Back in my University days, I figured out that writing notes during lectures didn’t work for me as I couldn’t focus on what the lecturer was saying. As a solution, I started using my phone to record lectures and listen to them later. This was really effective and helped me a whole lot. I realised I’m an auditory learner.
This made me look into podcasts as a way to learn and to read non-fiction because I couldn’t focus long enough to read a non-fiction book. I started subscribing to podcasts by using Google Reader, even converting YouTube videos into audio, then Feedly, and nowadays, I use Spotify or Google Podcasts, so I can listen to them offline.
Podcasts are a great way to get the behind the scenes of a TV show or production, and in fact, the first podcast I listened to was the LOST podcast, shortly followed by the Kojima Productions Podcast while I was waiting for Metal Gear Solid 4 to release. If you watch Breaking Bad and its spinoff Better Call Saul both have a great podcast by the production team that breaks down how the shows were written and made. Nowadays I listen to all kinds of podcasts, with the following being some of my favourites:
- No such thing as a fish
- You are not so smart
- Science Vs.
- The school of life
- The Moth
- TED Radio Hour
- Freakonomics Radio
Podcasts are great because you can listen to them while doing something else, or while commuting. The next best thing is an audiobook, but I find Audible to be too expensive. What podcasts do you recommend?