I spend a lot of time walking. For years and years I listened to music on every walk. First I had a Walkman tape player and FM radio, then a CD Walkman followed by my son’s old Dell DJ. I followed with a succession of iPod Nanos, an Android phone or two, and now an iPhone. The type of music I listen to hasn’t changed much from device to device and I enjoy rock, pop, country, classical, alternative, jazz, and show tunes. My iTunes library also stores much of the music that my young grandchildren listen to. Therefore when I listen to songs on the shuffle setting, I am apt to move from John Mayer to the Messiah to Cookie Monster and Big Bird.

My listening habits changed significantly in early 2013 when I started listening to DSMA Live, a podcast about diabetes produced by DCAF (Diabetes Community Advocacy Foundation). Abby the Black Lab introduced herself to Test Guess and Go readers in May 2013 and explained the hows and whys of our DSMA walks. It took six months and 447 miles of walking to listen to the entire archives of DSMA which was at that point 149 shows. Almost two years later I still listen to every DSMA show although I have long since lost count of how many episodes there have been.

Once I became current with DSMA, I had to find something else to listen to. All of a sudden music became boring while I walked and worked out and I was much more interested in podcasts. Currently these are the podcasts I listen to regularly:

DSMA Live: On iTunes you’ll find all three of the DSMA podcasts (Live, ‘Rents, and en Vivo!) under the umbrella of DSMA Live. The accompanying iTunes description indicates that the aim of these interviews and discussions is to “empower, connect, support people affected by diabetes.” You’ll definitely learn everything you need to know about diabetes news and the people in the diabetes online community by listening regularly to these programs.

Just Talking:  A weekly podcast by Chris Snider in which he interviews guests about various topics such as diabetes, Medicine X, and video games. Chris’ interviews are unscripted and he describes them as “free-flowing but with a purpose.” His guest list is diverse and the show is always interesting.  Because my fascination with video games ended in the 1980’s on about Level 5 of Super Mario Brothers, I tend to skip the video game episodes. His podcast earlier this week was an interview with Amy Tenderich and three scholarship recipients from the recent 4th Annual DiabetesMine Innovation Summit.

NPR: TED Radio Hour:  Each week’s show has a theme and incorporates portions of relevant talks from the TED (Technology, Education, Design) Stage and interviews with some of the speakers. Titles of recent shows have been The Source of Creativity, the Balance within Us, The Edge, and The next Greatest Generation?. The topics are always interesting and this podcast exposes me to lots of ideas and subjects that I might otherwise know nothing about.

Recently Added

Good Mythical Morning (Audio only): I learn a lot from Katy at Bigfoot Child Have Diabetes. Some of it is important and some of it is a bit odd, but oddness is the spice of life. Along that lines I was introduced to this show in Katy’s blogpost yesterday titled “Will It Pumpkin Spice?”  She provided a link to comic duo Rhett & Link’s YouTube video of the same title. I don’t know whether the audio-only version of their show will be as funny as the YouTube videos, but it’s worth a try.  How can you not want to listen to podcasts such as “Making a Dog Yawn”, “Facon Bacon Taste Test”, and “Wrapping a Cat for Christmas”?

Recently Deleted

NPR: Car Talk: I have no interest in cars but have listened to Tom and Ray Magliozzi, (aka Click and Clack, the Tappert Brothers) discuss cars, interpersonal relationships, and life in general for years. The show is no longer in production and Tom Magliozzi passed away in November 2014. An episode from the archives is released every week on NPR and the humor is timeless. Warning: you might embarrass yourself in front of your neighbors as you walk down the street laughing out loud at this podcast. Because I have listened to the show for so many years, I decided to take a break. It’s still a favorite!

NPR: Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!: This is a weekly comedy show camouflaged as a current events quiz. It can be very funny but I got tired of the same format week after week. So it’s off my list for now. However, the two guests last week were Itzhak Perlman and Amy Schumer. That episode might be worth a listen.

The Atlantic Voice:  The subtitle for this podcast is “3000 Miles of Opinion” and features Eric and Zeff, one who lives in the USA and the other in Great Britain. I found it engaging for a while, but not enough to keep me from exploring other options. After all, there is only so much time to listen to podcasts every week.

I use iTunes to search for and subscribe to podcasts. It’s easy to do and my selections magically show up on my iPhone. I’m sure that Android users have a similar way to do this, but I am an iPhone user because I don’t want to have to figure things out….

I am always open to trying out new podcasts. If you have a favorite, please share it in the comment section.