We’re big fans of Changes here at Pod Bible. Could you tell any readers who may not have tuned in yet what they can expect?

Changes is a podcast that interviews all different types of people with the regards to the biggest changes they’ve been through in their life by zooming in on their big changes. Whether that’s changes that have happened to them or changes they have implemented; you are getting into the really knotty, interesting, meaningful parts of their lives.

Changes came third in the Interview & Conversation category in the 2023 Pod Bible Listener Polls (voted for exclusively by listeners). What is it about the show that you think people find so engaging?

I was so happy to win that award, to get to the top third in such good company as well – it meant the world. I hope that what people find engaging is the choice of the guests. We try to choose our guests because of the stories they have to tell – so the hope is that everyone has an interesting story; something that is remarkable, something that is compelling to listen to.

My interview technique is to kind of lean back, I don’t get too busy, so I like to allow the interviewee to feel really relaxed and talk as much as they like and then use the editing process later to hone and shape that into more of a structured conversation. I hope that it’s engaging – our episodes aren’t ever really long as we’re conscious of people’s time and how long they have to listen to something at any given go.

The other thing is trying to zoom in on our listeners’ needs, and how they would like to be served, and thinking in terms of What can they hear that will make them feel more connected to the world, and to themselves, and also help them to be able to navigate change in their lives better?

Has making the podcast changed you in any way?

Changes has really changed me, I suppose. First of all, it was the kind of backdrop through a period of huge change in my life from when I decided to leave BBC Radio 1 and venture into the world of writing and writing novels. So Changes has been there all the way through that. It served me really well in terms of just being able to pick the people I really really want to talk to and hear from – so my own instinctive curiosity has been served, which is amazing.

Then in terms of how I’ve changed, I suppose I’ve just learned so much. When you have these conversations with people and you really dig into people’s human experiences, you cannot help but broaden your own minds, you know? You’re learning what it is to live, what it is to be a human. The more experiences you learn from, the bigger your own mind is, but also the more empathetic you are. Learning different perspectives, I think, is a really big priority for changes. Learning how other people see the world and how other people are treated in the world and being able to really hear those voices that maybe don’t get heard that much gives you a sense of empathy and awareness of real human experience. To me that’s a really valuable thing, that’s definitely something I’ve got and that has changed me on starting it out.

Alongside Changes you also make Sidetracked with your old friend Nick Grimshaw, we imagine you two could talk about anything and make it an enjoyable listen but what’s your main focus?

The main focus for Sidetracked is just us having fun and talking about music. It’s an extension, a vehicle basically for our friendship to exist in audio form (an extension of our friendship in audio form). And it’s very much supposed to be a natural, unforced look through the week in music. So anyone we want to talk about, no matter how absurd or silly, is what we do. I really like it for that reason because it’s completely authentic to who we are as people and what our friendship is.

What’s it like to be working with Nick again?

It’s amazing to be working with Nick, I’m really really enjoying it. I also love the contrast between Sidetracked – which is all done by the BBC Sounds team – versus Changes which is run by me and my own production company, so I can just go in, have a laugh and leave every week and that’s really nice.

It’s absolutely amazing to be working with Nick again, it’s something I’ve been trying to figure out for a few years now so it’s great we’ve been able to do this.

Finally, with such vast experience in presenting on the radio and now in podcasts, what advice would you give to any aspiring hosts who may be reading?

I think the most important thing in broadcasting is truthfulness, is honesty, it’s having your listeners believe that what’s coming out of your mouth is something that is truthful and honest to who you are. So whatever you choose to do, whatever you choose to cover, whatever you choose to talk about, make sure that it is coming from a place of real passion and real curiosity on your part. I think that if that’s your bottom line – you’re off to a really really good start.

Listen to Changes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcasts >>

The post Annie Mac: “Changes has really changed me” appeared first on POD BIBLE.

When my own commute to work was shortened from an hour on a train down to the 30 second walk from my bedroom to my home office, with it went my traditional time for enjoying podcasts. As I began to adjust to my lifestyle in quarantine, what I definitely did not expect were for podcasts to fill a void, a sense of loneliness that I (nor probably anyone else) was prepared to handle. I may never be able to thank enough the hosts of the shows that got me through 2020, who went with me on my daily walks, who spoke quietly to me when the existential dread snuck in at night, who joined me for my morning coffee when I wasn’t quite ready to open a computer yet. I wish I could offer them something more than gratitude, but gratitude is all this year has left me with.

10. Reply All

The day I received word that my office was closed until further notice, I was in the car with my dog heading back to New York for a family emergency unrelated to the emergency the world was currently spiraling into. A dear friend calmly listened to me panic-pack my car and my request for something to listen to on my six-hour car ride and sent me Reply All’s episode 158, “The Case of the Missing Hit”. This mind-boggling journey to discover how a listener has been singing a 90’s song no one knows or has ever heard of for most of his life. “This is wild,” I thought on March 12th. Frankly, I had no idea HOW wild.

9. The Last Bohemians

I’d written about my unabashed love of the first series of The Last Bohemians and the brilliance of Kate Hutchinson towards the end of 2019. So I was thrilled that Series 2 carried me over into the first month of quarantine, sharing stories of extraordinary women who had overcome obstacles, including society’s expectations of them to lead the kind of wild, beautiful lifestyle I’d always dreamt of having myself. A programme like Bohemians also helped to keep my imagination running at a time when it started to feel hard to picture a world outside of the nightmare of the virus.

8. Tuesday Night Jaw

In May, I wrote about how proud I was to see my friend Matt Richards taking over for Jim Smallman on the wrestling-focused Distractions Pieces Network show. (Side note: Matt now works with Tony Jameson on something called Football Manager Therapy, which I love even though I have no earthly idea what they’re talking about.) What Matt did with the show was wonderful, and what Kirsty Bosley has done since she took over from Matt is equally delightful and so important in the wake of the #SpeakingOut movement in wrestling. While I’ve distanced myself from wrestling as a whole for personal reasons, TNJ remains a powerful program and a beacon of positivity for an industry trying desperately to find its way to rebirth after a powerful awakening this past summer.

7. The Streets Will Remember

There’s nothing I love more than a quality recommendation, and at a time when I thought “what if I never make new friends ever again because I can’t leave my house”, a coworker introduced me to Justin and Hani’s show The Streets Will Remember, discussing some of the greatest players in football history. The way they discuss a sport notorious for a fandom that can often be gatekeeper-y is so welcoming and refreshing. Tuning in every week to two friends bantering about the footballer of the week and making lists lead me to explore more of my own fandom and kept me company during some boiling late summer days.

6. Distraction Pieces

It would be really strange if I didn’t mention Scroobius Pip and his Distraction Pieces podcast. I’ve been listening to Pip’s show for years now, so it feels more like Podcast Zero for me; when I need to center myself, I know I can count on this show to deliver. Not only did Pip manage to have an insane year of guests even in lockdown, but his back catalogue is so deep even long-time fans like me still have things to discover. And his intros and outros (or his Films of the Year podcasts, which are just him speaking to his listeners) really help combat the loneliness and feel like a friend is just chatting about their life and the world.

5. Modern Love

I am a sucker for a good story – romantic, sad, surprising, haunting – I love them all. Modern Love has a great format with well-known voices reading the stories of everyday people. My favorites are the stories of redemption, of love lost and found, of people who come back together or find one another later in life. It helps to give hope, especially at a time when it’s easy to feel like there is no future because you can’t see beyond your current circumstances. There will always be an “and then”, and Modern Love is the perfect way to remind ourselves of that.

4. About Race with Reni Eddi-Lodge

Back in June, a lot of people were participating in what’s being called “performative antiracism”, posting black squares on Instagram and skipping all of the necessary education in order to rewire yourself to interact differently with the world around you and change your own awareness. While I did first experience About Race at that time, I find myself revisiting those nine episodes because they are so well-crafted as audio and the lessons within them are worth reminding ourselves of repeatedly: whether our televisions and Twitter feeds are reflecting them or not. The work continues, and it’s important to check back in from time to time.

3. David Tennant Does a Podcast With…

I’m not going to lie, I adore David Tennant. He’s a brilliant actor and the first series of his podcast was so much fun to experience. Series two was such a treat, coming toward the end of the year just as quarantine exhaustion was setting in for me. None of David’s interviews are the same, as his relationship to each guest is different and their own stories vary widely. But even the people I wasn’t expecting to connect with offered me things to think about – and he wrapped 2020 with a brilliant chat with another favorite of mine, Neil Gaiman, and there is nothing wrong with that!

2. Switched on Pop

I’ve already mentioned I love a recommendation and this one came from a friend in the music industry. I just wanted something to keep me company on my walks as the weather got colder, something to motivate me to keep moving. She noted that Vox’s pop music exploration podcast had an old episode about The Sunscreen Song which I might enjoy (being the everything-90’s enthusiast I am) and she was dead right. Every episode of this show I try (and I have gotten into the habit of trying them at random) has surprised and informed me. My walks go by so quickly because of my audio companions that I’ve now started walking even longer just to keep listening.

1. GIANT

There was really no other choice for my number 1 podcast of 2020. GIANT has been my inspiration this year to keep making things, whether I’m writing or podcasting or helping someone else with their passion project. The quality and inventiveness of each episode of this show carries it beyond being a “football” podcast. If you love podcasts and great audio, you will love GIANT, and it will likely help you want to create wonderful things for others (or maybe just yourself!) to enjoy. And if it can do that, its value is immeasurable.

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Jordan Rizzieri is a writer and producer based in New York. You can listen to her I Never Told You What I Do For A Living podcast, or follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

The post The Top 10 Podcasts That Saved Me From Myself in 2020 appeared first on POD BIBLE.