January 20, 2021

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Alright,  a couple weeks into 2021 and I've finally got my 2020 retrospective ready. It's nothing too special, just an accounting of my year of listening and a glimpse into my encounters with a tiny slice of the larger podcast universe. I allocate most episodes a score for Novelty, Grip Factor, Import and Fun before adding those up to a composite score. (I say most because I exclude daily pods or weekly discussion-based shows that I've deemed to be of generally consistent quality and thus unnecessary to rank) The headers below are broken down by the shows which received the best ratings in each category.

Top episodes by Category
Composite: This American Life - "Twenty Five"
Novelty: Planet Money - "Sell Me Your Climate Bombs"
Grip Factor: 99% Invisible - "Valley of the Fallen"
Import: Flash Forward - "POWER: Mothers Against Digital Danger"
Fun: Book of Basketball 2.0 - "The Genius of Bill Russell

Highest Ranked Show by Category (5 episode minimum)
Composite: Book of Basketball 2.0
Novelty: Richard's Famous Food Podcast
Grip Factor: MOONFACE
Import: Running From Cops
Fun: Book of Basketball 2.0

Top listened-to Networks (only among ranked episodes)
1. Radiotopia (278)
2. Standalone/Independent (169)
3. NPR (117)
4. Slate (88)
5. Boing Boing (48)

The following shows are my favorites that I discovered in 2020 - some of which came out not in 2020. Not based on any semi-systematic ranking tool, just based on how I feel when I think about an episode from one of these places waiting for me on my feed. 

Top newly-listened-to Shows
1. Richard's Famous Food Podcast
2. Welcome to LA
3. Servant of Pod with Nick Quah
4. MOONFACE
5. Jon Richardson and the Futurenauts
6. Floodlines
7. Snacks Daily
8. David Tennant Does a Podcast With…
9. Running From Cops
10. Nice White Parents


Finally, the number. I accidentally fibbed in my previously reported tally. It turns out I listened to a whopping 2,885 episodes in 2020. And honestly, that number is still low as it omits any episodes I randomly threw on when a Spotify ad struck my fancy or the countless number of times I listened to Up First with my wife in the morning. Anyway, that number is real big. I did continue to commute to an office several days a week, and mid-March through December I was doing so alone, so that probably accounts for some of it. Also, constantly preoccupying myself with something besides worries about the state of the world or about my own future, and maybe leaning into longer dog walks on the days when I wasn't driving anywhere. Who knows if I'll top that total in 2021...but hopefully not? IDK, I really love podcasts and so pandemic or no pandemic earbuds you'll be more likely than not to find earbuds spiriting me away to the comfy confines of some cozy corner in the podcast universe.

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