Last school year I learned how great podcasts are. Driving, running and studying were all forever changed once I learned that podcasts were actually pretty cool. Here are a few of my favorite with a little description of each of them.

1. "Revisionist History"

Malcolm Gladwell is a social psychologist and author who has had many best selling books and formerly wrote for The New Yorker. This summer, he debuted his Podcast "Revisionist History." It is a ten part series where he looks at different historical events and deep dives into them using social science and other research to tell the real story. He also has the best, most soothing voice in the world.

2. "TED Radio Hour"

"TED Radio Hour" is a podcast and radio show put out by National Public Radio (NPR). They choose a central topic and take snippets from different TED Talks on that central topic. The host interviews the speakers from each of the TED Talks. Ted Talks are great, but when you want to learn from four of them and don’t have five hours on your hand, this is a great alternative.

3. Anything by The Ringer

The Ringer is an online sports and culture website headed up by sports personality Bill Simmons. They have a number of podcasts including ones about politics ("Keeping it 1600"), sports ("The Bill Simons Podcast," "Ringer NBA Show," "Ringer NFL Show," "Ringer MLB Show," "Shack House"), and pop culture ("The Watch," "Channel 33"). Lots of great hosts and really great insight. The Ringer has something for everyone.

4. "Hidden Brain"

Another NPR podcast that is great. It is about a half hour a week. Similar to TED Radio Hour, "Hidden Brain" takes a central topic and discusses different social-science studies that had been done recently that apply to that topic. Really interesting and it makes you feel smarter than you actually are.

5. "The Lowe Post"

This is one only for basketball fans, specifically NBA fans. ESPN NBA Columnist Zach Lowe is the host and has some of the best sports interviews that can be found on the Internet. Coaches, players, GM’s, owners and other basketball writers are just some of the people he brings in. If you’re an NBA fan and don’t listen to "The Lowe Post," you aren’t an NBA fan.

Honorable mentions:

I love podcasts and think that a lot of learning can be done from listening to them. These are just a few of my favorites. There are a plethora of choices that can be found on iTunes and other podcast services. Check some out this school year and do some learning outside of the classroom.

Happy listening!