Last month our team shared a summer reading list that blended awesome works of fiction and non-fiction literature. The thing about books is that they aren’t easy to consume on road trips, which is a very awesome summer past-time. For car travel or your outdoor commute to work, here is The Potentiality’s summer podcast list. The shows blend comedy, pop culture and futurism and they are arranged based on the competencies that we write about. Enjoy!
Leadership
The Greatest Generation
What can you learn about leadership from a Star Trek podcast by two guys who are a little embarrassed to have a Star Trek podcast? A lot, as it turns out. Co-hosts Adam Pranica and Benjamin Ahr Harrison take every opportunity to analyze successes and failures of Captain Jean Luc Picard and other characters from Star Trek: the Next Generation.
This podcast will prepare you to lead a big meeting or engage in diplomacy with sets of neighbours who don’t care for each other. Let’s face it, there have been many big, leaderful moments on the bridge of the starship Enterprise!
Collaboration
Our Debut Album
Comedians, Podcasters and Canadian Heroes Dave Shumka and Graham Clark demonstrated incredible improvisational abilities as they created Our Debut Album.The podcast storytells their album of songs written in under one hour and it is one of the greatest examples of teamwork that you’ll ever experience. The series is also hilarious and the songs are pretty good, too.
This podcast will make you more comfortable with being vulnerable, which is critical for collaborating. It will also get you more interested in trying out something that isn’t a strength or might not come naturally.
Communication
Unruffled
Here’s a fun fact for you: if you can communicate effectively with a toddler then you can probably communicate effectively with your boss and colleagues. Janet Lansbury’s podcast about respectful parenting transforms issues from listeners into straightforward, common sense solutions. What I have taken away from this series is that it is very important to acknowledge peoples’ feelings, even if they seem weird, irrational or totally bonkers.
This podcast will help you assume the best of others because if you can empathize with an irrational toddler that is drawing on the wall and his brother with a Sharpie then you can probably empathize with most people.
Adaptability
One Bad Mother
Parenting is hard and we are all doing a great job. That’s what co-hosts Theresa Thorn and Biz Ellis tell me every week on One Bad Mother and I appreciate the affirmation. Look, adaptability is “the new competitive advantage” according to HBR from six years ago, so whether you want to be an awesome parent, professional and/or human, take some lessons in agility and humility from Theresa and Biz.
This podcast will inspire you to laugh more and judge less, which is helpful for parenting, sure, but it also represents a better way to live your life. Adaptable people have the knack for re-imagining failing as testing and learning.
Creativity
The Starters
These guys brought social to NBA broadcasting. Masters of memes, trends and integrating social content into live television, this crew of podcasters from Canada (and Australia and Chicago) are as creative as they are hard working. For example, they coined the term “wedgie” to describe what happens when a basketball gets stuck between the hoop and the backboard. So inspiring is their creativity that Shaq did this:
Learning & Thinking
The Future of Work Podcast
From the precarious work of the gig economy to automation, Jacob Morgan shares his expertise about how the world of work is changing. Through conversations with titans of industry, nerdy academic and policy wonks, the podcast will help you prepare for the impact of subtle and monumental changes. My favourite episodes are the ones about how education and skills training will evolve in the coming years.
This podcast will inform you about trends and ideas that will affect your career. Futureproofing your career isn’t certain, but, as Robin Sharma always says, “education is an inoculation against disruption.” Morgan will help prepare you for coming professional disruptions.
You should also listen to…
- The Bill Simmons Podcast because he’s an OG of podcasting and applies expertly casual interviewing to top notch guests like President Obama, Charlize Theron, and his dad.
- The Minimalist Podcast because you have too many things in your home and in your head, so it’s time to downsize and they can help you do it.
- The Great Work Podcast because you probably want to stop doing good work and do more great work.
- Revisionist History because history is written by winners and the powerful, so it’s important to have Malcolm Gladwell poking around the recent past so that he can share interesting and, sometimes, devastating perspectives on why things are the way they are.
- Pod Save America, the World, the People and Lovett or Leave it and With Friends Like These because there is no better way to keep your finger on the pulse of the progressive-but-still-kinda-neo-liberal-movement in America (and the world by association).
- Canadaland because Jesse Brown is the journalist vigilante we need, but his giant ego, while helpful for his craft, might not be what we all deserve.
- Planet Money because money makes life easier for folks who have it, so it’s important to understand where it comes from, who controls wealth, and how it grows.