17 different women, 36 crazy children, 0 babies in utero
Adventures, Advice and Questions from a group of Mormon women who met in Queens, NY and have now scattered all over the place.
 

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Earbuditis

Earbuditis: definition - sore ears from extended and obsessive ipod use.

That is the ailment I am currently suffering from as a result of my new podcast addiction. Previous to the past month, I would use my ipod to listen to music while I was on my bike or running. Occasionally, I would download a podcast from NPR. Half the time I wanted to use my ipod, I wouldn't be able to immediately remember where I last had it....damn those things are tiny...and I would decide it wasn't worth the trouble to find it at that particular moment. Now, my ipod MUST BE WITH ME AT ALL TIMES!

The moment of no return occurred when I happened to look over DH's shoulder when he was downloading his own favorite podcasts for his commute and I saw the huge plate of offerings on iTunes. Like a trip to the candy store, or to H&M, I wanted to try one of everything.

I know we have discussed the greatness of podcasts before on Tales...somewhere buried deep in Tales archives...but I am pretty sure it was off-topic comments from another post. Podcasts deserve their own post. They are the quintessential entertainment/news/educational medium for busy moms. You can listen to a podcasts in the car transporting kids, cooking dinner or cleaning the house, exercising, or catching up on email. And most are free to download.

Here are a few of my current favs:

This American Life - Stories of ordinary Americans. Each week has a specific theme, ranging from summer camp experiences to the Iraq War. The stories are brilliantly done and I have such a crush on Ira Glass, the narrator. Ok, I just saw his picture on the website and I HAD a crush on him....why did I have to look and ruin it? Of course he was going to be a nerdy middle-aged guy with really thick glasses....he's on radio for goodness sake!

BBC: The World - great world news broadcast, cool British accents.

Car Talk - I actually started listening to this show on Saturday mornings in college...and have had a nostalgic reunion with it lately. The premise of the show is that callers phone in with their car-related questions to Tom and Ray, two mechanics with thick, rough Boston accents. Tom and Ray are hilarious....and I was pleased to discover that at least one of them really does have a car garage business. I've also learned a lot about cars, although nothing terribly practical such as changing the oil in my car.


Mommycast - "Holding the world together, one child at a time" is the mantra of this show. Broadcasted by two LDS moms (one happens to be in my NoVa ward), the shows feature a variety of parenting topics. Often there are interviews with parenting experts and authors. A lot of time on the show is devoted to using technology to save time and manage your family more efficiently. I think this is best part of the show, these women really know their technology! Mommycast is the first independent podcast to gain corporate sponsorship (from Dixie)....which is very cool as well!

Spanishpod - this is for you, Carrie! Really fun, entertaining way to learn Spanish. Unlike your average high school or college Spanish class, where you conjugate verbs until you see them in your sleep and memorize long lists of vocabulary words, the focus of the podcast is on learning phrases and dialogue, which is infinitely more important to fluency. The dialogues are so fun and entertaining, you forget you are studying Spanish. The podcast is divided by levels...from Newbie to Advanced....so there is something for everyone.

Feed my addiction people....do you listen to podcasts and, if so, which ones?



11 Comments:

  • ooh... might have to look into this, I miss my NPR.
    posted by Blogger Kage at 2/06/2008 09:09:00 AM  



  • Jen, I can totally relate. I love love love podcasts and it's all I listen to on my little shuffle.

    I am a big This American Life fan too. I also love Speaking of Faith on NPR--a great weekly show described as a "conversation about religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas".

    I am a big Lost fan, and I love the official Lost podcast with the two executive producers.

    And have you downloaded any of Mormon Stories? I don't really love the host, but he has interviewed so many cool people in the Mormon world. Off the top of my head, some favorites from this are Richard Bushman and Claudia Bushman, but there are tons of different topics and interesting things to choose from.

    I have also listened to a few audio books on ipod. Our library has a great selection and I just rip the cds and delete the digital files when I'm done.
    posted by Blogger Michelle at 2/06/2008 11:44:00 AM  



  • Speaking of Faith had Robert Millet on last week speaking about Mormonism. If you are looking for that podcast on iTunes, you won't find it under NPR though (or at least I couldn't). Try American Public Media.

    Michelle, is Mormon Stories on iTunes?
    posted by Blogger Todd at 2/06/2008 11:56:00 AM  



  • Todd, yes it's on iTunes. Just search for Mormon Stories. There is also a website--mormonstories.org.

    And I think you can just search for Speaking of Faith and it would pop up. but you're right that it's APM.

    --Michelle
    posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 2/06/2008 12:20:00 PM  



  • I am going to have to try a few new podcasts. Especially that Spanish one. I found the Coffee Break Spanish podcast that I have been listening to. It's kind of funny because the hosts are from Scotland.
    But it's pretty good.

    My favorite NPR podcast is "Wait Wait, Don't tell me." It's a funny quiz show about current events. I often find myself laughing out loud.

    Thanks for the new suggestions Jen! I have started listening to the shuffle more since Michelle's suggestion of listening while cleaning. It has made my "chores" much less annoying.
    posted by Blogger This is Carrie at 2/06/2008 09:36:00 PM  



  • Michelle, I have listened to Speaking of Faith a couple of times before and also tried to find it under npr on itunes...now I know why I couldn't find it...
    I had heard of Mormon Stories before I completely understood the joy of podcasts...I will enjoy listening to them I'm sure. Thanks for the suggestions!

    Carrie, I do think you will like Spanishpod.....
    posted by Blogger Jen at 2/07/2008 09:43:00 AM  



  • I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't have an iPod. :)
    posted by Blogger Beth at 2/07/2008 02:43:00 PM  



  • I love the French Ecole podcast. I learn French while I am on the treadmill, or driving places. They are the best French lessons. I studied French in high school, and one year at college, so many things are a reminder. I love her way of teaching though.

    I also love the "yoga download" podcast. Yogadownload.com I think. They are great!
    LisaC
    posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 2/09/2008 10:05:00 AM  



  • Thanks for this post. I am currently Ipod/MP3-free, and have been looking at buying one. I wasn't sure I would truly use it for very much. This post just sealed the deal for me. I didn't know all the differnt uses for one. Thanks!
    posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 2/09/2008 10:39:00 AM  



  • Speaking of NPR...I listened to a fascinating story in the shower this morning entitled 'Mormons confront negative ideas about their faith'. Here is the printed article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18905399.
    I suggest clicking on the "Listen Now" link at the top of the page to get the full effect of the story. The last comment from a Virginia stay-at-home mom was especially touching and it pointed precisely to my feelings on the subject.
    posted by Blogger b.liz at 2/12/2008 01:53:00 PM  



  • Oops...the link didn't paste properly above. Here is the link to that story:
    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18905399
    posted by Blogger b.liz at 2/12/2008 01:55:00 PM  



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