Hi! Any suggestion about American English podcast? I usually listen to British podcast and now I actually find them harder
This American Life is at a B1 or B2 level. As would be Morbid: A True Crime Podcast and Dateline NBC.
The Joe Rogan experience is at a B2 or C1 level.
1 Like
I know a lot. Particularly in the realm of politics (both mainstream and left wing) and poetry and arts.
But these would be the ones listen to as a native so it’s hard for me to evaluate this level. Generally, if they are professional journalists , like the hosts of This American Life, they talk more slowly and clearly If they are just some guys recording in their apartment, they will speak causally, talk over each other, etc.
Some nice ones are the podcasts run by the New York Times. They have several and are extremely well produced with interesting topics. Another nice thing is there are transcripts available at The NY Times website, but you might need a subscription to see those, while the podcasts themselves are free on any podcast service.
the ones I’ve listened to in the past:
The Daily — 30 mins concentrating on one topic in today’s news
First Person — the host interviews a someone who tells a personal story relating to news topics of the day. Eg, there was one episode interviewing woman who now is pro abortion rights, but when she was 18 was religious, got pregnant and had the baby , and her reflections on this experience and her views
Ezra Klein show — interviews different people and experts on various topics. I don’t listen to him much but some of his topics are interesting — they might be anything from international relations, news topics to things about parenting styles or psychedelic drugs
anyway those should all be somewhat easier because they are journalists who know how to speak clearly. But at the same time, there are interviews and conversations, so you will still hear casual speech and different voices.
if you want another “famous“ podcast like This American Life (one of the most well-known radio shows in the US, and very middle-of-the-road, as it plays on public radio) you could also listen to Terry Gross’sFresh Air. Mostly interviews of people in the arts, but she’s widely considered one of the best interviewers.
or another NPR podcast like Serial, a series about an unsolved murder. Personally I am hot and cold on NPR. It’s an extremely middle-of-the-road sensibility, catering to middle class people of good taste. Sometimes that makes for good content, sometimes not. (this would be the same for NYT as well, though the two media orgs have slightly different personalities, they are in the same universe.)
another interview podcast I used to love is WTF with Marc Maron . More interviews with artists, writers, major and minor celebrities, but like Gross, he’s an amazing interviewer. People end up saying very personal things. This one is more casual— I don’t think it has a transcript. So perhaps you would need a higher level though you could make an AI transcript which would help.
well, I don’t know if I helped at all, but I know a lot more podcasts, so just say the word if you want more.
3 Likes
The podcast “Lew Later” is my all time favorite podcast. They are from Canada though. However as an American they have almost zero accent to my ear.
thanks a lot, I’ll take a look them
Tell me your passion or your interests
I will give me 3 top podcasts.
I am an avid American podcast listener.
1 Like
You didn’t say anything about what you like, so I’m not going to try recommending any specific ones. But here are few of the more popular North American podcast publishers and nes:twork
National Public Radio: NPR Podcasts & Shows : NPR
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: CBC Podcasts
iHeart: Listen to the Best Podcasts & Shows Online, Free | iHeart
Wondery: https://wondery.com/
Gimlet: https://gimletmedia.com/
my fav podcast of all time is Citation Needed (without the S). just incredibly funny and has been going on for 5 years now so you have a huge backlog of episodes to go through.
they make tons of references to american culture and use a lot of slang so maybe not the best unless you’re at a C1 level minimum
Are you interested in one’s that tell a story, or about some event? Or more discussion type ones between one or more people?
I tend to favor the latter myself. Here are ones I enjoy:
Joe Rogan - I’m not listening to him as much because he hasn’t as many people on that are of interest to me. I only listen where there are guests I like, or that I think will have something interesting to say. He has so many episodes, perhaps there are some guests you would be interested in. There are many things I disagree with him on, but I feel like he does a great job in getting people to talk, and it’s not the usual interview. It’s more like people getting getter to chat.
Club Random with Bill Maher - similar type of podcast to the Rogan one. Has guests on and they just discuss whatever comes to mind. Again this for me is guest dependent.
Rich Roll podcast - Again, guest dependent. Rich Roll is a vegan ultra endurance athlete. He often has had interesting guests (most of which are not vegan, and therefore the vast majority of episodes have nothing to do with that all, if that turns you off).
My Favorite Murder - 2 comedian ladies talking about murders. Sounds dark, but it’s actually quite interesting (and funny). Fair warning, they talk about a lot of stuff outside of the murders. Usually it’s them gabbing away for a bit and then they’ll each present a famous (or maybe not so famous) murder and the circumstances around it. My gf and I listen to this on our road trips.
Lex Fridman - He has a lot of interesting guests on. He has a slower style pace to the others, but is very thorough and prepared for his interviews. It is more of an interview style. He has prepared questions but still allows for a lot of back and forth discussion.