No, this isn’t going to be another debate on why I like my Zune better than the iPod. Today, we’re all together: we are owners of portable media players. And it’s not just limited to us: there are those who were more economical and chose simpler, non-brand-name media players, and even some that use their mobile phones, such as their Blackberry or Droid, to carry around music and video.

In any case, the main reason we got these things was music. We love us some music, right? Heck, even the option to carry around some video is pretty cool too (if we can). But our little media players can do us one better, and I learned it while I was sitting at a desk.

Recently, I took upon a rather boring desk job to pay a few bills (one being this giant party I’m throwing next October). This job basically entails staring at a computer screen and answering customer service emails for 8 hours a day, second shift. It ain’t glamorous, I’ll tell you that right now. But while there, I realized that I needed brain stimulation if I wanted any chance of surviving this job.

As I’ve stated before, I’ve got a Microsoft Zune. While putzing around on the Zune Marketplace, I started perusing the podcasts. I’d always thought about grabbing a podcast – after all, they seem to be pretty popular, but I never really knew anybody that listened to them. I figured this would be a good chance to try a few out.

Holy cow. I should be kicking myself for not trying this years ago.

Podcasts: Knowledge, Entertainment, and The Rejuvenated Love for Radio

Think about all the time you spend doing mindless activities: driving a car, sitting at work (for some of us), cleaning the house, working out, etc. There are about a billion different times of day when we could be putting our brain to good use. Enter the podcast. Here are a few cool reasons to start loading up:

• Constantly new content: Most podcasts update at least once a week, if not more often. That’s a steady stream of new stuff to listen to, all the time!
• Automatic updating: Adding new ones is as simple as plugging in your media player (and in some cases, you don’t even have to do that). Just subscribe and forget about it!
• Something for all interests: You’d be surprised at just how many genres you can take advantage of and enjoy.
• Any podcast feed can be used: If you can find it online, you can add it to your subscriptions, regardless of what you are using.
• They’re free: Even if you just want to listen to them on your computer, you can load up on podcasts to your heart’s content.

A podcast, for those of you who have gotten this far and still don’t know what they are, is essentially a radio show. For some podcasters out there, it’s adapted from their actual radio show. For others, it’s like their blog on steroids – interviews, audio clips, and special content can be found on their podcasts. What kinds of stuff can you find out there? Anything.

The Practical Nerd’s Favorite Podcasts

After some trial and error, I’ve hammered down the podcasts I look forward to listening to every day (links go to the RSS feed address to add to your podcasting software):

• Bob and Brian On Demand – This is the morning radio show from 102.9 THE HOG, based out of Milwaukee. Sure, there’s some definite Midwest charm in here, but there are plenty of hilarious news bits and sports coverage with Steve Czaban to keep anyone happy. Best feature: any of their "listeners write in" stories, including Father Knows Least (funny/horrifying experiences with your dad), Smashed In The Face (your story of getting hit in the face), and Holiday Horror Stories (bad experiences with holidays). Best of all, they’re not tasteless shock jocks, either!
• Radiolab – Easily the best of the bunch. Radiolab is an NPR radio show from WNYC. They generally run an hour long, but they contain some of the most thought-provoking and beautiful stories out there. It’s a science show about human behavior and other stuff about nature, but done with sound effects, music, and storytelling that sucks you in completely. What a wonderful program – one of the few places you can find science-related content that is unbiased, entertaining, and completely accessible for everyone. After one day of listening to the three podcasts I had downloaded, I went back and downloaded their entire archive of over 60 shows.
• The Dave Ramsey Show Podcast – Dave is the author of The Total Money Makeover, which is highly-regarded as one of the best personal finance books around. Dave opens up every show by saying that this is "where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off mortgage has replaced the BMW as the status symbol of choice". He takes callers, emails, and tweets, giving solid and real-world financial advice to his listeners. He has a no-nonsense approach that I totally respect, and his main goal is getting you out of debt. Great program.
• ESPN Football Today – Some things just need to be entertaining. Jeremy Green takes you inside football every weekday for analysis and opinion. It’s like having ESPN in your ears.

There are tons more out there, from comedy to Christian, food to music. Go search around, either in your iTunes, Zune Marketplace, or even Google. You’ll find some good stuff.

Okay, so how do I get this stuff?

One way is through your media software. The iTunes Store and the Zune Marketplace both have dedicated sections to podcasts. If you don’t use either of those, there is another very popular option: Juice.

Juice is a cross-platform podcast subscriber that organizes your podcasts and syncs them up with your media player of choice (or, if you want, you can just play them through the software).

Podcasts give your brain a little food to work with. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. After all, learning is an ongoing process throughout your life. Why not give it a try? Do you have any favorite podcasts you want to recommend? Let’s hear about it in the comments!

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