On The Standard’s music podcast Life in Seven Songs (opens in new tab), we ask some of the world’s most fascinating people: What songs tell the story of your life?
Actor and musician Josh Radnor is best known for playing Ted Mosby on “How I Met Your Mother,” the romcom that ran for nine seasons on CBS, aired 208 episodes, and pulled nearly 13 million viewers to its finale. The show earned dozens of major awards and is still a late-night-popcorn-and-sweatpants staple for a new generation of fans.
That scale came with a cost. For years, strangers referred to Radnor as “Ted,” dissolving the line between the fictional architect and the real person who wanted to write, direct, and, later, make music. “It gave me a kind of identity vertigo,” Radnor says. “I didn’t like it when people refused to let me be me or refused to call me by my real name. There was something very destabilizing about it.”
In this episode of “Life in Seven Songs,” (opens in new tab) the actor and musician traces the moments that shaped him beyond the sitcom set that he's most known for: a high-school turn as the Emcee in “Cabaret,” a “first almost kiss” scored by Aretha Franklin, a Joni Mitchell song that felt like an invitation to “the VIP section of human emotion,” and a chance meeting that launched a late-career pivot to songwriting and touring.
Plus, Radnor shares how psychedelics helped him stay grounded when “How I Met Your Mother” was at its peak. “It actually helped me stay centered and not be so rocked by the currents of fame and visibility.”
Here’s his playlist.
- John Denver, “Rocky Mountain High”
- Aretha Franklin, “Respect”
- “Cabaret” (original Broadway cast), , “Willkommen”
- Joni Mitchell, “All I Want”
- Damien Rice, “Delicate”
- Dechen Shak-Dagsay, “Tara”
- Fred Again and Brian Eno, “Cmon”
🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify (opens in new tab) or Apple Podcasts (opens in new tab)
📄 Read the full transcript (opens in new tab)
🎵 Explore the episode playlist on Spotify (opens in new tab)
💌 Contact the team: [email protected]