Podcasts!

A huge upside to being out of the front office is the ability to listen to audio again. I had missed that soooo much at my last job. While getting the opportunity to learn SolidWorks was definitely worth the time I spent there, being in the front meant no headphones, so my entire day was spent in silence. I've only had a couple of jobs where I was off in a cubicle and could listen to music or internet radio; I cherished and longed to have that perk again.

Now that I do once more, I have been exploring the new world of podcasting. I grew up listening to old-time radio replays on KRMG news radio. They would play ancient classics like The Shadow, Jack Benny, Dragnet, and even would replay the War of the Worlds on Halloween. Being that my family prohibited television, listening to the old-timey radio rebroadcasts was the next best thing for me. Although I was growing up in the 1970's I was reliving a world wars era childhood (maybe explains my obsession with career and duty).

Podcasts entertain and enlighten me as I work (have I said how much I love being able to listen to audio at work? It's absolutely wonderful!). I looked up a couple of old-time radio shows for nostalgia's sake, but the best ones are new.

I'm using a free Android app, Podcast Addict, to feed podcasts to my phone nightly and then I listen as I work during the day.

For anyone involved in design and/or engineering at any level, The Engineering Commons podcast is fun and informative.

For a rich sound somewhat NPR-ish in style, but mostly history with a side of design, 99% Invisible is an absolutely heavenly listen.

And for slightly shocking PG-13 humor from scientists, StarTalk, hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson (now the host of the new Cosmos TV series), is a must.

My absolute favorites:
99% Invisible
The Indoor Kids (hilarious, and all about video games)
StarTalk (Neil deGrasse Tyson, superstar)
BackStory (History professors chatting about history!)
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (authors reading their own short stories)
The Engineering Commons
STEAM Power Podcast (interesting topics, rough production quality)
Stuff You Should Know (5-10 minute tidbits by the How Stuff Works website)
The Infinite Monkey Cage (Brian Cox, British crush-worthy scientist)