In the beginning of quarantine, I found myself on my couch every night from 6-7 PM watching the local and national news because it was such a critical time for our country to be in the know. As time has gone on and we have seen ourselves –somewhat—returning to normal life, I have been tuning into the news less and less, especially with moving to college. However, I still wanted to stay up to date with what was going on in our country and the world, so while I’m walking around campus, at the gym, or simply have free time, I listen to a news podcast. It was even one of my New Year’s resolutions to listen to at least one news podcast every day; I have surpassed this thus far and typically find myself listening to four or more every day. My top four recommendations are The Daily, The Journal, NPR News Now, and The NPR Politics Podcast.
The Daily is a The New York Times production, hosted by Michael Barbaro. Episodes are typically around twenty-five minutes long and are posted Monday through Friday by 6 a.m. The Daily covers some of the biggest news stories, not just from the United States, but internationally as well. Barbaro and his team find and interview plenty of qualified professionals who speak on the topics and give their educated points of view. They break down the subject matter into easily digestible information so you can get the most out of the episode. My only complaint about the podcast is that when Barbaro interviews the guest speakers, he sometimes sounds disengaged and will respond to their commentary with mumbles. Other than that, I think that this is a terrific informational podcast to listen to.
Another news podcast that I highly recommend is The Journal. The Journal is a podcast for The Wall Street Journal and it takes a business approach to current events. The hosts are Kate Linebaugh and Ryan Knutson, and I find them to be more engaging to listen to. I think that they do a better job than Barbaro of keeping the podcast lively. As a prospective business major, the information discussed is valuable in giving me a more in depth understanding of world events and how they relate to my life and future.
If you are really in a time crunch, NPR News Now is the news podcast for you. Episodes are only four minutes long and are updated every single hour, seven days a week, to give you the most recent and updated information. Because the episodes are so short, there are certainly topics that get skipped and overlooked. The lack of time also forces the podcast to skip out on critical information. However, it’s a good way to become familiar with what is going on.
The final news podcast I am going to recommend to you is The NPR Politics Podcast, which has episodes that are around 15 minutes long and are posted every weekday. The hosts give an inside look of the United States government and their affairs. They give great information about what is going on, and the relevance of it all, which is so important for young adults who are just beginning to vote.