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One of my siblings is quoted in this article, and most people in his life are annoyed both at how much time he spends listening to podcasts (even at hyper-speed

One of my siblings is quoted in this article, and most people in his life are annoyed both at how much time he spends listening to podcasts (even at hyper-speed) and how much he talks about them. I don't have a problem with listening quickly, it's the very long list of podcasts that suggests misguided focus.

brandon272 9y ago
It didn't occur to me that this could devolve into borderline dysfunctional behavior, but it does make sense. I think my first instinct when reading the article was that these folks are lucky to be consuming large amounts of podcast content.
- cabaalis 9y ago
  I had the exact opposite reaction; I was wondering how in the world they could be functional with that amount of noise going into their minds. To each his own, of course, but I cannot fathom how they could possibly be consuming that amount of spoken word and still focusing on tasks at hand.
  - emodendroket 9y ago
    Well, you can't. They're either giving their work or the podcasts short shrift.
- emodendroket 9y ago
  Not really a matter of luck...
JoblessWonder 9y ago
Yeah... Sounds like hoarding tendencies.
Mz 9y ago
Maybe it is his relationships that are dysfunctional, not his interest in podcasts. When I was involved in online gifted parenting groups, it was common to see smart kids "obsessed" with something that worked well for them. In my family, the dysfunctional behavior was resolved by helping my son find ways to genuinely get his needs met so he wasn't intellectually starving anymore. I also helped him find outlets foir his interests. The example I always gave him was that there was nothing wrong with liking debate, but go join a debate club instead if picking arguments with your mom every day. He never joined a debate club, but he did learn to find socially acceptable outlets and stopped making me apoplectic. I will add that gifted kids who were "obsessed" with a particular thing were often twice exceptional. They were gifted and also had some kind of handicap. Their obsession was something that adequately met their intellectual needs after years of starving because it somehow was both sufficiently information dense and delivered the information in a way that worked well for them. Someone who speed listens to podcasts constantly sounds to me like someone seeking a density of information in a format that works for them.

brandon272 9y ago

It didn't occur to me that this could devolve into borderline dysfunctional behavior, but it does make sense. I think my first instinct when reading the article was that these folks are lucky to be consuming large amounts of podcast content.

cabaalis 9y ago
I had the exact opposite reaction; I was wondering how in the world they could be functional with that amount of noise going into their minds. To each his own, of course, but I cannot fathom how they could possibly be consuming that amount of spoken word and still focusing on tasks at hand.
- emodendroket 9y ago
  Well, you can't. They're either giving their work or the podcasts short shrift.
emodendroket 9y ago
Not really a matter of luck...

JoblessWonder 9y ago

Yeah... Sounds like hoarding tendencies.

Mz 9y ago

Maybe it is his relationships that are dysfunctional, not his interest in podcasts. When I was involved in online gifted parenting groups, it was common to see smart kids "obsessed" with something that worked well for them. In my family, the dysfunctional behavior was resolved by helping my son find ways to genuinely get his needs met so he wasn't intellectually starving anymore. I also helped him find outlets foir his interests. The example I always gave him was that there was nothing wrong with liking debate, but go join a debate club instead if picking arguments with your mom every day. He never joined a debate club, but he did learn to find socially acceptable outlets and stopped making me apoplectic. I will add that gifted kids who were "obsessed" with a particular thing were often twice exceptional. They were gifted and also had some kind of handicap. Their obsession was something that adequately met their intellectual needs after years of starving because it somehow was both sufficiently information dense and delivered the information in a way that worked well for them. Someone who speed listens to podcasts constantly sounds to me like someone seeking a density of information in a format that works for them.