2019 was the year my podcast consumption really amped up.

Each week I listen to a variety of different podcasts and genres so I thought I would give you guys a recap of my all my favourites from the year. If you would like to keep up to date with weekly podcast recommendations, click on the picture below to follow me on Instagram.

CRIME PODCASTS

The Teachers Pet

This is one of the first crime podcasts I really got into.

Naturally, I am a massive scardy cat so its a bit weird that I enjoy listening to some many crime podcasts. I would listen to this podcast for hours a day. It is one of those podcasts that just completely engulfs you.

The Teacher’s Pet is a 2018 Australian true-crime podcast investigation of the disappearance of Lynette Dawson. The podcast is published by The Australian newspaper and hosted by journalist named Hedley Thomas. 

The series has 16 episodes that range from 40 minutes to 120 minutes.

Lynette Dawson was an Australian homemaker and mother who disappeared without a trace in 1982. Her whereabouts, dead or alive, have never been determined. The Teachers Pet podcast investigates details of her marriage to rugby league player and teacher Chris Dawson, her disappearance, an affair between Chris Dawson and a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl, claims of sexual misconduct between teachers and students at public high schools in Sydney, flaws in the police investigation, effects on the families involved and the unwillingness of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to charge Dawson despite two coronial inquests concluding that Lynette Dawson was dead and most likely killed by her husband.

Dr Death

Dr. Death is a 2018 podcast produced by Wondery that tells the story of Christopher Duntsch, a Texas surgeon who was convicted of gross malpractice. Thirty-one of his patients were left seriously injured after he operated on them, and two patients died during his operations.

There are 10 episodes and like most Wondery podcasts, it is produced really well.

Dr Death showcases the massive flaw in the US hospital system. A doctor incapable of performing successful surgeries was able to continue practising for years without any real consequences.

Casefile

Casefile True Crime Podcast, or simply Casefile, is a weekly true crime-podcast that first aired in Australia in January 2016. The podcast is hosted by an Australian man who remains anonymous and has a super typical Australian accent.

The podcast deals with solved or cold criminal cases, often related to well-known murders and serial crimes. Many early episodes relate to Australian cases although notable crimes from the UK and the USA are increasingly featured, and well-known cases from other countries have also been included.

Unlike a number of similar podcasts, the series is scripted and narrative, relying primarily on original police or mass-media documents, eyewitness accounts, and interview or public announcement recordings.

Most cases only have one episode which I like because you can pick and choose what ones you want to listen to and they don’t have to be in order. Occasionally for larger cases such as the Ivan Milat (Wolf Creek) Case, there will be a number of episodes split into parts.

The Drop Out

Now there are no murders in this podcast but its still seriously mindblowing.

The story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos is an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. Elizabeth was set to be the next Steve Jobs. She was the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire, yet it was all a lie.  Some of the world’s smartest people were convinced to invest millions of dollars into a young girls idea which was backed by little evidence.

The Dropout is a very eye-opening and captivating podcast.

Unravel – Snowball

Another non-murder podcast! Firstly, I love this series because the guy narrating it, Ollie Wards. He comes across as a total legend. His brother Greg, who the entire podcast sorta centres around sounds like such a sweet soul who just got caught up with the wrong lady.

Greg married his American dream girl, Lezlie in New Zealand. She convinces Greg as well as his Mum and Dad to go into business together. It seemed like a perfect start to their marriage life however only a few months later, Greg is heartbroken, the family home is gone — and so is Lezlie.

After years of not hearing from Lezile, Ollie takes matters into his own hands and goes searching for her to find out why she left his family in financial ruin.

Cold

Ok, WOW. This is probably the most messed up podcast I have ever listened to.

There are so many disturbing things before you even get to the most horrible part. What makes this podcast so insane is that the people involved not only kept detailed written journals but video and voice journals. Throughout the podcast, you hear the actual people speaking their thoughts. It’s really creepy.

Susan Powell disappeared from her home in December of 2009. Her body has never been found and the man suspected of killing her was never arrested or charged.

If you are into true-crime, Cold is a must-listen.

Gangster Capitalism

Back to another non-murder true-crime podcast.

 Gangster Capitalism takes an in-depth at the 2019 college admissions scandal, aka “Operation Varsity Blues”. This scandal was all over the news for quite some time as a number of the parties involved were celebrities such as Felicity Huffman who you might remember from Desperate Housewives.

The podcast exposes how the wealthiest members of society abuse their power, money and influence to get what they want, regardless of who or what might stand in their way.

I might be quiet naive as I didn’t realise this sort of cheating your way into schools was such a big business. The amount of money people are forking over to get their children good grades or into a certain school crazy.

FUNNY PODCASTS

The Hamish and Andy Podcast

Hamish Blake and Andy Lee are two Australian comedians. The two boys use to host a daily radio show, they’ve had numerous tv shows and to put it simply, have been providing the world with laughs for years.

Their weekly podcast is similar to the radio show, random segments, jokes, guests and just general good times. I found this podcast good for my soul. Sometimes you just need some background voices or something light-hearted discussions to take your mind off things. This is the perfect podcast for that.

I can’t count how many times I have been listening to Hamish and Andy on the train and started laughing out loud. The boys are just a total crack up.

Happy Hour with Lucy and Nikki

Lucy and Nikki are that bloody funny. I didn’t know much about them prior to coming across this podcast by WOW are they a crack up.

The podcast is a bit of a mish-mash of a few different topics. Sometimes they have guests and will be talking about business. Other times they are talking about celeb gossip. My favourite topic though is always their crazy adventures.

The girls own a clothing label, Jagger and Stone and because of their job, they are always off galivanting around the world shotting the most amazing content. The stories these two have are priceless. My all-time fav so far is definitely their Coachella stories.

As much as I love this podcast, if you don’t like swearing it may not be for you as there is a LOT of it.

Private Parts

Another best friend duo podcast!

Jamie Laing and Francis Boulle host this weekly podcast. Jamie is the silly, funny one and Francis is the more serious and proper one. Every episode they have a different guest. The guests are mostly from the UK, however, that’s about all they have in common. Some weeks its a comedian, the next week its someone from Love Island, the next week its a singer, the next week it’s one of their mates.

A fair chunk of the guests I have never heard of, but they are all an easy listen and make me giggle.

Pretty Basic

Now I was a bit torn with what category to put Pretty Basic in. This podcast is a bit of everything once again. Pretty Basic is hosted by two American YouTubers named Alisha Marie and Remi Cruz.

It’s a fun and upbeat podcast that takes you inside the girl’s daily lives for a special helping of the tea you’re not getting from their channels. The vibe of Pretty Basic is like your having a sleepover with your best friends. The girls discuss what it’s really like to be a YouTuber, behind the scenes stories from their shoots and boy drama, as well as more deep conversations about mental health, weight struggles and bullying.

BUSINESS PODCASTS

Mums with Hustle Podcast

I may not be a mother but I sure do love this podcast.

The Mums With Hustle Podcast is hosted by the lovely Tracy Harris. If you’re looking to learn more about creating an online business, small business, social media presence or blog, then you need to have a listen. The lessons and tips explained apply to all side hustlers and business owners even if you’re not currently a Mum.

Tracy extracts the gold from everyday Mum entrepreneurs, killing it in their industry each week. The interviews go for around 40 minutes and there is some ripper advice in them. I love hearing from all these inspirational women who are doing amazing things in their industries.

Lady Start-Up

This podcast is similar to Mum’s with hustle however not everyone is a Mum that they speak to. The guests tend to be well-known brands that you see on TV or in the supermarket aisles.

Rachel Corbett ais the host and she interviews some of the most inspiring and successful female entrepreneurs to discover how they built their businesses from the ground up. Some of my favourite episodes are from the founders of Kikki K, Canva, Mecca and Carman’s.

Second Life

Second life is a bit different from the above business podcasts, as they focus on how one business came to be. It’s also American. The Second Life is a podcast that spotlights the career changes that can come at any age.

The podcast is hosted by Hilary Kerr who is living proof of the Second Life phenomenon. Hilary started her career as an editor at Elle magazine in New York before moving to Los Angeles, where she was a freelance writer. While living in LA, Hilary met her business partner, Katherine Power, and they co-founded a first digital media brand, Who What Wear, in 2006.

Hilary’s story in itself is inspiring and the quality of guests is second to none. Knowing how people are able to pivot their career into a completely different direction is enlightening and refreshing.

The MF CEO Project

Warning: this podcast is in intense. It’s sort of feels like your being yelled at but in a motivational way.

SELFCARE PODCASTS

The Health Code

The Health Code is a friendly, educational podcast based around health and fitness.

The podcast is hosted by health and fitness YouTuber, Sarah’s Day and professional photographer, content creator, Personal Trainer and… Sarah’s boyfriend, Kurt Tilse.

This dynamic duo are here to crack the code on all things health, fitness, lifestyle, relationships and building your dream career. Get ready, because they’re about to reveal some serious tips, tricks and healthy hacks!

Mental Makeover

Lauren Curtis is the sweetest soul and she lives what seems like a simple, drama-free life which is why I was over the moon when she announced she was bringing out a podcast.

The Mental Makeover podcast shares relatable, honest and actionable advice on all things happiness, body image, self-love, relationships, spirituality and reaching your goals. Lauren is a social media influencer with over 7 million followers across her platforms. If you are in need of some honest beauty advice, I really suggest checking out her youtube channel too.

The episodes are a mix of interviews and Lauren just chatting about issues she is passionate about. One of my favourite episodes is “The Law of Attraction for Dummies”. If you want to learn more about the law of attraction, Gemma who I mentioned in my last post explains it really well (6 videos to watch to help get motivated for the year ahead).

EDUCATIONAL/CURRENT AFFAIRS PODCASTS

The Dave Ramsey Show

Now if you’re not great with money, I suggest you give this show a listen.

The Dave Ramsey Show offers up straight talk on life and money. People call into the show from all walks of life to learn how to get out of debt and start building for the future. Dave Ramsey is a personal money-management expert and extremely popular national radio personality. He also has several books.

By the age 26, Dave had established a $4 million real estate portfolio, and by the age of 30, he had lost it all. Using the wisdom he gained, Ramsey rebuilt his financial life and now teaches others how to be responsible with their money, so they can acquire enough wealth to take care of loved ones, retire with dignity, and give generously to others.

The Dave Ramsey Show is Apple’s fourth most popular podcast!

Shameless

“Zara McDonald and Michelle Andrews are two Melbourne journalists who go deep on the ‘stupid stuff’ with plenty of banter along the way. It’s a fun one for pop aficionados, it feels like chiming into a conversation between two very up-to-date friends. But as with all great pop culture discussion, Shameless taps into bigger themes that hide beneath and how a zeitgeist can change the way we think.” – The New York Times 

Now The New York Times has provided a great intro for the Shameless girls however I want to really get across to you how important this podcast is too young Australian women at the minute.

It’s terrible to admit but most of us aren’t reading the news. and of the current affairs, we are aware of, a large chunk of the news we are aware of is filtered down to us via social media. Zara and Michelle are reporting on some big issues but putting it into a discussion that we the listeners want to take part in. Each week on a Monday, they provide a recap on the week that was in the celebrity space but without being superficial at all.

The Shameless girls are truly brilliant and they have created a diverse, engaged community.

Stuff You Should Know

This is one of the oldest podcasts I have come across. It started back in 2008 and they currently have over 1000 episodes.

The show is hosted by Josh Clark and Charles W. “Chuck” Bryant and episodes come out thrice-weekly. The two hosts discuss and explain a new topic in each podcast.

Josh and Chuck discuss topics ranging from wars to drugs, fashion to food trends and everything you can think of in between. The episodes range from around 40 minutes to an hour so they are perfect if you aren’t looking to commit to a series.

One of the episodes that really stood out is Were Nazis Drug-Fueled Crankheads? I highly recommend having a listen.