Podcasts

I listen to quite a few podcasts, and to my shame many fill the role of 'good background noise'. There are two, however, that have added a lot of value to my life. A business podcast that taught me valuable insight and an entertainment podcast that is more evocative and compelling than most books.

Entertainment

Worlds Beyond Number

Worlds Beyond Number is a narrative D&D podcast, with a heavy focus on production value and story telling. At time of writing they are almost finished with the first story and that is the one I am recommending, starting at episode 1 - The Wizard, the Witch and the Wild One. I listen to a few D&D actual play podcasts and this one is so far ahead of the others I am in awe. The DM's (Brennan Lee Mulligan) exceptional, atmospheric, storytelling style has me hooked in a world full of mystery and secrets. The only actual play I know of with an on staff sound designer the production quality is better than most paid audiobooks, and has moved me more than most. Try it, you might love it.

Work

Startups For The Rest of Us

Over the years I have trialled a lot of business podcasts, especially in the startup space as that is where I prefer to work. I have found a lot of the advice quite unhelpful and vague. I am not interested in moving to the valley and buying a startup lottery ticket, and I'm not really interested in making another Crypto product / GPT Wrapper / whatever the next thing is. So many other podcasts sell the idea that its easy to become a millionaire with online business and all you need is x,y,z. Startups for the rest of us has been a breath of fresh air for me. Rob Walling has been through the bootstrapped startup process, and now runs a tiny funding house for others who want to stay away from angels and build a sustainable business. With that mindset he shows up weekly with real insight, guidelines for if you want to do it yourself, and a couple of books to read if you want more detail. He interviews founders for products that you could see yourself making (if you want to stay out of VC world) and provides solid lessons on what to do and what to avoid as first time founder.