Running and Podcasts
I hate running. I love being outside, I love getting moving, but the idea of getting out for a run just for the sake of it is a tough sell for me. However, with a semi-desk job that usually entails 9 – 10 hour days, sometimes running is the only way for me to stay active and feel like I am taking care of myself.
One of the ways I have been able to motivate myself is with fun and engaging audio drama podcasts. Because they are more episodic than an audio-book, I can gauge my run to the length of one or two podcasts without ending up stopping at a weird point, and because they are continuing, wanting to know what happens next helps motivate me to get out for a run. Shows like Nightvale, while great audio dramas, have no clear connecting story to get me to want to hear the next episode, and shows like Casefile True Crime, which have gripping episodes but no story arc, just don’t work for me.
I recently finished a great running podcast and I am on the hunt for new ones. My favorites are below, but please get in touch and recommend some listen-alikes!
The Walk – This is an immersive podcast where you are a character in what amounts to a post-apocalyptic walk across the United Kingdom. As you travel through this world you discover more about what is going on and encounter larger and larger dangers. This is especially great with headphones as the audio is recorded in stereo and it really does sound like things are going on all around you. I did find that some parts of the story dragged a little, but overall, I really enjoyed the experience of listening to this as I ran.
EOS10 – This is a hilarious and addicting podcast about life on a remote star base. However, for people who are not science fiction fans, the root of this podcast is not in the science fiction elements of the story but comedic escapades of its main characters, most of whom work in the center’s medical ward, and all of whom are ridiculous. Carnivorous plants, mysterious illnesses and illegal cage fights make for an entertaining run.
The Bright Sessions – What happens when people discover they have uncanny superhero-like abilities at a young age? Therapy of course. This engrossing podcast follows Dr. Bright and her out of the ordinary clients through their therapy sessions and into their every day lives. This show is strongest when it is based in “recorded” documentation (her own recordings of therapy sessions, phone calls etc), but is a really strong and interesting narrative all around.
Threshold – While this is not a fiction podcast, it is a really fascinating take on issues in the natural world, and the episodes in each season build on each other in a really satisfying way. The first season is ostensibly about bison, but is really about the American West and the conflicting stakeholders, from Native Americans to scientists to ranchers, and is a must listen for anyone who wants to understand how our history is still present today. The second season is possibly even better as it looks at the effects of climate change in the arctic, and visits communities who are being affected right now.
Limetown – It has been forever since I listened to this, and the subject matter is definitely more “horror” than the stories that I usually love. However, this serialized drama, which centers on a journalist looking into the mysterious disappearance of the town of Limetown, is so addicting and very well produced.
Deadly Manners – Between trying to figure out which famous actor is voicing a character and trying to figure out who the culprit is, I was hooked. This show is a Agatha Christie style murder mystery set at a 1950s house party that gets snowed in. Playing with typical murder mystery tropes, and voiced by actors like Kristin Bell and RuPaul, it is equal parts funny and suspenseful and will keep you guessing. I did not listen to this running, but I wish I had!
The Archers – A contained story this is not (it has been running as a radio show since the 1960s), but The Archers is hands down my favorite audio drama. A daily 15 minute podcast about daily rural life in a fictional town in England, this would be great for three 30 minute runs a week. This is essentially a voice only soap opera, but it is so much more than that as well. It is a difficult podcast to start as the drama is ongoing, so the only way to get into it is to jump in and resign yourself to spending the first few weeks knowing nothing about what is going on (The Archers website does have a good resource for looking up individual characters if you want to get some backstory).
What are your favorite running/workout listens?
