Podcasts

[cjsmith]

I have recently started attempting to listen to podcasts on my morning commute. Oh MAN can I see some big differences. Already I'm categorizing: Big Business (thirty minutes or longer, of which 10% is sponsored verbiage), Short Episodes (ten minutes or less), Good Production Values...

Speaking of which. Open letter to people who make podcasts:

PLEASE try to keep the volume levels roughly the same. PLEASE. My car is not expensive, thus I hear road noise. If I have to max out my volume just to be able to hear the podcaster introducing the guest for this episode, and then as fast as possible have to set it near zero for the fifteen seconds of theme music or else my eardrums will burst, then set it to about half max when the guest is talking... then hey, I'm just not going to be able to listen to your podcast no matter how good it may be.

(See also: volume KNOBS are a USEFUL USER INTERFACE. I do not know why people keep trying to get rid of them. Clicking up/down twenty times simply cannot be done as quickly as a swirl of a knob.)

Comments

[metahacker]

Dunno if you have an iPhone, but Overcast is great for managing levels and doing some elision of awkward silences...

[cjsmith]

Nice! Thanks! It even looks like Overcast goes through CarPlay these days. Will have to look into this. :)

[wcg]

While I see you're not naming specific podcasts, nor asking for recommendations, I will allow as I feel your pain. Often in my ears, since I listen to them as much while walking wearing earbuds as while driving.

If you're interested, I can share a list of stuff I listen to. You might like some of it.

[cjsmith]

Oh yes, wearing earbuds would be similarly difficult with a wide range of volumes.

I'd enjoy seeing your list! I've enjoyed Planet Money in the past, though I'm not currently subscribed, and I've picked up a few positivity things to start my day during the work-bound commute.

[wcg]

[Every Morning]
NPR News Now (refreshes every hour)
Up First (the NPR Morning Newscast)
The Daily (Michael Barbaro's daily deep dive into a news item)
This Day in History

[Daily while driving, walking the dog, etc...]
The Indicator
Planet Money
Marketplace
Marketplace Tech

[Also, when they update]
Make Me Smart (Updates once a week)
Deep State Radio (Updates twice a week)
Rational Security
FiveThirtyEight Politics
Bombshell (Three women in National Security. Great stuff. Spun off from War On The Rocks)
It's Been A Minute

[Sometimes, if it's about something I find interesting]
On The Media
Lawfare Podcast
Foreign Policy Editor's Roundtable
Invisibilia
Stuff You Missed In History Class
The Axe Files
Hidden Brain
Radio Lab

[Podcasts I love, and save up for long drives]
99 Percent Invisible
The Memory Palace
Revisionist History
After-On (My very favorite of them all)
Long Now Seminars
Conversations At The Interval

I particularly recommend the last three. The episodes are long -- typically over an hour each -- but very, very informative.

[cjsmith]

Holy smokes, my good man! When do you sleep and eat? (Only half kidding!)

Thanks for the list. I’ll slowly check some of these out.

[wcg]

Remember, I'm retired, and I walk at least five miles every day. I also drive out to the veterans cemetery every morning, and I drive to dances in Baltimore and DC several times a week. That all adds up to lots of time for listening.