We are on Easter holidays and regardless of whether you go out or stay in your city, or if you have to work or not, they will be –I hope– calmer days where we will have more free time and what many of us are looking for is to disconnect a little.
Yes, there is war, inflation, and many problems, but it is also worth putting all that on pause and occupying our minds with other issues. For this reason, I leave you with seven options to disconnect and enter other worlds or sound stories that are very worthwhile.
- Hotel Jorge Juan
I insist that Mexico needs more quality pop culture podcasts (or maybe I haven’t found one yet) and when I think of that, I think of this podcast. It is hosted by Javier Aznar, a Spanish writer and columnist who invites another writer, artist, or anyone who has an interesting project to talk in each episode. The differentiating point is the tremendous references, data, and anecdotes that he takes from each episode, where you can well discover a film by Gaspar Noé, novels that you did not know, and a lot, a lot of music: from Miles Davis to Jack White passing through Mecano, all in one same episode. It’s an amazing podcast.
Sonia
Sonia is the Spanish version of Sandra, a fictional podcast from Gimlet Media. The story revolves around Elena, who goes to work at the company that creates Sonia, the most popular artificial intelligence in the world, which is like an Alexa or a Siri, which makes me think, why are they always women? But the point is that this dystopian journey opens up questions such as hyper-surveillance, rapacious consumerism, and what would happen if behind these artificial intelligences there were people of flesh and blood.
Wind of Change
This is one of the podcasts that I have liked the most in my life. There is a rumor (true, this is not fiction) that the song “Wind of Change” by the German metal band Scorpions was written by the CIA as propaganda to help bring the Cold War to an end. The journalist Patrick Radden Keefe is in charge of investigating this rumor and taking it to its final consequences to determine if it is true or false.
Ciudades Esenciales
The bad news is that this podcast ceased to exist four years ago, the good news is that they left us 10 chapters to get to know cities like Kyoto, Los Angeles, Taipei or Bohol (in the Philippines). Each episode details the characteristics of the cities, from history and gastronomy to what to do if you go there. It is a great way to travel with your mind if for the moment your body is locked up in the home office.
Esta es otra historia
This podcast by Veka Duncan and Oswaldo Casares recovers the most bizarre anecdotes in the history of Mexico, those that the history books have left aside for seeming like fiction. From the origin of the Chupacabra to Santa Anna making chewing gum fashionable. This podcast rescues those data that if they were taught to us at school, history classes would be much less boring. The only detail is that it’s exclusive to Audible, so you need to pay that platform to listen to it, but if you like podcasts, go for it, it’s well worth it.
Rabbits
This is a very rare and very interesting podcast. It all starts when Yumiko, Carly Parker’s best friend and host of this podcast, disappears. Carly takes us into the search (in real time) for her friend, which ends up being much more complicated than it seems, because apparently, she was playing Rabbits, a game that has been played in the world since ancient times, and discovering it could lead to Yumiko’s whereabouts, but also with the biggest secrets in the universe. It is real? Is it fiction? Nothing is clear and that is the appeal of this podcast.
Audiobooks
These can be found on many platforms such as Beek, Storytel, Audible, and even on Spotify or YouTube. Listening to a book is a great way to get to know it without having to have all your senses engaged. So you move forward while driving, washing dishes, or taking a walk around town.
Romina Pons
She is an editor, broadcaster, writer, producer and mom. She has written in various media about music, feminism and digital culture. She currently produces and hosts various podcasts for Audible and HBO, among others. Twitter and Instagram: @rominapons.
This article was first published on La-Lista. You can see it here.
Translated by: Ligia M. Oliver Manrique de Lara
Spanish version: here
