Podcasts, Podcasts, Everywhere

I have a very limited attention span, and I have had one ever since I was little. I can absorb multiple sources of information at one time, although admittedly that has become more difficult the older I get. I do remember begging my mum to watch a documentary on the ancient Egyptians one night and sitting with my colouring pens and paper the whole way through. She yelled at me for not paying attention, but then I showed her my "research piece" on the Egyptians where I had been writing down all my facts and doodling hieroglyphics.

I remember teachers shouting at me for doodling while they were talking, but I just take in a lot more when my mind is free to let itself go. An English teacher was ready to go off on me once for not listening while we were reading Holes by Louis Sachar, but when he came over to speak to me, he took notice of and praised my little diagram of the campsite, the digsites and the mountains which I had been adding to as the story progressed. I just need an extra something to help the information seep into my unconscious.

And, as previously mentioned, now that I am older and unable to focus on two things as well (in part due to my suspected auditory processing disorder), I find that I can't watch TV and play The Sims as well as I used to be able to. Now, my multi-tasking media consumption has to be done in a more easily digestible way. And that is where the wonders of podcasts come in.

With a podcast, you're just listening. Your eyes and your hands can be off doing any other task. I can listen to a podcast while I play House Flipper, draw, cross stitch or anything else that doesn't involve any more thinking or processing. And my podcast habits have grown and changed in the past year alone (ever since getting my own login for Spotify). I now have multiple podcasts on the go at any given time, for a variety of different moods and needs. So I thought I would share some of my recommendations below and what scenarios I find they're best suited for.

(I do have a lot more podcasts which I haven't tried yet, so I will do my best to update this as I go!)

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The Last Podcast on the Left

What to Expect: True Crime / Paranormal / Comedy / Horror

Perfect for: literally any scenario! Driving in the car, listening at lunch time, having it on while you lounge doing nothing, listening while you're attempting to do other tasks, listening on your own or with others.

Be Warned: If you're sensitive to inappropriate material (either gore or political incorrectness) this might not be for you.

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Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities

What to Expect: Storytelling / Oddities / Twists

Perfect for: drifting off to sleep, when you have just a short amount of time and want a perfectly curious tale to keep you going.

Be Warned: The formula for the stories is pretty guessable once you've listened to a few. Story, hints, big reveal.

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My Brother, My Brother and Me

What to Expect: Advice / Not Advice / Comedy

Perfect for: when you need a break from horror and want to laugh at humans being human.

Be Warned: Sometimes the brothers find their jokes a lot funnier than you might.

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You're Wrong About

What to Expect: Topical / Opinions / Unbiased

Perfect for: learning and unlearning what you thought you knew about pop culture subjects and world news stories.

Be Warned: the hosts have what some might consider "controversial" opinions in the grey area of topics that most people find black and white.

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Lore

What to Expect: Storytelling / Weird / Paranormal / Mythology

Perfect for: a bedtime story to get your dreams in that perfect place between nightmare and fantasy.

Be Warned: the stories flit about a little bit sometimes and have been commented on for their lack of accuracy.

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Generation Why

What to Expect: True Crime

Perfect for: getting your true crime dosage from a quiet and tame source, not three loveable knuckleheads shouting over each other. Definitely one you could listen to with your mum if she's that way inclined.

Be Warned: a bit slow paced at time, and they use gentle language to discuss serious matters which bothers me. Also, if you're British, these guys are like gun carrying American and that sometimes knocks me back when they mention it.

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Cold Case Files

What to Expect: True Crime / Unsolved Mysteries

Perfect for: fans of true crime documentaries, this would be a great gateway into listening to your mysteries instead of watching them.

Be Warned; this is entirely opinion, but I find the voice and accent of the narrator to be entirely grating and her advert for fucking Bombas Socks literally haunts my dreams and makes me dry heave.

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Unexplained

What to Expect: Mysteries / Paranormal / True Crime

Perfect for: bedtime. Absolutely the perfect spooky bedtime story. Richard McLean Smith has the most gentle voice and narrates perfectly.

Be Warned: very sleepy narrator voice. And also, there's one advert for Teladoc (or however it is spelt) which is grammatically incorrect and the wording is clunky and it drives me insane.

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Scare You To Sleep

What to Expect: Horror / Short Stories

Perfect for: bedtime, but only in specific scenarios. Not really useful if you share the bed/room with another person or are a lightsleeper. Good for listening while you're working.

Be Warned: the narrator uses unnecessary sound effects, especially for a podcast meant to put you to sleep. She also has a bad habit of detailing her personal life. I do not care. I want to be lulled gently into a nightmare filled slumber.

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Creepy

What to Expect: Creepypaste / Adverts

Perfect for: a quick burst of inspiration for if you're telling spooky stories round a campfire or need an injection of horror/want to listen to a specific Creepypasta.

Be Warned: there is an absurd ratio of stories to adverts. I'm talking 9 minute episodes broken down into 1 minute of intro, 3 minutes of story, 1 minute of outro and 4 minutes of adverts. A metric shit tonne of adverts. Pointless (and annoying as I have Spotify premium but STILL have to endure ads).