Actually, what I mean is do you listen to podcasts? (Podcasts being news stories or "radio" shows of a sort.) One of the fabulous benefits I have through my iPod is listening to podcasts while at work. I am subscribed to a variety of them from NPR to Bill Maher, techy info and news to grammar tidbits. Some are short, averaging five minutes in length and others can come in at over an hour.
When I am working on a particularly rote task or something that simply doesn't require a lot of concentration, I flip into podcast mode. I love having most of my cd library at my fingertips but singing out loud as I work is kind of frowned upon so I try to limit exposing my co-workers to this treat too often. Since I don't read the newspaper much and never see the evening news, this is my way of keeping up on things that I find interesting.
One podcast in particular can be an eye-opening listen though I've always found them to be worthwhile, the This American Life podcast with Ira Glass. Sometimes they are things specifically produced for them and other times they are repeats of other people's reporting.
Today's podcast touched me. It was about prisoners in jail doing a scene from Hamlet. These prisoners were some pretty hard cases. All were men that society in general wants to write off. By the end, I was moved to tears. I want to have hope that every person in the prison population can be changed for the positive like these men seemed to be. It takes work and time for them and those that are willing to help them. The woman running the theater program for prisoners is a real hero to me.
To check out This American Life (and other numerous podcasts) you can go to iTunes here:
Or their website, This American Life.
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