Podcasts. They are an amazing thing. Don’t ya think? No matter the topic, you can most likely find a podcast about it. They are a nice way to fill the void while still learning something new. Plus they are free. What can be better?
While traveling, I ride on buses and planes for long periods of time. There are times I find myself talking to someone, listening to their stories. However, most of the time, I find myself alone in my own mind. I would take that time and listen to new music, read a book, or simply try to see something new on the horizon. This is fine, but my mind was not stimulated and I found myself getting bored.
Enter podcasts.
Since I study early and medieval histories, I wanted to learn about histories not told in schools. You know the story behind the story. Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History does just that! Even though he completely admits that he is not a historian, he does a good job of quoting and fact-checking his sources. He will admit when there are different interpretations and try to account for all discrepancies. This is something I respect of any history campaigner.
While traveling, I get the opportunity to listen to a plethora of accents from across the world. Even though the majority are speaking English, I completely understand that I am the one who has the accent. When I was introduced to the Lexicon Valley podcast, I started to hear just how different each accent truly is. The podcaster (is that what they are called?) describes how different words came about- their origins and their development throughout cultures. For example, why do we have a vowel shift in words when that wasn’t how the word originated… Needless to say, I am more aware of the sounds people are making when they open their mouths. 😉 (i.e. I am starting to actually listen to how someone is speaking as well as to what they are saying.)
Finally, I started my podcast journey with Philosophize This!; a podcast created “for anyone interested in an educational podcast about philosophy where you don’t need to be a graduate-level philosopher to understand it,” as stated by creator Stephen West. After listening to his podcast, I actually started to understand the stories I learned in school. Concepts which seemed unattainable to me, all of a sudden they made sense in my mind. It sparked my interest in philosophy and I began making more and more connections to my current research. Afterall, how the early and medieval scholars thought would make a difference in how and why they wrote their manuscripts the way they did.
There are thousands of podcasts out there. Like I mentioned, just about anything you want to listen to, there will be a podcast about it. From stories of paranormal and true crime (And That’s Why We Drink) to a sports talk show that doesn’t really talk about sports (Dan Le Batard Show), from StarTalk Radio to Freakonomics Radio, and from The Skeptics Guide to the Universe to #LIPSTORIES; there is just about anything.
Photo credit: https://stocksnap.io/photo/IQVHQYS3GL
Just About Anything 