Podcasts. I’ll admit, I’ve been slow on the up-take. For years, they’ve passed me by. Why listen to people yakking about politics when I could be listening to Black Sabbath?
Now, they’re as much a part of my day as a morning coffee. So how did I go from podcast sceptic to podcast addict?
A step into the unknown
My introduction to the world of podcasts came from wanting to brush up my Italian. I downloaded ‘Coffee Break Italian’ on Spotify. Yes it was self flagellation – my Italian stinks – but wow, I quickly got into it. Listening to bite size episodes during my morning commute became a habit. And what surprised me was just how much I enjoyed it.
Maybe there was something to this podcast hoo-ha after all. I started looking at what else was out there.
A world of possibilities
Well, it turns out there’s a LOT out there. True crime, comedy, science and technology, politics, sport, music etc. The list goes on. Whatever your tipple, you’re free to indulge.
Right now, I’m hooked on two: Breaking the Ice by HuffPost Australia, and Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell.
Breaking the Ice is about climate change and how we talk about it. The subject’s heavy, the conversation light. I work in the environment field and it’s been invaluable.
Malcolm’s Gladwell’s Revisionist History is extraordinary. It looks back in time and reinterprets events, people and ideas. As you’d expect from a best-selling author, the story-telling is perfectly crafted. I feel like I’m there, right in the middle of each story. Best of all, it leaves me feeling brainier than when I started.
A word of caution
I’m still a newbie in the world of podcasts, but already, a few things stand out:
- They can take over your life.
- You can lose hours of your day daydreaming about producing your own.
- Family and friends are unlikely to share your enthusiasm about a latest episode of something obscure. No matter how hard you try.
I’m ok with all of the above. My only concern is what I’m gonna listen to next.
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