Podcast fever

I never thought I'd enjoy listening to podcasts until I started doing it while doing the dishes and cleaning the house. As I'm writing this, I'm nearly finished listening to The Sexy Minds Podcast with DJ Toni Toni and Dr. Rica Cruz in my Spotify account. Their entry: Episode 27: Sasha's Quest for Love and Sexcapades talks about their interview with Sasha, a 30-year-old single mother based in California, USA, and her like what the title says, her search for intimacy and sexual awakening and journey. Such are just some of the thousands of genres you can listen to in Spotify or in any other podcast provider such as Apple, Amazon, and Google.

A podcast is a type of spoken-word audio in which a host/s talks about a given topic engaging in a discussion on a given topic. It can be carefully scripted or completely improvised as long as it doesn't stray too far off from the topic. The podcast can also have a combination of elaborate and artistic sound production with thematic concerns ranging from scientific research to whatever you can think of. The earliest time I remember when I learned about podcasting was back in 2019 when some Facebook friends I have started a podcast show on Facebook "Kain, Tulog Gang" (I think) and I would just scroll by their stream whenever they go live. Back then, browsing my newsfeed was an active process that requires my full attention since my feed is filled with memes, news, and pets. So, listening to their podcast would hinder me from browsing memes that I can share so I can get my 'Haha' reactions for the day so that was out of the picture. Until I started doing it while washing the dishes.

Just this 2021, I made a new year's resolution to consume content that would enrich my mind. So that means I have to read more credible, meaningful, and insightful media more so I can avoid the fallacies and the idiot mob generated by social media. But reading is a taxing and sleep-inducing activity for me so I decided to try podcasts. In my first few days, I started with Freakonomics Radio with Stephen Dubner on Google Podcast. I struggled a bit because my mind kept wandering a lot while listening to the topic at hand, maybe because I was also browsing memes on Reddit. But then I remembered I've yet to wash the dishes in the pantry so I can cook rice anew for dinner and that's when I started absorbing every word they put out. It's addicting, enriching, and puts your soul at ease. Eventually, I started listening to channels I'm mostly interested in, namely current events, comedy, and social commentary. And it's like I started listening to podcasts more than to music because it usually takes me a Hall and Oats song to get me started in the morning and replaced it with the funny guys at The KoolPals.

The first series that got me hooked was the Inquirer's murder series entitled Super Evil. It features long-time reporter Pam Pastor as the narrator of one of the most heinous crimes in the history of the Philippines, the rape-slay of UPLB student Eileen Sarmenta by ex-Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez. The narration is filled to the brim with details, interviews, and the context of the crime as it happened then. In its seven-episode series, I was able to fill my mind with credible information as if you're reading from newspapers from the yesteryears. What I also loved about the series is the final episode where they talked about the challenges and the struggles in creating the series. The sheer amount of legwork of interviewing past officials such as Senators Panfilo Lacson and Franklin Drilon, and even the people of Calauwa who despite everything that happened, still supported the delusional murderer Sanchez.

After this series, that's when I started branching out to other channels. I love the US-based pop-quiz current events series Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and the spin-off of the Freakonomics Radio series: The People I Admire, and No Stupid Questions. I also enjoyed the spiritually-enriching topics in The Daily Stoic, The Art of Manliness, The School of Greatness, and many more. For local picks, I love the funny banter between three local standup comedians: GB Labrador, Nonong Ballinan, and James Caraan in The KoolPals, the in-depth discussion of political issues in Facts First by one of my favorite journalism professors and current ANC News anchor Christian Esguerra, Bago Matulog with Red Ollero and Sabayan with Victor by Victor Anastacio (both prolific standup comedians). I mainly listen on Spotify so I guess I'm missing out a lot in news-related channels because I've read somewhere that Apple Podcasts offer a wider range of topics that would feed your mind but I have no budget for an additional subscription so I'll stick to my this platform since they already offer tons of content already.

My playlist of podcasts in Spotify

After listening to a lot of their content, I really thought there was money to be made in writing after all. I had this notion since college that there's not a lot of money to be made in writing compared to other professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and engineers, but their experiences gave me a better perspective at the opportunities in the creative industry. Listening to the experiences of sketch writers in comedy shows reminded me of one of the goals I had after graduation, to write sketches for the Bubble Gang. Writing comedy, to me, was a dream job that I turned my back on after realizing I'm not funny or relatable enough to other people. But I will always treasure the moment when I made my entire batch laugh so hard in the training room after performing a skit when I was employed in a call center. Maybe after the pandemic I'll try the open mic hopefully before I die. I'll include it in my bucket list.

Lately, I've been listening to a lot about sex podcasts since that's one topic I'm usually averse to talking over especially with strangers. I first listed to Conservative Ako by Dr. Rica Cruz and it talked mainly about female pleasure. Since the series first started in January 2020 (pre-pandemic), it stopped streaming its last episode last May 2020. Eventually, after having her as a guest at The KoolPals show, I found out that she has a new channel entitled The Sexy Minds Podcast. It's a new and improved version of her earlier show since it gave guys a voice in the narration. Usually, their show includes a guest interview with a woman and she is asked about how she had her sexual awakening and past experiences. In the old show, there were only girls talking, but the new show gave us guys the opportunity (thru DJ Toni) to ask follow-up questions such as how was it? Was it big? Did you enjoy it? and many other burning questions that could eat you up at night. It's important for me because it shed light on our insecurities as men such as does size really matter? and how long is long (performance anxiety issues)? among others so I really enjoyed listening to their podcast.

Overall, listening to podcasts is really enjoyable and therapeutic. One of my frustrations in reading is some authors make their material so hard to comprehend, either using obscure literary devices or highfaluting words but when you're writing for the ears, it should be easy to understand and enjoyable to hear, so definitely podcasts are easier to understand and digest. And if you miss a point, you can rewind, just the same with a book where you can reread if you don't understand, you read it again. But the best thing I like about podcasts is you can listen to them while being productive with something else. When you're reading a book, you have to put it down when you're doing the dishes, but with podcasts, just put on your headphones and listen away while you wash the dishes, clean the house, or whatever. I really hope more people get into the podcast culture as it helps you listen more and reflect. One thing I noticed in social media and video streaming services is it gives users the opportunity to react and say stupid things one after the other. With podcasts, you listen first and give the opportunity for the author to end his/her point before you can respond. I think that's what's making people more stupid more than ever. As the great Mike Tyson once said, "Social media made y'all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it"