9 Podcasts To Listen To Before A Date

When you're getting ready for a date, there's a lot to stress about. You've gotta worry about what to wear — should you dress up or dress down? Where to go — somewhere chill or somewhere trendy? How to get there — should you cab it or take the subway? The last thing you need to worry about it what to say. Like, there's already enough on your plate to be sitting around stressing over what interesting things you might be able to pull out of your mouth.

If you're worried your nerves might get the best of you and the conversation might fall flat, use your getting ready time and your travel time to listen to a podcast. It will both calm you down and fill you up with icebreakers, interesting facts, and compelling stories to reference. Don't let that hour of hair frying time go to waste — it's the optimal hour to distract you, enlighten you, and make you feel super confident walking into your date. Whether you work too much to keep up with pop culture, or you haven't watched the news in last decade, these hyper-educational and entertaining podcasts have your back.

This American Life

In each episode Ira Glass moderates a conversation featuring multiple perspectives on one topic. Learn about the subject through a series of stories that will totally captive you just like a good TV show. You'll definitely want to talk about whatever you learned.

Modern Love

Nothing like some off-beat love stories to get you excited for your date. In each episode hear a story from the famed New York Times column, and get your romance vibes going.

Invisibilia

Get ready to get your mind blown. This show looks at human behavior and emotions and with stories and guests that will change the way you see yourself in the world. You'll find it impossible not to bring up the episode on your date. And because the topics are so existential, it will be a great opener to a heady conversation.

Radiolab

Every time I listen to this podcast I learn about a story that I then spend the next hour researching. They cover science and philosophy, using a documentary format. You won't be able to shut up about the episode.

The Moth

The Moth is a storytelling podcast that features different readers each week, sharing personal stories with interesting twists and turns. It's one of the most human shows out there. It might inspire you to think about your own stories that are worth telling.

TED Radio Hour

TED talks are like Cliff Notes for the latest in technology education and design. If you think your date might bring up 3D-printing or oceanic waste, you might want to listen to a TED talk so that you can participate in the conversation.

Stuff You Should Know

Maybe you didn't think you cared about how an X-Ray machine worked, but once you find out, you'll be fascinated. The more episodes you listen to, the more you increase the chances of knowing how something works that appears on your date. (Hopefully you won't be anywhere near an X-Ray machine on your date, though.)

Dinner Party Download

It's a potluck of everything. If you don't have a lot of time to download on the latest in pop culture and what people are talking about, listen to this and get just enough of everything to feel like you know what's up.

Bullseye With Jesse Thorn

Get majorly cultured with this show. Hear interviews with your heroes and add a few new ones to your list. It's always good to have a finger on the culture beat. When in doubt, mention an interview you listened to on this podcast and tell your date the most interesting part.

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