sure. wait. what?

What podcasts are you listening to?

Finally, a prompt I want to answer.

I listen to Per My Last Email, a Morning Brew podcast about the modern workplace. It discusses office-related topics like impostor syndrome, introverts and extroverts, burning out, etc. I wish the podcast leaned more towards the anti-work thought, but it’s fine. The hosts appear to genuinely enjoy working, which is fine. Good for them.

I also listen to Wondery’s Diss and Tell, which is probably my favorite podcast these days. It’s about celebrity feuds. Think Blac Chyna vs The Kardashians, Karl Lagerfeld vs Yves Saint Laurent, Lea Michelle vs everyone else. It’s bordering brain-rot territory, but it’s so fun. Rich people fighting is fun. I even wish there’s a Filipino version. Just imagine: Claudine Barretto vs Mon Tulfo, Angelica Yulo vs Chloe San Jose, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vs Rodrigo Duterte — so many options!

And then there’s AsianBossGirl. It’s hosted by three Asian-American women who basically talk about life in their 30s. One of them just went through a big break-up last year; one is now married and a mom; and one just packed her bags and moved from California to New York. It’s like following the lives of three random women online, which I guess is a uniquely 21st century kind of fun.

They rarely post episodes, but I also really enjoy If Books Could Kill. It’s a podcast about popular but arguably problematic books. They’ve talked about The Secret, Lean In, and The Anxious Generation, among other books that you’ve probably heard of and probably loved, but it doesn’t matter whether you like the books or not. The two hosts are as funny as they are intelligent — one’s a lawyer and one’s a journalist — and this podcast is the best combo of cultural criticism and laugh-out-loud comedy.

I love podcasts, man. I love background chatter. There’s something calming about listening to other people talking without being pressured to offer your two cents. Sometimes I don’t even listen at all — I just press play and go about my day as if I’m surrounded by people who may be talking to me as a listener, but who ultimately do not care whether I pay attention to them or not, whether I agree with them or not. I love it.