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I'm trying to listen to fewer podcasts. In my work day I have a few hours most days that don't require much concentration and it's easy to feel that I could "fi

I'm trying to listen to fewer podcasts. In my work day I have a few hours most days that don't require much concentration and it's easy to feel that I could "fill" the time with podcasts. But after going through a whole bunch of podcasts from all over the political spectrum, science, history, entertainment, music, drama and comedy I've determined that podcasts generally just detract from my life more than they give to it. I find podcasts like Radiolab and Serial to be particularly egregious examples of time sinks. They're produced with a narrative arc much like Netflix shows; they keep you "on the edge of your seat" but at the end I'm left with one less hour in my day and not much else to show for it. The same is true for news podcasts. I can listen to new podcasts all day and know exactly what different budget proposals or farm bills contain but what do I really do with that information, how does it really impact my life? In short, I think the vast majority of podcasts are useful as fleeting entertainment and arn't much use beyond that, regardless of content. Maybe it's just my learning style though. That said, Podcasts I regularly listen to: Chapo Trap House - cynical news coverage + comedy from socialists Intercepted - Top notch journalism Deconstructed - Also top notch journalism Vox's The Weeds - deep dive policy wonk stuff from neoliberals NYT The Daily - Coverage of one timely news topic each day Democracy Now - More Top notch liberal journalism

throwaway180118 8y ago
What playback speed do you listen to your podcasts on? 1.1x saves you 12 minutes on the hour. I use PocketCasts on Android, which handles the variable playspeed well and also has a neat silence trimming feature that can accumulate hours of saved time.
- 1123581321 8y ago
  I think playback speed can mask the problem the OP is describing. There are effectively an unlimited number of these programs. Someone cutting the time by 10-40% is often just going to fill up the remaining time with more of the same. The other consequence of compressing time is the podcast requires more concentration. If it’s not too valuable it might be less of a waste of time to listen slowly enough that another activity can be done without missing much. The best solution is to only listen to great shows that your future self will approve of, which isn’t easily done. :) (And yes, Pocket Casts is great at saving time - I’ve shaved off weeks at this point.)
riku_iki 8y ago
> Deconstructed - Also top notch journalism I actually found this guy pushing very aggressive, one sided political agenda, which is far from being top notch journalism in my opinion..
- evanlivingston 8y ago
  I admit to only having listened to one episode at the time of posting, it wouldn't surprise me. Stuff coming out of the intercept does appear to have a slant.

throwaway180118 8y ago

What playback speed do you listen to your podcasts on? 1.1x saves you 12 minutes on the hour. I use PocketCasts on Android, which handles the variable playspeed well and also has a neat silence trimming feature that can accumulate hours of saved time.

1123581321 8y ago
I think playback speed can mask the problem the OP is describing. There are effectively an unlimited number of these programs. Someone cutting the time by 10-40% is often just going to fill up the remaining time with more of the same. The other consequence of compressing time is the podcast requires more concentration. If it’s not too valuable it might be less of a waste of time to listen slowly enough that another activity can be done without missing much. The best solution is to only listen to great shows that your future self will approve of, which isn’t easily done. :) (And yes, Pocket Casts is great at saving time - I’ve shaved off weeks at this point.)

riku_iki 8y ago

> Deconstructed - Also top notch journalism I actually found this guy pushing very aggressive, one sided political agenda, which is far from being top notch journalism in my opinion..

evanlivingston 8y ago
I admit to only having listened to one episode at the time of posting, it wouldn't surprise me. Stuff coming out of the intercept does appear to have a slant.