With finals approaching, you might want a podcast to listen to while you’re hunkered down in the library. The Culture staff has got you covered with four podcast recommendations. Check the Culture section weekly for our staff’s latest picks.

Song Exploder

Hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway

Hunter McKenzie’s pick

Song Exploder highlights a different musician each week and invites the artist to tell the story behind one of their songs. The artist talks about their creative process, including the evolution of their yrics. Often the artist will bring juicy demos or early outtakes.

Since 2014, there have been more than 70 guests including U2, alt-J, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. My favorite episodes: Solange with “Cranes in the Sky,” Carly Rae Jepsen with “When I Needed You” and Perfume Genius with “Slip Away.”

Girlboss Radio

Hosted by Sophia Amoruso

Bridget Higdon’s pick

Entrepreneur and author Amoruso interviews innovative and boundary-pushing women who’ve made a mark in their profession.

Each woman tells the story of how she got to where she is today and provides advice along the way. Amoruso ends each conversation by asking: “What does success mean to you?” It’s time to start making space for other definitions of the word, Amoruso says.

My favorite episodes: poet Rupi Kaur, journalist Katie Couric and Burton Snowboards CEO Donna Carpenter.  

Dynamic Banter

Hosted by Mike Falzone and Steve Zaragoza

Allie O’Connor’s pick

Bees, harmonicas and legitimate advice you should definitely  follow are just some of the topics tackled by comedians Falzone and Zaragoza.

Each episode is full of improv. A segment called “History Road”, even features listener-written stories.

My favorite episodes: “Fall,” where Falzone recounts a particularly bad open mic, and “Bees,” where Falzone and Zaragoza discover just how much information about bees you can cram into one episode.

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Hosted by Tim Hartford

Keely Lyons’ pick

If you like history, fun facts and learning how the world works, this podcast is for you. In each of the 50 nine-minute episodes, Harford gives a history lesson on a different world-altering invention.

Topics range from passports, to Google, to the TV dinner. Harford’s well-researched and engaging shows teach you something new about the things that have become such staples of Western life that we’ve never stopped to consider them.