Podcasts are entertainment and education rolled into one and tailor-made for our busy lives.  Long before human beings first carved figures on cave walls, people were gathering together to share stories that taught, inspired and entertained.  

The term “podcast” is a portmanteau,*  a combination of “iPod” and “broadcast”. It started as mostly a way for folks to get their message out there and build a community of people with similar interests.  (Like gardening!)  In a nutshell, a podcast is a kind of online audio broadcast, just like gathering around the radio in the 1930’s — but instead of a radio, you listen to it on your phone, whenever you like. 

We seem to be wired to absorb what we hear, so when we listen to a podcast, we tend to listen intently.  We don’t skim or scan the way we might do with a news article or this blog post. We create images in our minds of the scenes being described. We connect to the story, and we learn.

People might listen to a podcast when winding down at home after a hectic day or simply relaxing. It is also popularly consumed while multitasking such as commuting to or from work, doing chores, working out, and so on.  I like to listen to podcasts while I garden, like This American Life, Stuff You Should Know and My Favorite Murder.

(And you don’t HAVE to listen to podcasts on a smart phone, you can also listen to Upside Down Tulips on your desktop computer or tablet.) 

Another great thing about podcasts is that you can subscribe to them, which makes it easy to get notified when new episodes come out.

• When you subscribe, you no longer have to search out new episodes of Upside Down Tulips. 
• You no longer have to remember what you’ve listened to, or where you left off.  Instead, your podcast app will now keep track of everything related to Upside Down Tulips.  
• New episodes will come directly to your phone, automatically.  

And, it truly helps us out.  When you subscribe, you tell us you enjoy what we are doing and want to hear more.  And it helps make our podcast easy for other folks to find.

Podcasts have moved to the very top of my list of the best life hacks of recent years. Whenever and wherever I have my phone, earbuds and a little time, I listen to programs that can broaden my perspective and grow my understanding of my job, my life and the world. 

*I love the term portmanteau.  It is linguistic blending of words like smog, coined by blending smoke and fog, or motel, from motor and hotel.  Would the portmanteau of Christy and Edith be Chridith?