i just started listening to mayim bialik’s breakdown. you might know mayim from big bang theory, but i know her from blossom. the fact that she’s an actual neuroscientist just made me like her more, so when i saw she had a podcast i decided to give it a shot.
she speaks with such authenticity about her own struggles, and has such a wide variety of interesting guests she talks to, that i broke my “no podcasts over 45 minutes” rule.
pocast rules
my particular brand of neurodivergence makes it next to impossible for me to listen to shows longer than 45 minutes. my sweet spot is 15-20 but there aren’t a lot of good podcasts that appeal to my interests in that range. i also tend to binge-add podcasts, especially when i have a new special interest, which usually ends in me buried under hundreds and hundreds of episodes that overwhelm me so much i either delete everything or i never actually listen to them the podcast equivalent of my “to read” pile…. 
so i developed a set of rules for podcasts i listen to:
– podcast should be between 15-30 minutes long, 45 minutes max
– it should be easy to find on the web (because i like to share cool episodes!)
– it should inspire curiosity, creativity, passion, or growth
– the host(s) be personable
– the hosts(s) should be authentic
– no long commercials front-loaded in the first five minutes
– host(s) & guest(s) can’t should not spend more than a couple minutes bull-shitting
– each episode should have a clear purpose and get right to the point
– the ratio of info-sharing to self-promotion should skew more heavily toward sharing
– the host(s) products/services should not prohibitively costly
any podcast over 30 minutes long needs either make every minute worth it (e.g. alan alda‘s clear + vivid, on being with krista tippett, science vs) or be extremely niche (e.g. welcome to st. paxton, normalizing non-monogamy, the history of english)
khan academy
in this particular episode, miyam bialik is speaking with sal khan, the creator of khan academy. our education system is desperately broken, between standardized testing, property tax-based funding, racial and economic inequalities, undervalued teachers, the GOP’s crusade to please their capitalist corporate masters–i mean union-busting efforts–oops, i’m heading into rant territory here… anyway this episode talks about sal khan’s efforts to make education more accessible. š
aaand now i have a new podcast on my list — sal khan’s homeroom. as if i need more podcasts XD
not another existential crisis 