photo credit: Colleen AF Venable via photopin
Modern technology means there really is no reason for drivers to be bored. Not only does digital radio offer you programmes to match any mood and iTunes/Spotify for personalised jukeboxes. But best of all? Best of all are podcasts. Think of podcasts as hand-picking your favourite radio shows. Podcasts can be anything from a professional radio programme to two or three friends sat in a room chatting about your favourite subject. It can include video but because we’re going to focus on having stuff to listen to while you’re driving, the following ten podcasts are the audio only.
How do I get podcasts in my car?
If you have iTunes and an Apple device it’s simply a case of going to the iTunes Store, then Podcasts and entering the subject in which you’re interested. Subscribe to your favoured podcast, download and episode and, if you have a 3.5mmm jack in your car, get listening. If you have an Android mobile, you’ll have to download an app first – try OneCast, Podcast HD, BeyondPodcast and Stitcher Radio. You might have to pay a couple of quid to get the full functionality but once you discover podcasting, you really won’t mind. If you can make calls in your car using your mobile/Bluetooth set up, you’ll be able to listen to podcasts like that. To get you started, here are ten podcasts for you to enjoy while you’re behind the wheel.
The Danny Baker Show
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
The greatest broadcaster in the history of the spoken word? Could be. Baker asks the most wonderfully silly questions and broadcasts the best and most human stories. Give him a try and I dare you not to smile knowingly throughout.
TED Radio Hour
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=151446218
TED (Think, Exchange, Debate) Talks have quite rightly become legend. TED offer a brilliant journey through some of the most exciting new ideas around delivered in a way that makes you feel equally clever and enlightened. TED Talks are not about making you feel stupid or inferior. Check out the TED Radio Hour and listen to ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’ which looks at how and why we as humans pursue happiness and ‘The Future of Cities’ looks at why we all want to live together and whether we should.
Desert Island Discs
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
If this has passed you by, join Kirsty Young and (via the insight of personal music taste) get beneath the skin of some of British popular culture’s most recognisable names. The results are often surprising, delighting and heart-warming. There about 30 minutes long so download a couple – our favourites are Johnny Vegas, Terry Wogan and Danny Baker.
Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/kermode
Kermode splits opinion. While undoubtedly one of the most committed, enthusiastic, informed and opinionated film people on the planet. He hates 3-D, Michael Bay and modern cinemas. He loves Richard Gere, Zac Efron and Werner Herzog. Be warned, getting into Kermode can wreak havoc with your film choices and tastes – if he doesn’t like it, you won’t watch it.
Stuff You Should Know
http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcasts/
Would you like to know how the Papacy works? How about Jet Lag? Or why men have nipples? Or what it takes to be a stuntman? If that’s the sort of stuff you would like to know, this podcast which, again, lasts about half an hour, is perfect. There are over 300 different things to hear all about.
Guardian Football Weekly Extra
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/series/footballweekly
Hosted by former Football Italia stalwart James Richardson, this is the best football podcast by a country (or an city come to that) mile. Instead of, frankly, boring ex-footballerspeak you get intelligent, witty and insightful football commentary from some of the country’s best football journalists. And Barry Glendenning.
Newsjack
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/newsjack
An irreverent news comedy sketch show might sound like a podcast version of Have I Got News For You and that’s pretty much what it is. You get plenty of laughs while keeping up to date with current affairs. Perfect.
Woman’s Hour
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/whnews
Another podcast from the BBC Radio Four stable, Woman’s Hour enlightens men and entertains women in equal, and very healthy, measures. News, health, welfare, education, arts and more seen through the eyes of the fairer(?) sex – Jenny Murray and Jane Garvey present.
Pub Quiz Podcast
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/pub-quiz-podcast/id111532418
Actually recorded in a South London Pub; you can take part in the pub quiz while you’re driving. How cool is that???!! It’s a shame that it’s ended now but there are about 16 great episodes.
The Enthusiast
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/
Another one that’s a little amateurish, but still a great listen: The Enthusiasts talk about what they’re enjoying in the world of popular culture – books, films, art, music and cinema. Oh, and they swear a bit. Be warned.
So, that’s that. Log in, download and banish boring cars journeys to the past with ten podcasts you might not have heard before. There’s loads of great podcasts on line for you to download so dive in and get listening!
By the way… if you’re driving with an old tape cassette system, you can still listen to podcasts! Maplin’s do a 3.5mm jack-to-tape cassette which means your old motor can play music from your mobile or i-Pod. Who would have thought it – ipod to tape cassette…
