5 Podcasts to Boost Empathy and Spur Curiosity
There are days when the world just seems a little darker, and a little sadder. Maybe you’re feeling particularly lonely on a gray, rainy day, or you read a news article that makes you doubt the sanity and kindness of your fellow human beings. But thanks to the current golden era of podcasts, we can instantly plug into a show that activates our compassion, piques our curiosity about the lives of others, and allows us to see the world as a wondrous place filled with fascinating people and places. We’ve zeroed in on five that listeners tell us they tune into to feel more optimistic. Each features hosts and storytellers who share a positive outlook, a curiosity about the world, and an infectious delight in the topics they explore.
This Is Love
A spin-off from the popular true-crime podcast Criminal, This Is Love explores the mystery of why we become enamored with people, animals, places, and things. Host Phoebe Judge has a quirky sense of romance: Rather than tales about Valentines and meet-cutes, she shares offbeat stories like how an engineer from South Carolina veered off his career path to pursue his fascination with birds. For those who are looking to lift their heart with romantic love, you can’t beat the interview with Rhonda and Ben Partain, giggling about their first date at an Arby’s and then describing how they became even closer when Ben lost his vision after decades of acting as the eyes for his blind wife.
Atlas Obscura
Dylan Thuras hosts these short, delightful daily celebrations of the world’s forgotten people and places. His enthusiasm is contagious, whether he’s describing the impressive awfulness of a painting called “Ferret in a Brothel,” on display at the Museum of Bad Art, or chatting with a guest host about the grave of Miss Baker, a once celebrated, now forgotten pioneering American astronaut (if you haven’t heard of her, it’s probably because she was a spider monkey). Each episode is like discovering a beautiful gem of history.
Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness
You may already know hairstylist and larger-than-life personality Van Ness from Netflix's makeover show Queer Eye, where he’s known for disarming even the gruffest dudes by finding the inner and outer beauty in everyone he meets. In this podcast, Van Ness brings his sparkly pixie personality, deep empathy, and intellectual curiosity to interviews with a range of artists, directors, scientists, bankers, activists, and more—basically, anyone he finds interesting. For the ultimate in mutual admiration, tune in to his interview with World Champion figure skater Michelle Kwan, his childhood heroine. As he describes how he skated around his living room in socks as a child, dreaming of Olympic glory, you can’t help but share in his rapture.
The Memory Palace
Want to take your mind to a whole new world, but don’t have an entire hour to spare? Check out these short takes (each monthly episode is between five and 15 minutes long) that unspool a fascinating, unknown moment from the past. Over carefully curated, mesmerizing music, host Nate DeMaio narrates the story of how a beautician taught her neighbors to read so they could pass a voting test, or about the 40-year-long anti-war protest in Lafayette Square outside the White House. Close your eyes and learn about the complex and inspiring history of our country and the world, and when you open them, you’ll feel emotionally refreshed.
Magic Lessons
In this podcast, Elizabeth Gilbert, best known as the author of Eat, Pray, Love, talks about the creative process with guests including playwright Sarah Jones, authors Ann Patchett, Cheryl Strayed, and Neil Gaiman, and comedian John Hodgman, digging deeply into the fears, hopes, and rewards of, as Gilbert says, “taking nothing and making something.” She also takes calls from listeners, who describe their dreams and how they get stuck—by the end of the episode, they’re newly inspired to create, and you will be, too.
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