9 Nifty Podcasts for the New Year: Our pick of the best ELT listening podcasts.
What are the best podcasts to practise listening skills in English?
A common request from students at intermediate level and up is for what they can listen to outside of class to help them improve their listening skills. Many are keen fans of Netflix and other content streaming sites where they can choose shows to watch - with and without subtitles in their own language and English. These are great and to be encouraged. Sometimes students want audio only, however. Maybe they want to listen to something while driving, working out or cleaning the house. Maybe they’re just trying to cut down on their screen-time. Whatever the reason, it can be more difficult for them to know where to find good quality content in English that they can use to practise their listening extensively.
The most important starting point is to match their interests with what’s out there. We’ve compiled this handy starter guide to help them out. Click the titles to go to the show.
All the podcasts here have some transcripts available, so these can be exploited for receptive phonology work and vocabulary building too. You could also introduce a short clip in class and encourage students to follow up for homework.
If your students like something a little more structured than purely extensive listening, we suggest the following procedure:
Listen to a whole episode or longer section for interest. Try to get the main points.
Choose a short (1 minute or so) section they found difficult and want to hear again.
Replay this section, trying to catch the exact words the speakers say. If they have the time and patience, write down exactly what they hear as they would in a dictation. Use the pause and rewind buttons a lot for this.
Compare with the transcript.
Replay while reading the written transcript at the same time.
CURRENT AFFAIRS:
1. Fresh Air
Summary: An award-winning talk show from Philadelphia, USA. Host Terry Gross interviews a variety of figures on topics including books, TV, Music, Language and popular culture. Critics and commentators join her on the show.
Try this to start: Probably best to start with something current or closest to your interests. How about this ‘best bits’ episode from December 2020? The Best TV, Music And Movies Of a Difficult year and remembering Jazz Legends who passed this year.
FILM:
2. Screentime
Summary: A podcast about film. Join BBC Radio 1’s resident film expert Ali Plumb for movie news, reviews and extra behind-the-screens fun.
Try this to start: Arnold Schwarzenegger talks to Ali about his biggest and best movies, including the Terminators, the Conans, Predator and Commando, not forgetting Twins and Kindergarten Cop.
STORYTELLING JOURNALISM:
3. This American Life
Summary: True life stories from every area of life. From fake calamari to accidental switched at birth stories.
Try this to start: How about the episode on car salesmen? The producers say “When we decided to record a bunch of car salesmen for a month as they tried to make their monthly quota, we had no idea the mayhem and drama we’d capture on tape.”
BUSINESS:
4. Dear HBR
Summary: An advice show for workplace dilemmas.
Try this to start: Are you being treated unfairly at work because of your gender? Are you struggling to balance career and family? Are you underqualified for the job you want? Do you or your team have way too much to do? Is a co-worker getting on your nerves? Is your job turning into something you don’t want? Pick the show that’s closest to your own work dilemmas and listen to advice from editors at Harvard Business Review and their guests. If you like this, why not also check out the other HBR podcasts. All come with interactive transcripts so you can click on the difficult or interesting sections to replay.
5. Freakanomics Radio
Summary: Discover the hidden side of everything with Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of the Freakonomics books. Each week, Freakonomics Radio tells you things you always thought you knew (but didn’t) and things you never thought you wanted to know (but do) — from the economics of sleep to how to become great at just about anything. Dubner speaks with Nobel laureates and provocateurs, intellectuals and entrepreneurs, and various other underachievers.
Try this to start: How about The Future of Meat? One of our their most downloaded episodes ever. Why? There’s a movement happening right now, a really large movement, around meatless meat — that is, meat-like food that doesn’t come from living animals. This episode investigates whether it’s possible that 50 years from now, or even 20 or even 10 years, most of the “meat” we eat won’t come from animals.
DESIGN/ ARCHITECTURE:
6. 99% Invisible
Summary: 99% Invisible is about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world. Shows cover a diverse range of sometimes unusual topics – from the origin of mobile ringtones, to the AIDS awareness ribbon, to Freud’s choice of a couch rather than an armchair. The list of topics goes and on and on.
Try this to start: The Sagrada Familia. One of the better-known topics covered on the show. This episode covers aspects of the famous temple and the life of its architect, Gaudí.
SCIENCE:
7. Scientific American 60-second Science
Summary: Each episode is just 60 seconds long. Well, actually they’re often 2 or 3 minutes. At this length, though, they’re a great resource for learners with little time. A good regular listening habit to start.
Try this to start: This fish knows how to stick around. A short introduction to the remora fish – a fish that clings to others in the sea. You can see them on whales, sharks, turtles and so on.
8. The Naked Scientists
Summary: Based at Cambridge University's Institute of Continuing Education (ICE), the Naked Scientists are a team of scientists, doctors and communicators whose passion is to help the general public to understand and engage with the worlds of science, technology and medicine.
Try this to start: Does Recycling Work? Many countries like the UK produce far more recyclable waste than they can deal with, and ever since China stopped importing most types of rubbish in 2018, we’ve seen crisp packets and margarine tubs piling up in illegal dumps abroad. So, is our recycling system still working, and what does the future hold?
9. Radiolab
Summary: Another one from the WNYC stable (see This American Life, above). Since 2002, Radiolab has been devoted to investigating a strange world. They have won awards for “for their investigative use of radio to make science accessible to broad audiences.” Now there’s also Radiolab for kids - perfect for younger learners.
Try this to start: Words. Try not to cry as you listen to the story of a woman who taught a 27-year-old man the first words of his life, hear a firsthand account of what it feels like to have the language center of your brain wiped out by a stroke, and retrace the birth of a brand new language 30 years ago.
