I am a commuter. Every weekday I travel one hour by train to my job in the city. I’ve learned a couple things about myself from commuting.
One being that I am not a patient person and two; I cannot sit on a train for an hour with nothing to do.
I love to read, but sometimes I’m just not in the mood. When it has been a particularly stressful day, not even music cannot lift my spirits. I first heard about podcasts through a fellow commuting friend and from that moment on I was instantly hooked. There are thousands of podcasts recorded daily around the world in just as many genres and subjects.
Podcasts are typically one to two hour radio shows, where hosts and guests will talk about an array of subjects. The iTunes store has made searching out your favorite podcast easier than ever. Broken down into categories, podcasts range from cooking to humor and even woodworking!
I have compiled a list of my must listen podcasts below. So the next time you are stuck on a long train ride or just hanging out at home, check out a podcast. You will be surprised how funny, thought evoking and interesting they can be.
I hope I’m not outing myself as a nerd by revealing this, but Chris Hardwick’s popular podcast is one of my favourites. Each week Chris and his two friends interview interesting people, sometimes famous and sometimes not. The quick-witted banter sprinkled with hilarious anecdotes makes for a fantastic listen. I highly recommend the Zooey Deschanel, Tom Hanks and Simon Pegg episodes.
One of the very first people I followed on Twitter was Katia Grimmer-Laversanne. Katia, an expat from Australia was living in Paris and running a successful podcast with her friend and fellow expat KylieMac. The podcast explored expat struggles and daily life living in Paris. Sadly, earlier this year Katia and KylieMac’s podcast ended but I was pleased to hear that Katia was venturing on her own and starting another podcast called The France Project. Each week, Katia investigates a different theme about France through interviews, stories, and discussions with other expats and locals.
Listed in the iTunes category of “Personal Journals”, The Heatley Cliff is a delightful mix of pop culture, nostalgia and humor. Each week, the hosts Amy Foster and Sheryl Zentner create their own “audio salon” where they discuss books, films, their lives and even knitting. These ladies have a unique way of making you feel like you are listening to a conversation with a couple of good friends.
Produced by Chicago Public Radio, This American Life is an award-winning weekly radio show comprising of two or three stories that are all centered on a similar theme. Each podcast is enlightening, humorous and provides an escape from daily life.