Maybe you are travelling, and the road is littered with potholes and bumps. You cannot read on your phone properly, or you may be standing on a train, hand holding on to things for balance or bored out of your wits.
Spotify comes to your rescue. Just shove in the earphone jack in your phone, plug it into your earholes. Now passively take in whatever’s blasting on Spotify.
It can be music or podcasts. Here are some podcasts you can listen to while chilling somewhere.
1. Rotten Mango (and sister’s Baking a Murder)
Known YouTube phenomenon Stephanie Soo hosts rotten Mango. She is known as much for her Mukbangs as she is known for being a true-crime commentator. On the sister podcast, she retells fictional stories or summarizes movies. By her side is Stephiance, a moniker for her fiancée. Coupled with self-deprecating humour and sarcasm, Rotten Mango makes the sickest of crime digestible but never dilutes its seriousness. There is a personality to her podcast. Something many other podcasts lack. There is no monotonous narration void of emotions. She rages, and with it, you will, too. You will find yourself either rolling your eyes at how some serial killers get caught, how many of them are cat killers or just gaping at other horrific crimes. You will lament how easy it is to get past the judicial system. While she is cautious about covering non-American cases, enough episodes are covering worldwide cases.
Baking a Murder is a side podcast. It can essentially be seen on your YouTube channel, but if you are only there for her voice, you can listen to the podcast, as well. Basically, she retells fictional stories of crime, thriller and mystery, sometimes from Netflix or other retellings from novels.
2. De Taali Life of a Transgender
There are misconceptions related to transgender people. The moment mothers see a transgender person; they cover the eyes of the kids. Some say these people kidnap kids and turn them into one of them. Clearing up these myths and exploring the world of transgender is the podcast: De Taali Life of a Transgender. Hosted by Six Pack Band’s Fida, the podcast is filled with a laugh but surrounding it as a topic usually dusted under the carpet. The show is not afraid of getting down and dirty and covering topics that will make people blush. But it also forces people to talk like Nirvana, Kaali Raat, transphobia, abuse from family, rejection and even the work they do. Season three goes into representation in media. Honestly, after listening to it, Bollywood did them bad. Things are slightly amateurish in season one. Persist, and you will soon find yourself emersed in their life. As the episode pass, the show covers various other colours of the rainbow. It covers topics from a scientific and logical perspective while going over the mythological side of transgender people. The only bone to pick with it would be the one-dimensional view of the transgender community. It has yet to cover the dark shades. Like internal prejudices, how patriarchal biases somehow linger in the backdrop of views about gays and lesbians or how castes and religion affect their society.
Listen to it for answers to questions that would otherwise be ignorant and offensive.
3. 22 Yarns with Gaurav Kapoor
Do you love cricket? Then what are you doing? Go to Spotify and begin listening to 22 yarns. Tales from the ground, interview with pros and talking about all things cricket. That is what characterizes this podcast. Every minute you learn something new about the world of cricket. The guests that come on the show are genuinely interested in talking about it, and Kapoor is more than willing to interest. His excitement is contagious, and even if you are not a cricket fan, you will find yourself consuming one episode after another. The next time you watch a cricket match, you will find yourself remembering these details. The whole ritual of watching the match would begin to have an entirely new colour. This ranked among the top podcast on Spotify.
4. The Big Fat Indian Ghotala
In a digital India, scams are as prevalent as the need for WiFi. The Big Fat Indian Ghotala on Spotify presents to you in details the working of such fraud. Thus, helping you be cautious of the world around you. It might be mind-boggling how the smallest of loopholes can be exploited by cunning. Scams occur in areas where you least expect them. It is interesting to know about Army (fangirls of BTS) are scammed, train robbery, loan scams, or by customer care service and even scams etc. It was also on the list of top podcasts on Spotify. The episode uses real-life events, so it is all the more fun to listen to. It also makes you cautious while dealing with other people. The titles are also catchy. There is everything for everyone how scammers use different software to book tickets.
5. Love Aaj Kal with Astha and Ankit
Love is an integral part of human existence. It will be impossible not to include this podcast. Love Aaj Kal is hosted by two long time friends who discuss love in the time of technology. They talk about early Indian days to the current times. Of ASL to Tinder. A concept such as whether the men and women can remain friends or not. They talk about everything ranging from live-in relationships to marriages without a filter. It is a podcast that will make neighbouring aunties seethe with horror and leave Millenials and Gen Z nodding their head in agreement. The relatability factor is off the chart here. There is also easy chemistry between the hosts. Something other podcasts lack. Despite the seriousness of certain topics like infidelity, it is an easy listen, dotted with jokes, anecdotes and opinions and listening to it like listening to a friend.
Others in the list include The Ranveer Show, TED Talks Daily, Shudh Desi Gay, Josh Talks, Baalgatha (for kids) and The Michelle Obama Podcast. These are great for self-improvement as well as provide interesting bits of knowledge. Go on and give these a listen. If you do not, then you are just depriving your ears.
