Podcasts Galore, Part II
If you've read my blog at all, you know that I'm a big fan of podcasts. They're a great way to learn about a whole variety of subjects to fit your tastes. I listen to so many podcasts I unfortunately have to pick and choose which episodes I listen to based on interest levels, which for me is fine. It'd be nice to be able to listen to everything, but there just isn't enough time in the day.
At work, I've generally switched over to podcasts most days to help pass the time. The only time this becomes an issue is when I'm working on more complicated problems and really need to focus on what I'm doing. In this case, it's not so much that the podcast is distracting me, but it's that I'm not really paying attention to it as much so if there's a story involved, which generally is the case, I hear something and have almost no context for it.
The one thing I did find is that podcasts are great for running, especially distance running. Music is great to keep you pumped up and going, but what I've found is that when I'm running longer distances, listening to a story or dialogue distracts me just enough to keep my focus off of any pain or the drudgery of pushing myself to go that final mile. The best way to put it I guess is that I'm so focused on the podcasts, I don't realize I'm running.
I listen to podcasts primarily on my phone, but also on my iPad and Nexus 7. I use the Pocket Casts app and find that it works great for what I need. It syncs my podcasts, podcast playlists, which podcasts I've listened to, and best of all, where I'm at in the current podcast I'm listening to in case I switch devices. It's available on both Android and iOS, and it has a web version. Both the Android and iOS apps are great, but I've found the web version to be a bit buggy. It's not a free app, but it's definitely worth the cost.
In case you're interested, here is the current list of podcasts I listen to
- 99% Invisible
- All Songs Considered
- Barbell Shrugged
- Baseball America
- The Brian Lehrer Show
- Code Breaker
- Corner Office
- Dan Carlin's Common Sense
- Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
- Developer on Fire
- Developer Tea
- Diane Rehm Show
- Effectively Wild
- ESPN Baseball Tonight
- Fan graphs Audio
- FiveThirtyEight Elections
- Freakonomics
- Fresh Air
- Hot Takedown by FiveThirtyEight
- How To Do Everything
- Intelligence Squared Debates
- Invisibilia
- Ken Rudin's Political Junkie
- The Leonard Lopate Show
- Longform Podcast
- Marketplace
- Muscle for Life
- NPR Politics
- On Point with Tom Ashbrook
- On The Media
- Only a Game
- Planet Money
- Polygon Longform
- Puck Podcast
- Radiolab
- ReplyAll
- SciFri
- Serial
- Snap Judgement
- Sound Opinions
- StarTalk Radio
- Startup
- Surprisingly Awesome
- The Takeaway
- This American Life
- TED Radio Hour
- Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me
- What's the Point?
- WHYY Radio Times
Quite the list, huh? I wish I could say I listen to all of them, but alas I often have to pick and choose. Either way, I generally leave knowing more than I did previously.
Any other recommendations?