Podcast Freak

Ok, so I'll admit it. I'm a podcast freak. I blame my daughter of course. The last time she was home (at Christmas) we hopped in her car to do some errands and she plugged in her iPod and started to play a podcast. Something we laughed ourselves silly over (a conversation between Fred and Barney of the Flintstones after Barney had run over and killed Dino - it was hilarious). This was all the encouragement I needed to look into downloading some popcasts for myself.

I started out slowly, looking over each one carefully. I wasn't sure if I would even enjoy listening to the spoken word but within a few days I was totally hooked. Before long, my son had the hook up installed in my car so that it would play right through that system along with charging. Not that I'm in the car all that long, but suddenly my trips between my jobs and home seemed much shorter.

Let me see if I can find more podcasts I might be interested. Funny how just about everything looks interesting when your thirst is great. I downloaded things from NPR, APM, CNET and many independents.

OH NO, then I discovered video podcasts! A whole new genre to enjoy.

I checked for update almost every day. The heading into bed at night, I would put the iPod on the docking system I kept in there and watched any of the videos that were new that day. After I was done with the videos, I would listen to an audio podcasts and fall asleep. The next morning I would hook up the ipod in the car and try to figure out where I had fallen asleep the night before. I no longer went into the bus garage between routes. Why would I want to talk to anyone when I could sit in my bus and listen to a podcast? While grocery shopping I would walk around listening to another podcast. Waiting at the doctor's office, I would sit where I could watch for the nurse coming to get me so I wouldn't miss my name being called while I listen to another podcast. Out to lunch on my own, no problem, a podcast on the good old ipod would keep me company.

Reading became a thing of the past. I haven't touched a book in weeks. None of my friends listen to podcasts, much less own an ipod so I had nothing to share with them. On occasion when my daughter and I would talk we could share different podcasts that we enjoyed and amazingly, we have very similar tastes.

Today I sat down at my computer and deleted ALL my podcast. I wanted to start out fresh, wipe out all the old podcasts that needed deleted and then reload just my favorites again. Would I remember them all? I ended up with 18 podcasts, both audio and video. That's down from over 30. Now let's see if I can control myself!

But in case you are interested, here is some of my very favorite podcasts.

I guess I would have say the podcast I enjoy the most is NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me. It's a game show based on events of the past week, mostly political with guest stars playing for people who call in. It is hilarious. The host, Peter Sagal is a riot. I often worry about listening to this while grocery shopping because it makes me laugh out loud.

Another favorite is CNET's The Buzz Outloud. This is a technology podcast that is very funny and educational. Many time I don't have a clue what they are talking about but I still love the way they present things with so much humor.

More Hip Than Hippie is another timely podcast. Two woman talk about how to live a greener life with simple suggestions for around the home and also discuss much larger world issues of energy and the like. All is told with much humor as they sample the beer and chocolates that are sent to them. These girls now how to have some fun!

My week wouldn't be complete without Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion from APM, the news from Lake Wobegon. His calming voice is very easy to listen too as he weaves his tales about life in Minnesota. I think maybe it reminds me of listening to my Dad telling stories when I was a kid. It's amazing how a soft spoken male voice can pull you into the story so completely. This is another podcast that I find myself laughing out loud.

Another story teller that I've become fond of is Baba The Story Teller, Timeless Tales Told Tastefully. Baba gives hints on being a good storyteller, gives a moral of the day and tells a very simple story, often very short but with much meaning.

Because I'm a knitter, I decided to download some knitting podcasts. I'm not down to listening to only one, Sticks and Strings done by a bloke from Australia. I guess part of my first fascination was to listen to a guy talk about knitting but after a few weeks I realized he was the only one I was listening to and have deleted all my other knitting podcast. With the accent, he's fun to listen to but I also really enjoy his style and what information he presents. In his "real" life, he's a school teacher so I'm sure that's why he present himself so well. What is most fun is trying to figure out what he is talking about sometimes as some of the terms he uses aren't what we use here in the states. Luckily I have an online motorcycle friend in Australia and he helps me out when I have a question about what this podcaster is talking about. An example, recently he was talking about knitting a jumper. Turns out that is a sweater to Australian, not a dress like I thought. Then I found out that they call sweatshirts sloopyjoes! Oh the many things I have learned!

There are many more podcasts that I'll be listening to in the future including The New Yorker's Animated Cartoons (a video), The Onion News Network (another laugh out loud item), The Twisted Wrist (motorcycling) and NPR This American Life (which takes a different and interesting look at life with three acts, extremely thought provoking)

There are so many other podcasts I would like to try but now that I'm riding the bike more I won't be listening to podcast as much. The spoken word just doesn't come across as well on my radio speakers. But there is certainly something for everyone in the world of podcasting!