I Love Podcasts!
2018-08-04 06:52:46
I love podcasts so much. I started listening to them in 2016 per recommendation of my girlfriend Sarah to listen to “Serial.” That was it. I was hooked. Season 1 was great. The story was gripping. It has great production value. I’m glad my first podcast experience was so good. I can only imagine someone listening to a podcast for the first time, and everything is horrible about it. That would be quite a negative first impression of the medium. However, that wasn’t the case for me, and I wanted more. The first genres I would listen to were true crime and tech. Last year I started branching out. I stumbled upon podcast after podcast. At the time of writing this, I’m subscribed to 100 podcasts. You may ask, “Marshall, why are you insane?” Here’s the answer!
How am I subscribed to 100 podcasts?
Subscribing to a podcast may be daunting at first, especially if they have a gigantic backlog of episodes. You obviously don’t have to listen to every one, but I was once tempted to be a completionist upon subscribing. Don’t do this. I had to tell myself that podcasts are meant to be enjoyed, they’re not an objective you need to complete. I continue to struggle with this today since I subscribe to so many, but I’m getting better at reminding myself of that.
The podcast app I use Overcast has a Smart Playlist feature that adds every new episode from each podcast to an assigned playlist automatically. I’ve realized that having this happen first and then deleting the episode from the playlist if I don’t want to listen to it is easier than adding the episode manually to that playlist.
The Playlists
Insight has podcasts I aim to learn something from, mainly about people and how they’ve achieved their goals.
News has podcasts about general news to tech news. I listen to this playlist every weekday morning while I walk Bob and wash the dishes from the previous night.
Politics has podcasts that talk about the people and policies involved with our country and the world.
Recreational has podcasts that I can relax to and simply enjoy.
Tech has podcasts that have to do with my favorite industry right now.
Having this sort of organization really helps me not feel too overwhelmed with everything I want to listen to; however, it doesn’t help me get through it all. I need to listen to everything sped up. I’ve written about the speed I listen to podcasts already. I’ve had to gradually “train” my listening to understand fast talking. I got used to 1.5x, then 2x, then the next notch then the next notch. With all this, sometimes it’s still not enough. One more thing I do to help with the quantity is that if an episode doesn’t pique my interest within the first 2 minutes, I just stop and move on to the next one.
Why do I listen to 100 podcasts?
I listen to podcasts for fun. I listen to podcasts to educate myself on things I never really used to pay attention to. I listen to try to help myself become a better person. I love learning about different perspectives from all kinds of people. I’m really trying to be a more considerate and understanding person, and I believe hearing different opinions is helping with that. I really like hearing about people’s backgrounds and history leading up to where they are today. They’re often more than willing to share their struggles and triumphs. That’s really reassuring, especially if you’re in a place in your life where you think it’s not going that great.
Additionally, I don’t necessarily listen to certain podcasts because of the subjects they cover. I listen because they have guests that I want to hear. Quite often if I see a tweet of someone guesting on a podcast, I’ll just download that one episode without subscribing to it. I just really like hearing things I haven’t heard about the people or celebrities I follow on social media. It really helps to get a better sense of him/her.
They’re my favorite right now.
I just really love listening to podcasts. I could listen to them all day everyday (for the most part I do during weekdays). I feel like they help my mind stay at least a little sharp. If you haven’t tested out these waters, I 10/10 would recommend.
Podcasts In Header Image
Accidental Tech Podcast (ATP)
Analog(ue)
Connected
Core Intuition
Cortex
Serial
Service On Celluloid
Somehow I Manage
Upgrade
