Podcasts are super for consuming information on the go and listen to the world's greatest minds. Here are a few tips to up your podcast game!
Apps
iPhone
- The default Apple podcast player is pretty poor
- I recommend Breaker, a social podcast app that enables you to follow others and view what they listen to. This app is also great for discovering new podcasts.
As you listen
By default podcast apps play audio at 1X speed. This seems normal right?! However, podcasts are a one way conversation, where all you do is listen, you never have to talk or think of a response! This greatly reduces the cognitive effort, allowing you to speed up the audio playback and still comprehend.
I advise:
- Downloading a podcast app with granular playback speed controls, such as Breaker.
- Increase the playback speed incrementally over time. eg. 1x → 1.2x → 1.4x over a few weeks
- Don't increase too quickly, or beyond a speed that is comprehensible and enjoyable!
- Your preferred speed will vary from podcast to podcast. I find American hosts tend to speak slower than Irish hosts for example.
- If you hear great content you'd like to remember, pause the podcast and jot down a note in your favourite note taking app.
Suggested Podcasts
Finding great podcasts can be hard.
Here is my list of all-time favourites:
My profile on Breaker. Follow me to see my subscriptions and all podcast episodes I listen to: