Tag: How I Built This

The Perfect Podcasts to Help You Stay On Track This New Year

January 16, 2019

Need a podcast pep talk today? You’re not alone. We looked at streaming data for several motivational and self-improvement podcasts and found that these shows — focused on financial responsibility, career goal setting, and inspirational success stories — more than double in listening every Wednesday.

Sure, these shows saw average daily listening rise 40 percent from the last couple months in 2018 (similar to how everyone hits the gym in early January). But what’s different is that listening to motivational podcasts is a routine people actually return to every Wednesday when they need a little extra boost.

Want to improve your chances of keeping a New Year’s resolution that might otherwise fade by February? Check out one of the below shows. Wednesday listening optional.

How I Built This with Guy Raz 

On this popular NPR show, host Guy Raz interviews entrepreneurs—such as the founders of Slack and Rent The Runway—to get the stories behind their successes. A recurring theme: How to overcome several early failed endeavors.

Imagined Life

Imagined Life is a narrated show that tells an immersive story of how someone—such as Elon Musk or Elton John—has overcome incredible barriers to achieve success. Here’s the twist: You don’t find out who the subject is until the very end of the episode. Part story, part celebrity trivia, totally inspiring.

Secrets of Saving and Investing

https://open.spotify.com/show/2RNlxtQsaTM9LnWquf4uWL?si=7cLQb3M2QOOvuYUEwp05cg

If you indulged in a little too much holiday spending, January is the perfect time to get back on track with your financial goals. This new NPR podcast shares advice from financial experts to show how investing like a pro doesn’t have to be difficult or confusing.

RISE Podcast 

Author and motivational speaker Rachel Hollis interviews business leaders to elicit real-life takeaways and practical advice. The episode length varies from 15 minutes to over an hour, so you can get a boost of inspiration no matter how busy your schedule.

10% Happier with Dan Harris 

If you’re working on your wellness, don’t forget about your mental health. Former TV news personality Dan Harris learned this the hard way, when he had a panic attack on the air. Now, on the “10% Happier Podcast,” Harris talks with successful people about how to balance ambition with peace and happiness.

The School of Greatness

Former pro athlete Lewis Howes interviews successful business leaders, athletes, and celebrities to find out what it is that makes them great. It’s inspirational listening, no matter your goals.

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

For author Gretchen Rubin, happiness starts with good habits. In this podcast, Rubin shares practical, manageable advice to help you form a straightforward plan for an ambiguous goal.

The Tony Robbins Podcast 

As renowned motivational speaker Tony Robbins likes to say, “Why live an ordinary life when you can live an extraordinary one?” In this podcast, Robbins offers tips and tactics for your business, relationships, finances, and health.

Goal Digger

Is 2019 the year you design your dream job? Host Jenna Kutcher offers tips, business hacks, inspirational stories, and strategies to help you build a better career path.

 

Whether for midweek goal setting or weekend relaxation, find the right podcast category for you here.

Spotify and NPR Team Up To Feed Your Podcast Addiction

May 10, 2018

Podcast lovers, clear your schedules: Spotify users now have the NPR podcast catalogue at their fingertips. From classic NPR favorites like Fresh Air to TED Radio Hour, to the media giant’s latest viral titles like Invisibilia, Hidden Brain, and How I Built This, all of NPR’s podcasts have a home on Spotify.

Fans new and old are part of the one-third of Americans who listen to podcasts, with 12 percent streaming 10 hours or more each week. As podcasts bleed ever more into office talk and dinner conversation (“You have to listen to this episode of NPR’s How I Built This!”; “I’m obsessed with NPR’s Hidden Brain podcast – it’s like they know me!”) they’re increasingly a way to stay culturally relevant and on top of the latest trends. We listen to them at home as we unwind, on the road or rails as we commute, and while we work—and we’re listening to them on Spotify like never before.

Why have podcasts become the media of the moment? NPR’s Chief Marketing Officer Meg Goldthwaite explains. “Podcasts are stimulating. You get to imagine jumping out of a plane with Invisibilia host Hannah Rosin and her 74-year-old mom, or eavesdropping as Shankar Vedantam crawls through someone’s thinking on Hidden Brain.”

“And podcasts can challenge you. They can inspire you. They can change the way you listen to your world,” she said. “Our audience numbers show that people crave that and want to access podcasts on as many platforms as possible. Whether it’s getting out the door with Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits or Are & Be playlists, or wrapping up your day with NPR’s TED Radio Hour, listeners are now able to do it all from one app on Spotify.”

To date, people have spent hundreds of millions of hours listening to podcasts on Spotify, the number two podcast listening destination in the world. With the addition of NPR’s colossal catalogue, Spotify’s platform is expected to be an even bigger magnet for podcast junkies across the globe.

NPR is arguably one of the biggest and most respected names in podcasting, with top-notch—and, in many cases, award-winning—podcasts and longtime listeners. For NPR, sharing its eclectic podcast archive on Spotify instantly builds expansive global awareness of its programming. Meanwhile, the talented podcasters of NPR gain access to millions of Spotify listeners who might not otherwise stumble upon and listen to their shows.

“For both Spotify and NPR, joining forces just makes sense, and we’re delighted to bring NPR podcasts to Spotify users,” said Dossie McCraw, Global Head of Podcast Partnerships at Spotify. “Podcasts are gifts you give yourself in moments of the day when you want to catch up on the news or hear thoughtful commentary on issues affecting us all or just have some fun with a game show like Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.”

“This collaboration is a huge step towards greater discoverability,” said Goldthwaite. “Be it science or music or news or conversation, NPR podcasts on Spotify are another place for audio-hungry ears to feast.”

To listen to NPR’s robust podcast library on Spotify, check out the Podcast Hub under Browse.