I’ve found myself more deeply engaged in the digital world these past six months or so, with classes for Craftsy (French Home Cooking and Homemade Salty Snacks) and my Northwest ebooks self-published via Kindle. After so many years producing print publications and teaching in-person classes, it’s pretty fascinating to learn more about how those activities are now morphing into the online, digital sphere. In more recent conversations with friends, another new digital platform had come increasing onto my radar: the arena of podcasts. Some friends are already doing podcasts that I follow (including Spilled Milk, one of the first podcasts I remember learning about, and Wine Without Worry), others share insights about the huge growth curve that the podcast market is due to have in the next few years (spurred, in large part, because new cars will increasingly offer built-in wireless internet for effortless streaming; in my car I can do so via Bluetooth).
So here’s a question for you: are you a consumer of podcasts? With great regularity or just on occasion? While I do have lots of audio input in my days, it comes mostly in the form of music or NPR during the days, listening to books while on walks or working out, radio or maybe an audiobook in the car. It means shifting my listening habits to work podcasts into that mix, which I’m working on.
I’d be curious to hear how into podcasts you are and what some of your favorite shows are. My favorites playlist includes many favorite public radio shows (Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, Dinner Party Download, Splendid Table). I’d love to hear how often you listen and what’s on your playlist; I can share some other readers favorites in a future newsletter. Here’s a quick survey I whipped together, I’d appreciate your input! Meanwhile, I’ll be looking into that medium to see if it’s something else I might want to dive into.
