Mindful Listening: My Best Podcasts of 2020

My best podcasts of 2020. I’ve really had to get used to the fact that my free time is often spent in transit. Having my car in Cape Town was a luxury. I could get places easier, blast music and sip a coffee whilst navigating my way through traffic and have the entire space to myself. Moving to London has pushed me into the realm of public transport.

Travelling often brings about the notion that you aren’t doing anything however, on the contrary, you are actually being productive. You are getting yourself from point A to B and, to me, that is the beauty of travel. You are progressing in a state of nothingness. That’s what’s so soothing about it. Add a podcast to the mix and you’re good to go. 

Bye bye, mindless scrolling!

I found I’d spend these so-called ‘mindless’ hours in travel scrolling my Instagram, exiting Instagram, going onto Facebook and then back onto Instagram. It was a perpetuating cycle of self-comparison which led me to often be grumpy or dazed when I got to my final destination. Mindless scrolling will probably be the death of us one day.

Not just table talk…

Adding podcasts to my daily routine has not only left me feeling much smarter, as I can contribute interesting words to the dinner table, but has also helped me quiet my mind whilst learning something new. You block out the external and delve deep into a conversation between people and it often feels like you’re right there in the room with them.

Here are my best podcasts of 2020 with the hopes that you, too, can feel a little smarter and make your moments of spare time a little more meaningful.

My “pick-me-up” podcast

How to Fail by Elizabeth Day is perfect light listening for when you are having a really shitty day. She interviews people who are perceived as, and yes definitely are, successful. She grinds into their psyche and asks them what their 3 top failures are. It’s a flip on the common narrative of interviewing someone. It isn’t about asking them all the wonderful things about them and how fantastic they are as humans. Interviews like those can often make you feel a little useless, especially when you’re on public transport en route to a meeting you don’t want to go to and here is someone chatting about the millionth book they’ve just sold and their plans to travel America doing signings.

Elizabeth is such a gem at poking fun at herself and bringing out the vulnerabilities in others. This podcast leaves you feeling that much closer to those you may admire and puts you on their level, realising we are all just humans with flaws. 

My “body and health” podcast

Mind Body Green is one of my favourites for the morning. The episodes are short, and extremely informative snippets of the human body, diet, and mind. It puts many scientific and biological things into perspective. Listening will leave you with plenty of nuggets of knowledge that you probably would’ve never learnt elsewhere. It helps you understand how plenty of things influence the way we feel, act, react, behave and live. MBG puts everything into short episodes that are easy to digest and understand.

I feel sorry for whoever I see post listening to one of these episodes as my inner physician comes out. I will probably ask you if you are getting enough REM and deep sleep, if you are doing 4-7-8 breathing and if you are considering cutting out a certain food group. Apologies in advance for this, but remember, everything should be taken with a pinch of salt.

My “get-up-and-go” podcast

Feminine as F*ck by Monica Yates is my best for when I am having a me-moment. Cue a long walk in a park, or a Saturday morning on my way to my usual gym class. Monica’s podcast was introduced to me by my best friend, Candice. Monica gives you the best insight into harnessing your female energy in the best way possible. Also, the science nerd in me can’t get enough of her biological referencing. All of her statements are backed by data and she leaves you feeling like a badass empowered superwoman. 

Give these a go and please let me know your thoughts! Tag me on Instagram @morganshelly or use the hashtag #AllSheDoes