Inner French
Joshua Chong, Senior Arts & Culture Editor
A perfect podcast for intermediate French-language learners, Inner French offers 30 – 45 minute weekly episodes covering a wide range of topics – from current events to French history and culture. Host Hugo carefully crafts each episode so that listeners can gradually build up their vocabulary and listening skills. He speaks at a moderate pace, defines complex words, and builds upon vocabulary introduced in previous episodes. Yet, he presents it in a manner that is always entertaining – peppered with humorous stories and personal anecdotes. The transcripts that accompany some of the episodes are also useful for some beginners. For more advanced students, the podcast is easy to listen to for enjoyment. It is a great diversion when you’re too tired of giving your full attention while trying to understand more advanced French podcasts geared towards native speakers.
Endnote
Vikram Nijhawan, Arts & Culture Staff Writer
Here we have a literary affairs podcast hosted by U of T’s very own Hart House Literary and Library Committee. Endnote features a variety of erudite guests on a biweekly basis, from emerging student writers, to Lit and Lib Committee members, and Canadian literary scholars. Listeners will receive excellent reading recommendations from the recurring Book Club segments, learn about up-and-coming Toronto-based authors with Next Generation episodes, and explore important topics in contemporary literature. These include the matter of diverse representation in books, approaches to multicultural writing, and little-known works in specific genres, which include topical themes such as 16th-century plague literature. If quarantine has taught us anything, it’s that we should all carve out more time in our schedules for reading. So why not start by allocating an hour on your Fridays for this informative program?
The Daily Stoic
Aamyneh Mecklai, Arts & Culture Staff Writer
This is a daily podcast hosted by Ryan Holiday, best-selling author and American marketer, which uncovers Stoicism teachings in the context of the modern world. With episodes ranging from 2 minutes to 92 minutes in length, this podcast features the thoughts and practices of great Stoic thinkers and interviews with listeners and noteworthy figures from a variety of fields. Past guests include actor Matthew McConaughey, basketball player Pau Gasol, investigative reporter David Epstein, and American-Cuban singer-songwriter Camila Cabello. With over 32 million downloads since its inception, The Daily Stoic is a wonderful place to learn about the art of journaling, battle procrastination, and overcome anxiety in short, bite-sized, and captivating episodes. This podcast is the perfect way to start your day off, available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, and BuzzSprout. The Daily Stoic is your go-to place to engage with philosophical learnings in the context of today to help make for a better, more meaningful tomorrow.
