How to Listen to Podcasts, Techie or Not

Great For Multi-Tasking

Podcasts have been around for a long time. But recently they’ve boomed in popularity.

Part of the resurgence has to do with our routines and work spaces. More people are working from home. That’s good in some ways, but limits our social interactions.

Podcasts help alleviate that feeling of being isolated, and they allow you to do something else while listening.

Also, they are a great way to engage your mind while doing physical work or exercising.

To get myself to exercise, I decided to use podcasts as a carrot, leading me to the treadmill, rower, hiking path, whatever.

How to Find and Play Podcasts

The first thing I did was to download the podcast app for my i Phone. If you have an Android phone, Google Play Store has a variety of podcast apps.

Then, I opened the app and clicked on the search box.

I typed in “New York Times,” and up came the names of Times podcasts. I clicked on “The Daily,” which opened the window on this podcast. Then, I clicked the “subscribe” button.

Going back now to the podcast app menu at the bottom of the screen, I clicked on My Podcasts.

There they are! If you want to see all available episodes, click on “Feed.” Those that you select will be added to “My Episodes.” You can download your episodes by clicking on the three dots to the right of the summary.

Because I’m thrifty (OK, in some ways), I download the podcasts while I’m on WI-FI. I turned off cellular service for podcasts in my settings menu. That way, when out on a hike, I’m not using my minutes, just my battery.

You can also delete the episodes after you listen to them by clicking on the three dots. You can even set them to delete automatically in your podcast settings menu, thereby saving space on your phone.

My hikes have become twice as productive and the time goes so fast.

Finding Great Podcasts

Public radio offers a number of good podcasts. Check out the NPR website for ideas.

Your podcast app will also suggest new, popular, and categorized series that may match your interests.

My kids got me started listening when we were traveling cross-country. We were hooked on a series called “Someone Knows Something,” which is a true-crime production of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Another great series that covers a lot of interesting topics is “Freakanomics.”

Once you get started listening, time will fly, so enjoy the trip.