Podcasts and Mopping

I don’t have a radio/CD player in my house anymore. We moved, it is in storage, and we can’t find a good place for it. But I don’t miss it. First of all, in my life with three young children, when could I ever listen to it, even if it were here? Secondly, I have my laptop, which has come to mean almost as much to me as a forth child, and it is so much more useful.

Back in my radio days, I would either play CDs, listen to music on the radio, or listen to the news. Now, all my favorite CDs are burned onto my laptop, I have my favorite radio stations saved in my iTunes library which I can queue up whenever I want, and I know where to find my favorite news shows which are all available on podcasts. Not only do I not need my radio anymore, I can experience more using my laptop instead.

Here is what I listen to, from my laptop which is precariously perched atop my toaster, while I mop the floors and clean up the kitchen after the kids are in bed:

WBUR or WNYC streaming live

If ‘m not terribly interested in what is streaming live, I go to:

WBUR: On Point and pick either one of the the current day’s show or something fun and juicy from their archives. I love Tom Ashbrook.

NPR: Fresh Air This one is a great one for keeping up with things that have truly fallen off my radar since having children. Things like books, theater, and music– that are not made for children’s entertainment. Also–and here is a good tip– if there is a book I wanted to read but didn’t get the chance to (and can finally admit to myself that I am not going to) read it, I will go the Fresh Air “past shows” site, enter the author’s name and, viola! there is an interview with the author about his/her book! Then, I get all the good parts about the books, along with some narrative by the author! I just finished listening to an interview with Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. The other night I listened to an interview with David Sedaris about one of his books, and laughed myself silly.

PRI: This American Life Real stories about anything you can think of, told with wit. One hour

WNYC: The Brian Lehrer Show. He has a show going on right now that is especially interesting, called “30 Issues in 30 Days”, which explains both presidential candidates’ take on various issues. Very compelling.

KPBS: A Way With Words One of my favorite shows from my days in Sunny San Diego. Factoids and questions answered about words and grammar. Kind of geeky, but I always learned something cool.

If you have a lot of mopping to do, or you have more quiet time around the house during the day than I have, OR you have a crazy commute, check out Audible.com. They have books, newspapers, and magazine articles available in podcasts. There is a fee, but it seems pretty reasonable– especially if this is your one way to stay connected to the world beyond.

If you have a favorite podcast, or another way to get your fix, please share!