I LOVE listening to podcasts while I sew or knit or clean up my workspace. Great podcasts help keep me focused and help me be more productive. I have noticed if I don't have a podcast in the background, I am more likely to be distracted by things like my phone.
I use the app iCatcher for downloading, listening, organizing and deleting my podcasts. I know there are others that do the same job, but I have no complaints about iCatcher. All of these podcasts can also be listened to straight from your computer, if you are not a smart phone user.
I have a number of favorites and I wanted to share them and hear from others what they recommend, both craft-related and uncraft-related but great to craft to.
Un-craft-related:
The Moth: Their tagline is "True Stories Told Live", which is completely accurate, except the Moth folks do a great job of screening and curating, so the stories really are great. Some of the stories are short, so if you want a continuous stretch of stories, listen to The Moth Radio Hour. Just a heads up if you are listening without head phones and there are young children around, not all stories are PG13.
Freakonomics: The authors of Freakonomics, Superfreak and Think Like a Freak have a podcast. Part social science, part economics, always interesting and always funny. The authors are a lot like your favorite college professors. These two can bring any topic to life.
The Ted Radio Hour: Brought to you by NPR. If you haven't discovered Ted Talks yet, you need to. Wise, inspiring, often witty speakers speak about their thing for 19 minutes, which seems to be the perfect amount of time for most attention spans--except if you are sewing, or knitting, then you may want the Ted Radio Hour, which synthesizes several Ted talks along a theme, weaves them together, along with interviews with the speakers. I love these, except sometimes I just feel very ordinary compared to these people. Today I listened to a Ted Radio Hour that included a woman who rowed across the Atlantic and Pacific, without a lifeline boat trailing.
Serial: It would be hard to miss the Serial hype these days. Everyone is following this podcast, which spun off from NPR's This American Life. This podcast is a story told in serial (week by week) form investigating a murder and conviction that occurred in a Baltimore suburb in 1999. It involves high schoolers, an ex-boyfriend, issues with a defense attorney, who is no longer alive, and a very questionable timeline. Tomorrow is the twelfth and last episode. If you haven't been following, because it is a podcast, you can start anytime, and that is the beauty of podcasts.
Mac OS Ken: I have to admit, this is my husband's favorite podcast. Mac OS Ken covers all things Apple every day. Since Apple products make my life much easier, I have both Mac OS Ken and my husband to thank!
Crafting related:
While She Naps: Every other Monday Abby Glassenberg interviews those at the forefront of the sewing, creating and craft blogging worlds. Jess Brown, Alicia Paulson and Melanie Falick were recent guests. Sometimes if there is time, the guests and Abby recommend products--everything from cookbooks to apps and clothing.
Never Not Knitting: Alana Dakos is not only an amazing knitter and pattern designer but she does a cool podcast. She ruminates about knitting, reviews products, interviews guests and talks about her progress on specific projects and pattern designs. She's a good storyteller and also has an incredibly soothing voice, so this blog will calm you down and remind you to keep knitting.
Explore Your Enthusiasm: Tara Swiger started as a yarn dyer and successfully marketed her yarn. She now helps other makers market their products. She is a great coach/therapist for those of us trying to make and sell. Tara usually thoroughly discusses one aspect of the process. She looks at that process from inspiration to customer in each podcast.
The Unmistakable Creative: Srini Raos interviews people from all different worlds of creating about everything from inspiration, overcoming setbacks, crowdfunding. Very inspiring podcast.
After The Jump: Grace Bonney of DesignSponge does a bit of all of the above podcasts, except the knitting. She interviews people in the design industry and talks about the process.
That's all of my recommendations for now. Would love to hear what you listen to. And who is waiting for the final episode of Serial tomorrow?