I haven’t listened to the radio or watched cable news in months. The only exception being yesterday and today, I have been following the earthquake and tsunami coverage.
I have recently been listening to hours and hours of podcasts each day. I enjoy the variety and the “on demand” nature of them. I load my mp3 player with podcasts of all types, and I have content of all types of topics available any time I want.I grew up listening to the radio, and for most of my life, it has been my favorite form of media consumption. We did not have a TV in the house while I was growing up. I listened to a lot of music, news and sports on the radio. I can remember many late nights listening to the Portland Trailblazer games on headphones. I still enjoy listening to their games on the radio.
For most of my adult life, I have worked in the construction trades, and even the jobs I’ve had outside of construction did not allow me to have access to a computer in a stationary spot. In my early twenties I discovered “talk radio,” (GASP!) and since I tend to lean to the right politically, this was great! While most radio hosts tend to be far right, I shared enough of their views to enjoy most of their shows.
I have really come to enjoy the intimacy that radio provides. If you listen to a host for very long, you really feel like you get to know them.
A couple of years ago, I discovered Hugh Hewitt. Hugh is probably the smartest talking head on the radio. He is a Christian, a constitutional law professor, a practicing environmental lawyer, and the best interviewer I have ever heard. He will spend a week on one topic if that’s what it takes to find out all of the ins and outs of an issue. Hugh doesn’t just pontificate for three hours a day, he finds out who the experts are on a given topic and will have them on for an hour at a time and really educate you.
The station that carried The Hugh Hewitt Show went off the air about a year ago, and I had to resort to downloading them after the broadcast and listen to them the next day. This is called podcasting.
Recently, I have been talking to some friends of mine about creating a podcast for a ministry that we are all involved with. So I started doing some research about how to create a podcast, which lead me to discover many awesome people creating some of the most entertaining and informative content I have heard in a long time. This, combined with a severe burnout on politics after the recent elections, has made me almost completely abandon the radio.
If you are tired of the same ole same ole in your media consumption, why not go to the podcast section of the iTunes store (or the Zune marketplace) and start sampling some of the thousands offerings available. Once you find some you like, load up your iPod or phone and enjoy!
Don’t worry if you only find a coup[le of podcasts that interest you, podcasters usually talk about other podcasters occasionally, you will find more.
Oh, one other thing, try to avoid the celebrity radio shows allowing downloads, search for the people who are truly creating their own independent content.
Next time, I will share the list of podcasts that I like.