I’m late to podcasts, thinking for a long time that they were just recordings of NPR radio shows, series like Serial, or Wayne’s World-style pet projects. Yes, pretty uninformed perspective. I really started listening podcasts about two years ago. Trying to find a way to stop fighting with my husband over who controls the radio on our regular eight-hour drives to visit my family in Pittsburgh, podcasts became our savior. We agreed on shows about space, political theory, and cultural topics.

Then I discovered all the interesting higher education and creative professional podcasts, and I was hooked. I even started regularly exercising so I could find dedicated time to work my way through different shows’ backlogs of episodes (hey, whatever works, right?). Below is a quick list of my favorites and the Twitter handles of the hosts.

Higher Education in General

Teaching in Higher Ed – hosted by Dr. Bonni Stachowiak. Great interviews with academics of all stripes focused on teaching specifically with some tips on academic life. I’ll be on in August 2018!

Research in Action – production of Oregon State University Ecampus, hosted by Dr. Katie Linder. Katie pops up a lot in the list, but it’s well deserved. She’s one of the most prolific higher ed podcasters out there. This particular show is interview-based and covers all aspects of academic life and careers. I was on recently – here’s the link to my episode.

You’ve Got This – hosted by Dr. Katie Linder. This one is about “surviving and thriving in an academic life” and covers a variety of topics like setting and managing research agendas, productivity strategies, pitching and writing books, and a hundred other ways to navigate faculty work.

Future U – hosted by Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn. This podcast is hosted by Chronicle contributor Jeff Selingo and higher ed researcher and consultant Michael Horn. Each episode includes an interview with a higher ed or ed tech leader as well as time for the hosts to discuss what they learned from the conversation. Covers many topics surrounding the business and future of higher education in the US.

Higher Ed Now – production of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. This podcast looks at higher education through the lens of policy and hot topics in the industry with great interviews and conversations.

Academics with Side Gigs

AcademiGig – hosted by Dr. Katie Linder and Dr. Sara Langworthy. Katie’s back (and I even left two other podcasts off of this list), and this time she is joined by Sarah Langworthy to talk about academics running their own businesses. Katie is employed by a University but has a robust side business, speaking, writing books, and designing websites for academics. Sara, a child psychologist, left academia to start two side business which are her primary income streams now. The show is about the joys and challenges of starting your own side gig, chock full of lots of advice, real stories, reality doses, and encouragement.

Academics Mean Business – hosted by Dr. Lindsay Padilla. Lindsay is a former academic now running a consulting business helping entrepreneurs design online courses. On this podcasts, she interviews creative academic entrepreneurs about life after the academy.

Other Favorites

Accidental Creative – hosted by Todd Henry. I’m kind of obsessed with Todd Henry’s work this summer, books and podcasts. While his advice isn’t empirically based, he has a great deal of experience supporting creative, and the more I listen/read, the more connections I see to faculty life because faculty are, in many ways, self-managed creative entrepreneurs.

The Savvy Psychologist – hosted by Dr. Ellen Hendriksen. Helpful, easily digestible episodes cover a variety of psychology topics such as getting over disappointment, reasons for procrastinating, and damaging myths we buy into. I appreciate that each episode is grounded in research and offers helpful tips you can use.

WorkLife – a TED production hosted by Dr. Adam Grant.Adam Grant is everywhere these days. Great podcast about common workplace issues, most of which can translate to the academy as a workplace. One interesting feature is the commercials – rather than just speed read a pre-written ad, Adam interviews people at the sponsors company and tells stories about their innovations.