Great List of Podcast Players ~ Podcatcher Apps

I listen to podcasts on my phone, using Apple’s native Podcasts app. It works. And, like so much tech, my eyes wander, and I wonder if there’s something…sexier…with a better user interface…that allows different speeds…more playlists. First world lusts.

 

If you’re just getting started on podcasts, my recommendation is:

1. Find the native app that goes with your phone, whether Apple or Android.
2. Download it to your device.
3. Find an article that helps you learn how to download podcasts to the app. This Digital Trends article may help. Or go to my Help page for other guidance links.

If you’re a podcast pro and want to explore beyond the baby-pool, check out this May 23, 2017 article from Bello Collective: One Sentence Reviews of the Entire Podcast Listening Landscape  by Erik Jones.  It gives a high-level overview of podcast players / podcatcher apps and delivery systems.*

(* BTW, can we settle on what we're calling these listening-device apps?)

Phone. Sex [Note to Self]

Sex-Tech Assistant

Can your phone make you better in bed?  This isn’t about phone sex. It’s about using a phone to improve your sex life.  And…they’re not the same thing.

The hardest thing about sex often isn’t the sex itself. It’s talking about sex. Being OK talking about it. Talking about what you like. Or don’t. Asking your partner if they like what you’re doing. Or not. Telling them you’d like them to stop what they’re doing or do more of what they’re doing. Taking that BIG leap off the cliff and asking if they’d be willing to (fill in the blank)…do something…new…different…outrageous; something you haven’t done before. Because—freak!—that thing you’re asking for? They might just flip out.

How. Do. You. Talk. About. This. Taboo. Scary. Stuff? 

Spying On a City [RadioLab]

As a kid, getting spied on usually meant Mrs. Harper down the street had seen me doing something I shouldn’t be doing, and reporting it to my mom.  As long as I kept clear of Mrs. Harper, I could safely mess around and not get busted.

Now, my computer may be spying on me.  “Cover up the camera on your computer,” I’m warned, “hackers may be watching you.”

Then there’s my phone. If it’s always ready to respond to my “Hey Siri,” how can I know for sure it isn’t listening to other conversations?

And with the Internet of Things, I have to start worrying about whether my refrigerator, my TV, my washing machine, or my toaster are recording my words or movements.  Because “wiretapping” now appears to include the possibility that our microwaves are listening.

9-Volt Nirvana [RadioLab]

Hot Wire the Brain

Juice the brain. No more than a 9-volt battery. And suddenly, bam! You become an invincible sharp-shooter.  Firing away at virtual killers, bringing them down with perfect accuracy. Where minutes before the juice, you’re lying in a pool of virtual blood.

Wait…Wait…Don’t Tell Me…

I still remember my first time; that gateway moment.

Driving in my car I flipped on the radio, landing in the middle of Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! NPR’s News Quiz.  Host Peter Sagal and Carl Kassell, official judge and scorekeeper, along with their guests, were serving up news and humor.

Wait. What? News could be funny?