Educating yourself about the world is a tall order these days. There is SO much information out there and when you’re busy running a household, keeping a job, mothering little ones, etc… it can sometimes feel impossible to know every little thing that’s going on. But it’s important. Simply stated, we are privileged to be in a position to learn and we need to exercise that. Because we can change the world. We really can. It takes opening up your mind and learning and growing … and when that happens, we can be moved to take action.
A few weeks ago I asked you guys to send me all the ways you educate yourself about what’s going on in the world. Some of you shared certain sources you follow. Others shared books, podcasts, people and other strategies for navigating and embracing culture, community and humanity. A few of you have already started new courses and are listening to new podcasts from the one post, how cool! I’m right there with you diving into all of this and I’m excited to be on this journey together.
I’ve narrowed it down to these Top 10 ways we can learn, grow, and be inspired below:
1 Courses – I seriously love this idea. Coursera and MasterClass were two of the resources that you guys shared for finding professional courses. One of you shared that you recently took a course on well-being at Yale through Coursera and are now starting a law class. Wow! Oh, and Coursera is free!
2 Podcasts – Podcasts seem to be the top way that many of you learn and stay informed. It’s an easy way to get educated as busy moms! Totally relate to that. A lot of you like to listen while you’re driving, exercising, cooking dinner or doing chores. So many podcasts were shared and I tried to include all of them. Here’s the rundown.
The World and Everything in It // The Daily from The New York Times // Up First NPR // The Michelle Obama Podcast // Stuff You Should Know // Dare to Lead with Brené Brown // Pod Save America // The Megyn Kelly Show // Wise Traditions Podcast // Very Presidential with Ashley Flowers // The Editors // Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations // On Purpose // This is Karen Hunter // Keeping Shop // Armchair Expert // The Newsworthy // Pantsuit Politics
p.s. One of you mentioned this music podcast for kids!
3 Audiobooks – Similar to podcasts, but there’s nothing like a good book to really open your mind about the vastness of the world. One of you recommended listening to audiobooks via Libro.fm, which allows you to support local bookstores. Love that!
4 Daily Newsletter Emails – Daily newsletter emails are great because they’re quick and digestible. The Skimm was shared by a lot of you. I love it already! BuzzFeed Daily, Katie Couric’s daily and 5 Things newsletters were also recommended.
5 Going Out In The World – To the many of you who shared this idea, just wow. One of you recommended rolling up your sleeves and volunteering in your community. The idea here is that you get to meet unique people who can open up your world. “Standing face to face, shoulder to shoulder, with your neighbors, talking and listening and serving.”
6 Traditional Media – A lot of you shared your go-to media sources, like @washingtonpost, @nytimes, @harvard_business_review and @cnbc. Also, the articles in Google scholar!
7 Books & Magazines – Many of you have challenged yourselves to read every night before bed, mostly non-fiction and biographies! Here were some of the books and magazines you guys are reading.
The Week // Americanah // Between The World and Me // The Vanishing Half // How to Be Anti-Racist // White Fragility // Essentialism // Reader’s Digest // The Genius Life // The Warmth of Other Suns
8 Diversify Who You Follow – Sharon McMahon (@sharonsaysso) and SmartHERNews (@smarthernews) were recommended the most! A lot of you recently started following a diverse collective of people on Instagram and I love that. Also shared: @goodnews_movement, @jessicayellin, @motherhonestly, @workingmomlove.
9 Documentaries – A few that were shared include Going Clear, Agents of Chaos, Crazy Not Insane, Totally Under Control (about the pandemic) and The Inventor. Documentaries can be so insightful and also 🤯.
10 Book Clubs – This makes so much sense to me because you can really express your mind through a book. One of you said you started a book club with the purpose of hearing others’ stories first hand and these were the books you read:
The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
The Book of Rosy by Rosario Pablo Cruz
Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
