your thoughts
come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com