Recommended podcasts on Covid-19

In late February, I began to wake up to the fact that Covid-19 was going to dramatically impact all of our lives. I started checking the news for hours a day, following with trepidation as the pandemic was unfolding and markets began crashing around the globe.

Here’s the thing with the news: a small amount of high-quality information keeps you informed, but any more than that adds unnecessary stress and anxiety.

I’ve always struggled to get this balance right. I want to be informed and understand what’s going on, but I don’t want to be bombarded with information that doesn’t have any benefit.

I’ve since reigned in my impulses and got my news diet back on track. My current news source of choice is The Economist. I use the app on my iPhone to read the “Espresso” every morning, which contains 6-8 paragraphs of world news that is updated daily. It takes a few minutes and I’m done and it’s wonderful.

While I’ve cut back on my news consumption, I am still listening to podcasts to learn more about what’s going on. Podcasts are great because they allow for a deeper and more nuanced discussion.

Here are a few podcasts I’ve listened to about Covid-19 that were helpful or interesting in some way:

• The Knowledge Project – #78 Exploring COVID-19. A good primer on Covid-19 such as the origin, what’s being done to contain it, and how we can thoughtfully prepare for what’s coming with a rational and level head.
• Making Sense – #193 Meditation in an Emergency. Sam Harris, one of my favourite voices in the meditation space, shares his thoughts on the importance of understanding one’s own mind in an emergency. Sam has released a few podcasts on coronavirus that are worth a listen: #190, #191, #194, #195.
• Reasons to be Cheerful – #133 Global Cooperation on a Global Crisis. I found the comparison to the Spanish Flu (which didn’t start in Spain) interesting. Again, they’re released several podcasts on the current crisis, so check those out too.
• Exponent – #184 Good is Better than Perfect. A fascinating look at tech’s role in the pandemic.
• Startups For The Rest Of Us – #490 How Founders Should Be Thinking About the Current Crisis. As a business owner, what should your mindset be and how should you be prepared? Rob and Einar share their thoughts.
• Mad Fientist – #56 Coronavirus Market Crash – Is This Time Different? A short discussion with JL Collins, author of The Simple Path to Wealth, about the stock-market crash. It serves as a good reminder for those of us invested in the stock-market: this has happened before, it will happen again, and you just need to stay in the game.
• Happy Place – Russell Brand: in isolation. I’d never listened to Happy Place before, but I really enjoyed this discussion between Fearne Cotton and Russell Brand. They discuss how they’re approaching the sudden change in all our lives.

If you’ve listened to a podcast that you found useful (or an article, for that matter), I’d love to hear about it: [email protected].