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Ever since the pandemic lockdowns of 2020 inspired a wave of sourdough starters and Zoom drawing classes, hobbies have been having a resurgence. These seven podcasts spotlight their importance, featuring expert tips and interviews with casual hobbyists that may inspire you to pick up a new pastime.
‘The Dork Forest’
Jackie Kashian, a standup comedian, began this series back in 2006 as a YouTube series, interviewing guests about their most heartfelt and unabashed passions (“dorkdoms” in the show’s parlance). Many of the featured hobbies are delightfully niche — recent episodes have focused on crop art, fidget toys and Finnish sauna culture. But even when the subject is more mainstream, like movies or baseball, it’s the guest’s specific relationship to their hobby that drives the conversation. Many of Kashian’s guests are fellow comedians and performers, making for a reliably entertaining rapport throughout the sprawling back catalog.
Starter episode: “Jesse Thorn and the Love of the Game”
‘The Beginner’s Garden’
While the mental and physical health benefits of gardening have been well documented, it’s not the most accessible of hobbies. Figuring out what to plant and how to keep it alive can be daunting, the cost of supplies and equipment can mount fast, and for urban dwellers with limited outdoor space, the barrier for entry is particularly high. Growing your own food can be a fun, inherently rewarding place to start, and that’s the focus of this amiable podcast. Over the course of more than 300 episodes, Jill McSheehy has tackled seemingly every novice question imaginable, deciphering lingo and sharing digestible tips that aim to build a thriving garden in whatever space you have available.
Starter episode: “5 Tips to Help You Decide What to Plant in Your Garden”
‘The Recipe With Kenji and Deb’
Depending on how you approach it, cooking can either be just another chore to dread or a creative and therapeutic hobby. This series from the food writers J. Kenji López-Alt (a New York Times columnist) and Deb Perelman definitely encourages the more positive mind set. In every episode, López-Alt and Perelman each make a different version of the same classic dish (whether stovetop mac and cheese or Caesar salad), discussing their recipe development process in detail as they go. One of the winning elements of “The Recipe” is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal “perfect” recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.
Starter episode: “Meatloaf”
‘The Casual Birder’
Once considered an esoteric pursuit for retirees, bird-watching has surged in popularity in recent years, becoming a source of distraction and mental escape for many during the pandemic. This soothing and informative podcast is an ideal resource for anyone interested in looking up to the skies, as Suzy Buttress, an avid bird watcher herself, shares tips, reflections and slice-of-life updates on her latest sightings in southern England. Although Buttress is based in Britain, the series has an international focus and often includes recorded bird walks in settings like Prospect Park in Brooklyn and Lake Arrowhead, in Southern California. For novices seeking Birds 101, it’s well worth going back to the beginning of the show in 2017 — the first 20 or so episodes spotlight a different commonly spotted species each week, offering tips on how to recognize them in the wild by sight and sound.
Starter episode: “Slow birding: The Practice of Mindful Observation With Bridget Butler”
‘Stitch Please’
Needlework crafts like sewing and knitting are some of the most popular and therapeutic hobbies, and their roots in human society run deep. This series from Black Women Stitch delivers practical advice — like how to choose your first sewing machine or work with different fabrics — alongside deep dives into the history of needle arts and how Black women have been crucial to, yet marginalized within, that history. Its host, Lisa Woolfork, is an academic, activist and “sixth-generation sewing enthusiast” whose passion and deep knowledge of the subject shines through as she shares stories, guest interviews and inspiring narratives from the past.
Starter episode: “Back to School Sewing”
‘Filling the Void’
The best way to pick up a new hobby is often to hear somebody else enthuse about it, which is what “Filling the Void" is all about. Despite the bleak title, the podcast is an uplifting gem all about the extracurricular pursuits of creative professionals, hosted by Lesley Arfin, a TV writer best known for creating the Netflix series “Love.” Arfin interviews actors, comedians and fellow writers about the hobbies that bring them joy, and whether it’s Diablo Cody’s unexpected roller coaster obsession, Jay Duplass’s running habit or Kristen Bell’s passion for clay sculpture, the conversations are always entertaining and inspiring.
Starter episode: “Pickleball With Jolie Franciscus”
‘For Keeps’
Collecting things is pretty common, whether it’s cultural artifacts like books and vinyl, or more specialty items like coins, stamps or fossils. You can tell a lot about a person from their gathering behaviors — as evidenced by the fact that there’s a whole school of psychological research devoted to the subject — and this podcast gives enthusiasts the chance to share the stories behind their collections. “For Keeps” is no longer producing new episodes, but the 100 it has are full of surprising and intimate portraits of individual lives.
Starter episode: “The Titanic Collection of Mark Zaid”
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