Last updated on February 16th, 2023
Human beings are natural storytellers. We were telling tales long before we wrote anything down. Homer literally remembered and recited the Illiad and the Oddesy. That’s insane.
Humans have been telling stories so long that we don’t recognize it as a skill anymore. It’s just something we do.
That’s a shame. Because it’s one of the most important, and yet, overlooked, soft skills correlated with success. Any podcaster worth their salt knows how important storytelling is to the longevity of their show.
Storytelling is the difference between disseminating facts and making a point. A good storyteller can bring someone along a journey they didn’t even realize they were on.
And if last year, 2020, taught us anything, it’s the power storytelling has to persuade. Like breathing, it is a skill we can’t do without.
Luckily, just like breathing, as second nature as storytelling is, it is a skill that can be honed. Like so many other aspects of our lives, podcasts are there to help us work this neglected muscle.
A couple quick caveats. This list is less about fiction than it is about creating a narrative story out of pedestrian facts. There is superb fiction work being done with podcasts, full stop. But this list is for the rest of us.
Nor is this list of storyteller podcasts exhaustive. It is finite in nature, but these podcasts will make you a better podcaster. You can take that to the bank.
Ready to go back to school? These podcasts give us the skills and examples we need to turn a set of facts into a narrative. To take individual pieces of thread and weave them into something useful, like a scarf, or a cape. Whatever your bag is. Maybe it’s a woven bag.
You don’t have to always be creating big sweeping landscapes with every episode. There is a tendency with new podcasters, before they have an audience, to cram everything they know into a single episode.
That can actually be overwhelming and disorienting for new listeners. As well as redundant for repeat listeners.
This episode reminds us it’s often more effective to focus on smaller slices of a larger picture. It can be easier to focus on your desired outcomes when you are dialed into your bite sized vignette.
It makes the lesson that much bigger.
Apple iTunes | Listen Notes | Spotify
NPR’s Short Wave podcast takes headlines from the news and breaks down the science behind them. That’s what the best storytelling podcasts do, they inform, provide context, and do so in an entertaining manner. In this episode, the director of Story Collider comes on to talk about making science relatable.
Not sure if you’ve turned on the news lately, but “science” seems to be covering some heady topics without a lot of persuasion.
Dry facts often require a bit of persuasive sauce on the side.
Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify
Do you remember Cliff’s Notes? When you were supposed to read Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath? But in lieu of reading you pulled the facts and structure from those little yellow and black books?
Well, this episode of Agents of Change is like that. When you’re learning to ride a bike, there’s no shame in some training wheels.
This interview with Josh Cantrell goes over his 7 point storytelling script. The same script he helps his clients develop.
If you want to be among the best storytelling podcasts, you have to do likewise.
Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify
It’s almost impossible to tell a riveting story if you lack empathy. Well, along with empathy comes emotional vulnerability.
If you aren’t vulnerable, aren’t fallible, there’s very little for the audience to relate to.
At less than a half hour per episode, this podcast is a nice way to dip your toes into the “be a better person” waters. Without too much commitment, or a co-pay. This episode specifically is a quality primer on emotional vulnerability.
Apple iTunes | Listen Notes | Spotify
Storytelling is at the heart of content marketing. A good story about a mediocre product can move more units than a superior product with a stellar, but sterile, spec sheet.
A well told marketing story is what brings potential customers along the value journey. From general awareness to zealous advocate.
The Business of Story Podcast is devoted to capturing that ineffable “why” Simon Sinek was talking about.
Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify
The following podcasts are storytellers to emulate. They are masters of their craft. Take the skills learned above and see where they pop up in these illustrative examples. The best storytelling podcasts show you how to steal like an artist.
Read more: How to Practice Active Listening to Get More Out of Your Podcast Experience
Ira Glass has perfected telling a story in a purely aural format. The team at This American Life is radio storytelling.
Each episode is a tiny oddball slice of Americana. They shouldn’t work. How does a story about the different people who pass through a particular bed keep the listener at rapt attention?
It should be boring. But through excellent storytelling, I want to know all about each pillowcase. Weird.
Or this episode that explores letting fate take over, or making deliberate choices. It’s really one of the best storytelling podcasts doing a masterclass on the existence of freewill. Brilliant.
Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify
Five minutes. That’s all you’ve got to spin a good yarn. The Moth is a series of live storytelling gatherings where people get five minutes to tell an anecdote.
The whole thing. The entire arc of the story in five minutes. It’s a tall order and sure that it fails. Often.
But no worries because the podcast edits all that out and leaves us with the cream of the crop to take notes on. The best storytelling podcasts will do a heavy amount of editing to ensure that we’re not listening to dreck.
Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify
TED Talks are one of the greatest ideas of the 21st century. People only have the ability to focus on one idea for roughly 20 minutes max. So, let’s get speakers to tell a story and convey an idea in that timeframe.
The end result are some of the most memorable explanations of some of the most complex topics. From experts that you would not expect to be world-class storytellers. You don’t walk away with a PhD in the subject, but the engaging stories whet your appetite for more.
And they are short enough to break down to identify what works.
Here’s one that’s particularly helpful in 2023. It’s about dealing with anxiety and how to bounce back. Something we could probably all use at the moment.
Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify
For those of a certain generation, the Ford Bronco is synonymous with a low speed chase through the freeways surrounding Los Angeles. Not exactly the best brand message.
But the legacy of the Bronco is so much more than Al Collin’s lackluster wheel man skills. They had a branding problem. And a branding problem is usually a story problem.
When Ford decided to relaunch the legendary vehicle, they found new stories. Stories of the Bronco that aren’t associated with homicide.
It was a novel approach from a major corporation to get that granular. If great stories can be layered into a car commercial… well, there’s a lot to learn there.
Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify
Again, this list is by no means exhaustive. My colleagues here at DiscoverPods are far more adept and tenacious at running down the best fiction work across the podcast medium. But the best storytelling podcasts don’t have to be fiction. Any thought we’re trying to convey or emotion we’re trying to make sure is received is about telling a story.
That said, storytelling is in all of our DNA. We have potential, and the upsides bestowed upon a good storyteller demand we try to perfect our abilities.
It’s more important than ever to beef up our capacity to connect with other people. In whatever ways we can. Storytelling is an underutilized muscle group that should be at the top of that list.
These podcasts will move you along that path.
What are some obvious and obscure pods that should be on this list? My queue is feeling a little empty.
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