The sweetest super-sized list of podcast recommendations

Lackluster medical treatment, living in space, feminist prayer, stop buying stuff, deep reading, happiness, Santa history.

Obviously I love celebrating great audio and now that we’re at the end of the year, there are many best-of lists coming out every week. But I also like to share and read really heartfelt recommendations. So often those are not the kind of things you get from year-end lists. I know I’m biased in saying this, but Tink Media’s list of Audio Delicacies definitely satisfies that sweet craving. It’s a space we’ve created for people from across the industry to indulge and get incredibly enthusiastic about the audio that made them feel something this year. It’s equally special reading what the contributors wrote, as it is seeing the shows react to what’s been said about them. It’s a wholesome and positive thing that feels very needed, especially this year.

If you’re looking for some deliciously delightful podcasts, I hope you’ll check out the list. You will very likely read about some of the shows in upcoming podstacks because there are so many gems here.

This week’s podstack

Tight Lipped - Beyond the Books

After shows this year like The Retrievals and Exposed, where women’s medical experiences aren’t taken seriously enough, this show adds even more information to follow up. It focuses on medical conditions and experiences that people with vaginas and vulvas face. The episode about vaginismus, which caused medical conditions that included vulvovaginal pain to be understood as a psychological issue (not a physical one), might feel frustrating to listen to. Since it was classified as part of the DSM, the episode shows you the ways a proper diagnosis hasn’t been possible. If too many things are just blanketed as vaginismus, actual conditions go undiscovered and so many people blame themselves. The episode about what’s missing from medical education and training about vulvovaginal and pelvic pain has some of the most absurd medical advice from doctors for people who experienced pain during exams and sex. Like someone actually recommended using a cucumber to help… I can not. How is this real?! (transcript)

Unexplainable - Can we live in space?

Did you also watch For All Mankind and realize you have no interest in going to space? If not, this episode might do the trick. The impact space has on people’s bodies is actually wild! We’re talking things like changes in your vertebrae that make your pants too short in space, only to shrink back down once you’re back on earth. The physical impacts are only half the battle, too! The mental impact of the isolation is just as freaky. This episode talks about some of the proposed plans to build something so that people could live in space. As interesting as that idea is, it’s a big challenge to make it an enjoyable or even sustainable living experience. NASA wants a permanent moon base and I’ve seen enough For All Mankind to remain highly skeptical. Moon dust sounds brutal! (transcript)

Ritually - A Feminist Call to Prayer

On a mission to test out different spirituality rituals and figure out which rituals suit her best, Nelufar starts off with one that has been present her whole life - the daily call to prayer that’s practiced by millions of Muslims around the world. Nelufar sees herself as more of a progressive Muslim woman, which means she has struggled to accept the patriarchal interpretations of Islam. This daily prayer ritual isn’t really supposed to be read by a woman, it is only ever performed by a man and that might be a big part of why Nelufar feels disconnected from it. With the help of Sarah Zaltash, a woman who does perform the daily call, Nelufar tries to give this ritual a chance. She documents the journey as she wakes up at dawn to listen to Beloved Sarah’s call and when she feels herself wavering, she turns to her mom to help re-inspire her. Whether or not you practice any forms of prayer, joining Nelufar as she goes on this honest and personal journey helps you appreciate the way that rituals can ground us. In the next episode, she explores the ritual of exorcisms and after how good this episode was, I’m so curious to hear what happens! It blends personal documentary and information in the way I love. (transcript)

The Dough - How to Stop Buying Sh*t on the Internet

The range of storytelling in this episode blew me away. It explores the way we are sold to online, particularly from the wellness economy. In a dream match up, Kulap Vilaysack and SuChin Pak, the hosts of Add To Cart, join host X Mayo to talk about what persuades us to spend. They respond to stories of people who have bought things they thought would solve all their wellness problems. The three of them have fantastic chemistry together as they react and relate to the different purchases. Then the episode shifts to focus on Sam Slupski, who turned to wellness advice from the internet for a while before realizing how far it had misled them. All throughout, X Mayo weaves in money mindset questions to help us all spend more consciously. I was expecting solid spending advice, which I got, but I wasn’t expecting it to be as fun as it was! This is the epitome of balancing informative and entertaining content.

The Ezra Klein Show - Best Of: This Is Your Brain on Deep Reading. It’s Pretty Magnificent.

I’m obviously a bigger podcast listener than I am a reader, but I do still read a lot. It’s just not often in the form of a book, even less so a physical copy of a book. I haven’t thought much of it, but this discussion between Ezra and Maryanne Wolf introduced me to the realization that the way we read has been drastically changing and impacting how we absorb information. Our brains start learning to mostly skim when reading on a screen and it prevents us from this deeper state of reading where you are applying an understanding of purpose and analysis to what you’re reading. Like so many conversations around technology, it also comes back to our attention spans and our ability to focus when we are constantly surrounded by an overwhelming amount of information. They also touch on the damaging impact these screens are having on children and how it’s hindering their abilities to focus and learn. Their brains become hungry for the novel experiences that they get from screens. It’s like we’re seeing too much and now we can barely absorb it. Anyways, fun chat! Seriously, Ezra is so skilled in turning an interview into a dynamic and inquisitive conversation that you’re desperately trying to remember everything from. And don’t worry, they do talk about solutions! This isn’t an attempt to make you boycott technology.

Am I Normal? - Lessons from the happiest place in the world

A career dedicated to studying happiness is known as a happyologist? So cool! Ilona Suojanen brings some critical analysis to those studies you might hear that claim one place is the happiest place in the world. The flaws in those studies help us better understand what might actually contribute to a sense of happiness or satisfaction. It also isn’t as much of an individual ranking as we might think. How happy are the people around you? Not only that, but the people you surround yourself with also impact your happiness. Ilona and Saleem’s conversation opens up our definition of happiness and even the importance we place on it, at least in the typical sense we’re often told about. Besides the systemic and societal barriers that contribute to overall satisfaction, it kinda seems like our perception of happiness might be our biggest roadblock to experiencing it. (transcript)

Niche To Meet You - Santa Portrayal Artists

I love a good history lesson and this episode opens with the history of Santa. It takes a worldwide study of him to teach us the ways different countries and religions understand who Santa is and what he represents. As interesting as that is the hear, it was the second half of the episode that really sold me. This is where you get to hear from people who dress up as Santa during the holiday season. In the movies, these people are sometimes portrayed as sad or desperate employees, but the people you get to hear from are full of so much love and joy. They do it because they know how much it can mean to families and children. They even have gatherings to prepare for the season and bond over their magical Santa moments. This is bringing back the holiday spirit to how we think about mall Santas and more. I’m also just curious to see what else this show covers because of its focus on people’s hobbies and niche interests!

More sweet treats

• Why you should say “you’re welcome” instead of “no worries”.

• Margot Robbie listened to an episode of This American Life to help prepare for her role as Barbie (around the 2min mark).

• These thoughts on burnout from Arianna Huffington are still running through my mind.

• Support this awesome audio documentary.

Thank you for reading! If you listened to something this week that made your heart sing, your imagination wander, or your brain ponder, I’d love to hear about it!