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?