Diksha SundriyalJust like education doesn’t start with school books, it does not end at graduation. You are constantly learning and that’s how you get better. There are all sorts of podcasts around these days — comedy, political, mystery, history, horror and the most popular ones, true crime. With this legion of content out there, it might get tiresome to choose the ones that educate you. Don’t worry, we have listed down the best ones for you in this article. Here’s the list of top educational podcasts. You can listen to several of these best educational podcasts on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify or even YouTube for free.
10. Education Bookcast (2016- present)
Teaching yourself something is easier than passing on knowledge to kids. Whether you are a teacher or just a parent who wants to be thoroughly indulged in their child’s education, ‘Education Bookcast’ is the podcast for you. Children can be difficult, and you might run out of ways to handle their shenanigans. With this podcast, you learn how to deal with such situations, as well as what’s the best course of education for them. Every episode takes you forward one subject at a time, from psychology to history to economics to philosophy, you get to learn it all in this one. You can catch all episodes of the podcast here.
9. The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish (2015- present)
Why do we need to go to school? Why is it so important to be educated? Rather than engaging in some deep philosophical discussion about what it means to be human and what knowledge means for us, I will take a very simple way out here. Education is important to lead a better life, to be able to have a job, to be able to live a decent life and consequently, be happy. ‘The Knowledge Project’ aims to take your learning a step further. The topics here are immensely useful and the end of every session proves nothing if not fruitful. You can listen to all its episodes here.
8. History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps (2010- present)
Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, and all the other philosophers have said a lot of things about love, life, death, friendship, and what not. You are free to interpret their ideas on your own, but what was the context behind all that stuff. What’s the story behind the rise of philosophy and what’s its impact on our life? All these things are discussed in this podcast. Listen to ‘History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps’ here.
7. Brain Science with Ginger Campbell (2006- present)
The complicated structure of the brain and its workings are not for everyone to understand. Not easily, at least. Unless you want to be a neuroscientist or something, I wouldn’t expect you to devour every book about the subject. But that doesn’t mean you are not interested in the topic. Sure, you want to know things, you just want to drown yourself in too much information to come out with next to nothing. ‘Brain Science’ has you covered on this front. Here, Dr Ginger Campbell reveals interesting bits, leaving out the heavier stuff that will give you a headache. A lot of knowledge, a lot of fun. Listen to the podcast here.
6. Rationally Speaking (2010- present)
No rule is ironclad. Everything is open for discussion. A healthy debate, a willing skeptic, someone who keeps asking questions, providing counter-argument to everything you think is set in stone, this is what it means to live in an intellectual society. If your surroundings haven’t been catering to this need and you feel suffocated amongst the orthodox and the hypocrites, then ‘Rationally Speaking’ is the remedy for you. Interesting topics are up for discussion – from astronomy to anthropology to philosophy to politics. You will not be bored here. Catch the podcast here.
5. Revisionist History (2016- present)
The point of education is to open up a person to different perspectives so that they can build their own interpretation of things. The good, the bad, the black and white, the grey area, everything depends on how you perceive things and events. History is a collection of stories and characters that want our perspective. They have to be evaluated and understood and see if they can or should be repeated in the future. Reading about so many things might have already fixed your point of view towards some things, but Malcolm Gladwell aims to change, or at least stir your thoughts again, on certain topics. This is ‘Revisionist History’ and you can listen to all the episodes here.
4. Every Little Thing (2017- present)
No matter what anyone says, the thing that has kept humans alive and in the game of “the survival of the fittest” is their curious brain. If we never asked questions, if we never wondered what the changing of seasons meant, how wood can float on water and how to light a fire, we would have still been apes. Our curiosity has branched out in all directions and there is nothing too small or too irrelevant for us to wonder about. Have you ever wondered why rules are important? What would happen if there was no government? How does library cataloging work and what the hell is the DaVinci Code of pasta? All these queries are answered in ‘Every Little Thing’. You can listen to all its episodes here.
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3. The Allusionist (2015- present)
What is the single most important thing that you need to be able to converse, to spread information, to gain knowledge? Language. Read, writing, speaking, the thing that you need to express yourself or understand others is words. The more people speak a common language, the easier it becomes to communicate. English is one such language. Spoken by people all over the world, it has become a common tongue now. But it didn’t acquire that status overnight. It took many historical events and a lot of evolution on the language’s part to reach here. ‘The Allusionist’ enlightens on some key points, the stuff that you most probably haven’t heard of or read about before. Get ready to see English in a whole new light. You can listen to all the episodes of this podcast here.
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2. Stuff You Should Know (2008- present)
Conventional education is alright. We get to learn a lot of things in school and it forms the basis of everything that we will learn later in life. But there are some things that a school book just does not cover. From conspiracy theories to weird questions that pop up in our brains, from information that we are supposed to learn later but never do due to the things that the government doesn’t disclose to us, there’s a lot for us to be curious about. ‘Stuff You Should Know’ covers topics like these and keeps you informed and entertained at the same time. It will tell about the things you never knew you needed to know. You can listen to the podcast here.
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1. Trending in Education (2016- present)
The world is in a constant state of flux. Things are changing as we speak, history is being created, rules are being changed, discoveries are being made and new inventions are a routine now. All of this becomes information that we should know, but not all at once. ‘Trending in Education’ keeps you updated on all the good stuff. Thought-provoking discussions and the unearthing of not well-known things is the norm here. What is better for your brain and how can grasp more knowledge with lesser effort — it is topics like these that find a place here. You can listen to all the episodes of this podcast here.
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