Ear candy

By reading other peoples' blogs I realized that I'm not the only one who is an obsessive podcast-listener when I'm knitting. I think it goes with the job where you have your hands occupied but your mind blissfully free of anything else, plus I like to multi-task - I also listen to podcasts when I'm cleaning, ironing, washing the dishes, or driving.

For those who don't know it already: a podcast is kind of like a radio show that you can listen to and download from the internet. The list of topics is endless and if you're curious you can just have a look at iTunes, where you can download and subscribe to regular podcasts.

I recently read a list of great podcasts, many of them were new to me and I keep this as a back up in case I get bored at some point. But  most podcasts I listen to are recommended to me by friends and fellow crafters. Here are some of my favourites:

• This American Life: THE classic podcast with lots of great stories and just the most amazing of all presenters, Ira Glass. This was the first podcast that got me hooked and despite its name, which suggests a very USA-centred narrative, most of the stories appeal to a universal audience. I like it because it has a mix of stories about "normal people", extraordinary events, and good analysis. I'm now listening to old episodes from the online archive all the way back from 2003 and most of the content is still applicable, it doesn't seem that outdated at all. 

• Death, Sex, and Money: Similar format to TAL but more recent and more focused on the essential themes of life, as the title suggests. Anna Sale is lovely and does a really good job in presenting those controversial issues in a neutral way. It's like the TAL stories that I like the most put into a separate podcast. 

• BBC Radio 4: Usually something pensioners and boring people listen to but I love their mixed programme of plays, audiobooks, debates, documentaries and news. Some of my favourite regular shows are "From our own correspondent", "History Hour", "Crossing Continents","The Moral Maze" and the "The News Quiz" but most programmes are interesting. You can also download all of those programmes as podcasts. The only two shows where I switch station are "The Archers" (the mother of all soap operas, set in rural Yorkshire - how can this be good?) and "Gardeners Question Time". Although even the latter one can sometimes be amusing and talking about the correct pot ground for your dahlias for an hour has something strangely relaxing to it... BBC programmes also have the advantage of being free of advertisements, which the other listed podcasts here aren't. 

• Stuff you missed in history class: Part of the "How stuff works" franchise, this is one of my favourites. Holly and Tracy have a bit of an annoying American accent but they're just so friendly and present it so well that they can get a way with it (I admit, compared to BBC Radio 4 that's of course a shock). They get straight to the point and pick out interesting topics that usually try to reflect more than the standard history textbook content, including stories about minorities and lesser known events and people. They try to keep a gender balance and the content is always well researched, as far as I can tell. 

• Stuff you should know: Similar to "Stuff you missed in history class", this podcast is part of the same franchise but the format it longer and there is more general blabla besides the facts. That's why it's not my favourite but I still like it mainly because of the presenters, Chuck and Josh, who have a really good sense of humour. For my taste, they could come to the point quicker but once you get used to the slower pace it's fun to learn about all the random things that you thought you knew but actually there's much more to it!

• Radiolab: More focused around scientific themes and research and less about the narrative this is a nice podcast to learn about interesting facts. The only con is that I think it has too much background noise and different sounds that distract from the content - I like my quiet, soothing narrator voice. 

Reading this list you were probably wondering: where did she mention "Serial" - wasn't that the most amazing podcast of all times?! Well, despite it being a spin-off of TAL I didn't like it at all. I found it extremely boring and disappointing. Many people will disagree but I found it too slow, too sensational, riding around on the same few facts, and, worst of all: NO CONCLUSION. Well, that's probably just the little OCD part in me speaking, but I like myself a good end to a story, not going back to square one after spending hours investing in this "mystery" which it doesn't turn out to be. 

It's funny that "Serial" out of all podcasts became one of the most popular ones but I see it a bit like the Harry-Potter-Phenomenon: It's not the first one of its kind, and by far not the best one, but they just managed to take advantage of a certain momentum and once it became popular it was more a sense of "now I have to read/listen to it myself to understand what all the fuss is about". Take that, "Serial"!

Of course you can also listen to audio books, which is a similar concept, but instead of a programme of 30 minutes or an hour you can listen to an entire book being read out loud. Incidentally, I love that, too. But that's maybe for another post.