Three Podcasts for Company

Although NY & LA are “podcentral,” the Twin Cities has a unique podcasting hustle & bustle

By: Matthew Zeichert

With finals week fast approaching, I for one will be listening to podcast after podcast while sporadically taking notes for those big finals. Fortunately, there are plenty of local podcasts to go around. Below are three of my favorite local podcasts: 

For True Crime Lovers - Minnesota’s Most Notorious: Where Blood Runs Cold

If Serial is your go-to podcast, then “Minnesota’s Most Notorious: Where Blood Runs Cold” is the podcast for you. Each episode explores a fascinating crime of Minnesotan origin. Topics of the podcast include the 1948 murder of Geraldine Mingo (Ep. #34), the 1972 Virginia Piper Kidnapping (Ep. #29), and even a 1978 art heist of Norman Rockwell paintings in St. Louis Park (Ep. #10). Hosted by proud Minnesotan Erik Rivenes, the podcast’s ability to make familiar locales straight-up spooky is unparalleled. 

For Minnesota Sports Fans - SB Nation’s The Daily Gopher 

If Radio K’s Sports Hour doesn’t provide you with enough University of Minnesota sports info, consider listening to SB Nation’s The Daily Gopher podcast. Hosts GoAUpher, gopherguy05, and Ustreet entertain listeners with U of M-focused sports banter. Although they are not traditional sports journalists, the men of The Daily Gopher’s expert analysis rivals that of those employed by both the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press. The way in which the podcast hosts include statistics to back up their arguments all while making inside jokes that only Gopher fans would understand makes for a quick 20+ minutes.  

For Multiple Minnesota Minutes - Star Tribune’s Curious Minnesota 

Unlike the other podcasts mentioned in this article, the Star Tribune’s Curious Minnesota features listener questions about Minnesota’s past and present. Each selected question is then dissected by guests of the show with impeccable north star state expertise who provide in-depth answers. The episodes are around ten minutes long and answer questions like, “Why is our state the gopher state?” (Ep. #11) and even, “Why did Minneapolis’ flour boom go bust?” (Ep. #39) With so much information in each episode, listeners can end each podcast knowing they have a few fun facts about Minnesota in store for their next cocktail (or mocktail) party.