Thursday, May 21, 2015

Why Podcasts are Awesome... and Some Recommendations

I never really got into podcasts.  I don't have any Apple products so I don't even have an account with iTunes.  And I always thought following podcasts through blogs seemed cumbersome.  Plus, I have a horrible time listening to audio books.  I have a tendency to wander out of the room for something quick and come back later to realize that my book was reading itself to no one.  So, I kind of just wrote them off as nice but not for me.

I listened to Serial online and really enjoyed it, and then, a few months later one of my friends was telling me about the podcast, Stuff You Missed in History Class.  It sounded geeky, and interesting at the same time and I decided to check it out.  Not knowing where to begin, I searched "podcasts" in the Android App Store  and found "Podcast Addict".  I downloaded it, and so began my podcast adventures.  I know there's other apps out there, but I've loved this one and have had no problems with it, so I can't really recommend anything else.

Basically, I just added a few podcasts that sounded interesting and got to listening.  And now I listen all the time.  I download episodes and listen in my car.  I listen while I sew, I listen while I scrub floors, I listen while I get ready for work.  And since it's all coming from my phone, I can just carry it with me throughout the house while I do chores.

If you aren't listening to podcasts yet, here are three basic ones I recommend:

Stuff You Missed In History Class- This one is full of interesting historical stories that you probably weren't even aware of.  Want to learn about the Dyatlov Pass Incident?  The Hope Diamond?  Who was Tokyo Rose?  This is the podcast for you.  My favorite episode so far: How Vincent van Gogh Worked

NPR: TED Radio Hour- These area always pretty interesting, and on a variety of topics.  And each podcast includes snippets from several TEDTalks as well as interviews with the speakers.  It's a nice little mashup.  My favorite episode so far: Just a Little Nicer

Accidental Creative from author Todd Henry is full of great ideas to inspire you to be a more creative person and who doesn't want to be more creative.  It's geared towards creative professionals and freelancers, but he gives lots of great tips and the episodes are all pretty short. My favorite so far: The Power of a Morning Ritual

Note: All these links are to the individual websites, but if you really want to get into podcast listening, I highly recommend using a player like, Podcast Addict.  It's free to install, keeps all your podcasts in one place, checks off episodes you've already listened to, always you to download episodes, favorite episodes, and is easy to update with new episodes.

And, if you have any recommendations for podcasts I should be listening to, please feel free to leave me a comment below!

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