JBFC Staffers Share Their Favorite Podcasts

by Denise Treco, Director of Marketing & Communications

As an avid podcast listener, I was curious to learn what my colleagues are listening to outside office hours. Here are 17 podcasts, tackling everything from day-to-day problems to solving mysteries, and even who played the best James Bond.

If you have a favorite podcast you want to share, go to this post on our Facebook and tell us in the comments. Not on Facebook? You can also reach out on Twitter or Instagram.

Dirty John
Online marketer Amy Porterfield mentioned this on her podcast Online Marketing Made Easy as a guilty pleasure. The whole thing is nuts! Created by the LA Times, it’s a true crime story focusing on the life and nefarious activities of a con man in California.
– Denise Treco, Director of Marketing and Communications

Fighting in the War Room
This is not just my favorite film podcast, it’s my favorite podcast, bar none. With four hosts, FITWR offers a range of opinions that make for lively, stimulating discussions and there’s a warmth to the hosts’ rapport that makes it feel like you’re part of this group of knowledgeable, witty film fans.
– Sarah Soliman, Marketing Associate

Filmspotting
It has great, spoiler-free conversations about new releases paired with interesting Top-5 Lists, like last week’s “Top-5 Quiet Scenes” to go with A Quiet Place. They also do “Blindspotting” marathons of lesser-known filmmakers and “pantheon reviews,” which examine how old favorites hold up under new scrutiny. Adam and Josh are thoughtful and engaging, and when one or both of them is out, they have great guest hosts like The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips and The Verge’s Tasha Robinson.
– Darrel Swan, Senior Education Faculty and Teaching Assistant Manager

Hurry Slowly
I could listen to creator Jocelyn K. Glei all day long. She delves into how you can be more productive, creative, and resilient through slowing down. It’s a lesson we can all learn from. One episode that stands out is the first: Jason Fried – Whose Schedule Are You On?
– Denise Treco, Director of Marketing and Communications

The Moth
It celebrates the power of storytelling in the most wonderful and relatable of ways—by putting someone in front of a microphone and sharing a short, true story with an audience. It’s always a live recording, so it gives the listener the feeling of being in the room and participating in that shared experience. I love hearing other people’s true stories, which broaden my perspective of experiences beyond my own (similar to the way I feel after seeing films at the JBFC). My favorite recent episode is from March 27, “Bathtub Sailor, Seamstress, Spy,”  which has three powerful and wonderful personal stories, the most outrageous one being the tale of a man who crossed the English channel in a bathtub. Now THAT’S a good story!
– Kendra Ekelund, Director of Operations

Movies IMO
Movies IMO offers the best formalist film critique I’ve yet to find on any podcast. They dig in deep and their insights constantly challenge me to look at movies in a new way.
– Sarah Soliman, Marketing Associate

My Brother, My Brother, and Me
An “advicecast” from three real brothers who offer freewheeling advice in response to questions on just about anything. Falling somewhere between the earnestness of “Dear Abby” and the snarkiness of NYT Magazine’s “Judge John Hodgman,” you never know what you’re gonna get. Plus, their live shows have included guests like my Favorite Person of All Time ©, Lin-Manuel Miranda.
– Paige Grand Pré, Marketing Associate

Mystery Show
A short, 6-episode series from Starlee Kine, who solves mysteries that cannot be solved by the Internet. Starlee’s detective work—traveling the country, meeting fascinating people, following unbelievable stories on their twisty paths—is seriously riveting. From tracking down the rightful owner of a treasured belt buckle to pinpointing Jake Gyllenhaal’s actual height, Starlee’s rich storytelling will make you question everything, in hopes of finding your own mysteries to solve.
– Nicole Klein, Special Events Coordinator

Personal Best
It’s about bettering yourself by tackling seemingly mundane everyday problems. In one episode, a woman just wants to wake up without hitting the snooze button. In another, a city dweller wants to tap into her country side by delivering a baby calf. The show’s hosts take on a different problem each episode with equal parts humor and heart. Gateway episode: “The Doppelgänger”
– Erica Mercer, Graphic Designer

Pod Save America
A thoughtful, and often hilarious, politics podcast from a bunch of former Obama staffers. They’ve blown up in the last year or so, and with good reason. Probably one of the few things keeping me sane at this point.
– Paige Grand Pré, Marketing Associate

RadioLab
This podcast combines science and philosophy. I love how they weave together stories that explore the personal, emotional, and human components that make science interesting. They also do an amazing job in constructing a soundscape to support the stories. My favorite episode is “REBROADCAST: Space”
– Aaron Mace, Senior Faculty, Manager of Program and Curriculum Development

Reply All
PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman explore tech topics with a sympathetic and often hilarious human angle.
Favorite Episode: “Phantom Caller”
– Susan O’Brien, Project Manager, Tessitura Implementation

Season of the Bitch
Progressive feminist politics with a side of humor.
– Paige Grand Pré, Marketing Associate

SMERSH Pod
It’s an all-Bond podcast based out of the UK! I really like it because the host, John Rain, is an absolute Bond-head like me, but he’s the good kind of fan—he’s willing to criticize the thing he loves, but also still be constructive about it. We more or less like and dislike the same films, except he and I differ on Daniel Craig as Bond. That said, it’s still really funny and he gets good guests! He’s gone in order of film release, so the best place to start is episode one: “Dr. No!”
– Andrew Jupin, Senior Programmer

That Classical Podcast
This show takes a fun, relaxed, accessible approach to classical music and at its heart has two hosts who adore music and want the audience to love it just as much.
– Sarah Soliman, Marketing Associate

We Hate Movies
Full disclosure: Our friend and colleague, JBFC Senior Programmer Andrew Jupin, is one of the hosts of We Hate Movies.
As much as we all love movies at the Burns, every once in a while you want to make fun of the more questionable ones—or at least listen to people who are way funnier than you do it. This podcast is a hilarious romp through a series of bad movies and it’s so entertaining it makes you glad that those bad movies exist.
– Sarah Soliman, Marketing Associate

Welcome to Night Vale
A wonderfully eerie narrative series that takes a Lynchian approach to small town living, with wide-ranging influences such as the Cohen Brothers’ dark comedy, the supernatural undertow of The X-Files, and the surrealism of the Twilight Zone.
– Paige Grand Pré, Marketing Associate