travel blog, minus the bull$hit

I’m the type of person that struggles with uhhhh….thinking (?). More like there are constantly a billion different thoughts running through my head at any given moment, and over time I’ve come to realize that listening to something like a podcast basically just gets me out of my head and more focused. It’s like the opposite of mindfulness, if that makes sense. I like the hands-free eyes-free knowledge and entertainment– Listening to stories gives my mind something to follow, and it makes me feel significantly more productive since I am almost always multitasking while listening to podcasts. This is also why I (WARNING: UNPOPULAR OPINION) occasionally, and VERY RARELY, watch dubbed anime (I’M SORRY).

But blasphemy aside, here are a few of my favorite podcasts to listen to during my drives, while I’m writing, or tidying up. I also primarily listen to podcasts on Spotify, but feel free to support them on any platform that hosts them.

Disclaimer: No, these are not traits of a serial killer. Some girls just really like listening to true crime and medical mishaps in their free time. It’s normal.

My Favorite Murder

Fellow Murderino’s, where y’all at?!

MFM is the very first true crime podcast I have ever gotten into. To be honest, it might actually be the first podcast I ever truly listened to? My older sister put me on it waaay back in 2017 and I have listened to each and every episode since. Karen and Georgia’s personalities and story telling capabilities just make listening to all these true crime stories so enjoyable. I adore listening to all their pre-story banter, which I do acknowledge is also not everyone’s cup of tea.

Check out their website here for more information.

Casefile True Crime

I find it pretty respectable that the host of this podcast chooses to remain anonymous, but goes by “Casey”, in order to keep the focus on the victims and survivors he talks about on the show. If you prefer a good true crime podcast that gets straight to the point without spending 1/3 of the episode duration listening to banter, then this podcast may be better suited for you!

Check out their website here for more information.

Dr. Death

Warning: Dr. Death is definitely NOT for everyone. It is fairly explicit in a medical sense, so I would not recommend to those who are more sensitive and already have existing anxiety when it comes trusting doctors or any other health care professionals.

Another great Wondery-produced podcast. Each season shifts it’s focus to a new doctor serving under a different specialty, but what each doctor has in common are their unacceptable cases of medical malpractice. The host goes into gruesome detail of these cases and leaves you wondering how on earth these doctors even made it through all those years of education and training and still somehow remain incompetent. How do some of these “doctors” who swore their hippocratic oaths to uphold ethical standards find it in them to knowingly do this to their poor patients?

Check out their website here for more information.

Freakonomics

The one and only non-true crime podcast I listen to! According to their website “Freakonomics Radio tells you things you always thought you knew (but didn’t) and things you never thought you wanted to know (but do) — from the economics of sleep to how to become great at just about anything, plus the true stories of minimum wage, rent control, and the gender pay gap.” Simply put, this podcast’s goal is to explore the hidden side of everything. Based on the good chunk of episodes I’ve listened to so far, this description is pretty darn accurate. The discussions on the podcast are almost always based on published academic research and facts. My favorite part of this podcast is not only can I learn from it, but I also don’t get bored from learning!

I usually switch over to Freakonomics when I run out of MFM episodes to watch.

Check out their website here for more information.