Margin Blog · Essays on podcasts, note-taking, and active listening

[Featured]

Why I built a podcast notes app

The moment I realized podcast insights were disappearing. The first prototype. The week I finally used my own app to take notes on an episode, and felt the difference.

By Selinay · 8 min read

The best Acquired podcast episodes

Ranked by a long-time listener. The 10 episodes worth your 4 hours, plus how to take notes on them without losing the insights.

By Selinay · 12 min read

Why podcast clubs should exist

5 million book clubs. ~A few hundred podcast clubs. People listen to 10x more audio than they read, and there's no shared format for talking about it. Here's what one would look like.

By Selinay · 9 min read

[All posts · 43 posts]

The best note-taking apps for podcasts in 2026

Honest review · 8 tools

The best podcasts for product managers in 2026

Curated by career stage

How to take better notes while listening to podcasts

The marginalia method

How to remember everything you hear

A system for active listening

Spotify vs Apple Podcasts: which is better for note-taking?

A comparison nobody else made

The marginalia tradition

Medieval monks to Susan Sontag

What "second brain" apps get wrong about audio

The text-first blind spot

Active vs passive listening: the research-backed difference

Dual coding, generation effect

Press-and-hold: the forgotten interaction pattern

From walkie-talkies to Margin

The psychology of why we take notes on some things and not others

4 triggers of note-worthiness

12 podcasts every founder should listen to

Including the one quote to remember

10 podcasts that will make you a better designer

Plus the curveball picks

The 8 podcasts I actually listen to every week

Selin's real subscription list

7 podcasts to help you think like an investor

From Acquired to Capital Allocators

6 underrated tech podcasts you're probably missing

Skip All-In; try these instead

How to use Spotify's API to build a podcast tool

PKCE OAuth, playback control, episode metadata

How to share podcast clips on Twitter

Without screenshots

How to build a personal podcast library

A system walkthrough

Why I built a podcast notes app: a founder's story

Selin's origin story

What I learned shipping an iOS app in 5 days with AI tools

Cursor + Claude + Xcode

Why podcast clubs don't exist yet (and why they should)

A missing social format

The social aspect of podcast listening: why audio is becoming the new shared medium

A long argument for the next platform

The best Acquired podcast episodes: a listener's guide (2026)

Ranked by a long-time listener

How to get a transcript of any podcast

Every method that works in 2026, free and paid

The best AI podcasts in 2026

9 shows, tiered honestly, with where to start

How to start a podcast club

The complete playbook

Does listening at 2x actually cost you anything?

What the research says

You have 200 podcast notes. Now what?

The 10-minute review ritual

The best Dwarkesh Podcast episodes: a listener's guide (2026)

Karpathy, Ilya, and the Sarah Paine lectures

The best Lenny's Podcast episodes: a listener's guide (2026)

The all-time top downloads, and why

The best Invest Like the Best episodes: a listener's guide (2026)

Songhurst, Hinkie, and a lion tracker

The best Founders podcast episodes: a listener's guide (2026)

Where to start in Senra's 350-episode catalog

The best Knowledge Project episodes: a listener's guide (2026)

Naval, Huberman, and the top downloads

How to take notes on Spotify podcasts

Every method that works in 2026, ranked honestly

The best 20VC episodes: a listener's guide (2026)

Altman, Gurley, Ek, and the bedroom origin story

How to summarize a podcast episode

AI tools, prompts, and a better question

A podcast note-taking template that actually works

Copy it: before, during, after

The best Huberman Lab episodes: a listener's guide (2026)

Dopamine, sleep, Attia, and keeping the protocols

The best Lex Fridman podcast episodes: a listener's guide (2026)

Karpathy, Carmack, Bezos, and surviving 4 hours

The best software engineering podcasts in 2026

9 shows, sorted by what each is for

The best marketing podcasts in 2026

Evidence over takes · 8 shows

How to listen to podcasts while driving (and actually remember them)

Hands-free capture, eyes on the road

Podcasts vs audiobooks: which is better for learning?

The margin was always the variable

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