Podcasts in a hospital bed

When you are lying down in a hospital bed, or a bit later when you are feeling well enough to sit up in one of their dingy pale yellow or pink (why always those colors) plastic coated chairs, the standard way to pass the time is to just stare at the TV screen. But when the hospital in question is a mid sized town in France, you sort of don’t want to go that way, because standard-channel French TV sort of sucks. Okay it majorly sucks. But reading is not an option either especially in the early going, since it tends to tire your head and eyes out. (There are audiobooks, but they tend to put me to sleep, and it’s annoying not to know when I actually left off listening vs. when I actually clicked the stop button.) Knitting is difficult too when you have an IV stuck up your arm or hand.

So what to do? Podcasts to the rescue. Podcasts fill your head with all kinds of interesting thoughts, and take your mind off stuff that you are probably better not dwelling on (especially that pain in your tailbone, oy). They’re not overly long, so even if you fall asleep in the middle it’s fairly easy to find where you left off. Podcasts have served me well in two hospital stays in as many years. Here are my top 10 entertaining, thought provoking, perfect-for-hospital-stay podcasts. They’re all available on iTunes. Note that I do have a fondness for history and stuff, and I don’t really do video podcasts. And yep they’re all in English. Have not yet found a Japanese podcast I totally love.

10: Firewall and Iceberg

Firewall and Iceberg is a podcast by Hitfix.com writers and TV critics Alan Sepinwall and Dan Feinberg. It’s probably the best podcast about TV shows around, because the hosts are both very knowledgeable and opinionated - and they really care about TV too. It’s how I get to find out about new TV shows airing in the US and such. I don’t agree with their tastes much of the time (I love Big Bang Theory, so there) but that’s ok.

There are two big minuses to the podcast though. First, the sound quality is very strange - it often sounds like one or the other is talking with a bucket over his head or something. The episodes are also too long, because the hosts tend to ramble on and on. If they tightened this up to finish within an hour each episode, and improved their recording gear, it would be so much better.

9: In Our Time With Melvin Bragg

In Our Time is a long-running series on BBC Radio 4, in handy, archive-able podcast form. In each episode, a historical event or person or civilization or philosophy (or as they call it, “the history of ideas”) is discussed by a panel of academics, moderated by the affable and very British Mr. Bragg. The quality of each episode varies depending on how interesting the academics are - some are real snoozers, while a few are riveting - but you do feel a tiny bit smarter afterwards, and the boring episodes help you to sleep anyway.

8: Back to Work

Back to Work is a relatively new podcast hosted by Merlin Mann of 43folders.com fame and Dan Benjamin. It’s supposed to be about personal productivity, and it is sort of, but what it really is is Merlin Mann rambling on about stuff all over the place, with a vague central personal-productivity theme each time. Basically you would like it if you find Mr. Mann’s brain interesting, which I do; if you can’t stand him you won’t. Does suffer from the same drawback the Firewall and Iceberg podcast has, of being way too long. Guys, please try to keep it to an hour or less - much easier to digest.

7: History of Rome

I first started listening to the History of Rome podcast, when we moved to a village where the ground is so dense with Roman ruins that locals barely glance at them. As I type this I have a great view of a 1000-year old (give or take a few decades) Roman built bridge that ‘s still in use. Previously I’d been rather indifferent to the Romans, regarding them as warmongering thugs mainly who appropriated most of their culture from Greece. But anyway, Mike Duncan, the Roman-otaku if you will who presents this podcast, is obviously passionate about his subject and keeps it very lively. You do need to go back into his archives and start listening from episode 1 to get the full picture, which is the only reason it’s ranked this low.

6: Stuff You Should Know and Stuff You Missed in History Class

Stuff You Should Know from the How Stuff Workswebsite and its history-focused sister, Stuff You Missed in History Class, are breezy, middle-brow looks at various interesting facts (in the case of How Stuff Works) or forgotten historical incidents (History). It’s kind of like dropping in on a conversation between two slightly nerdy young academics. Feel mildly educated with a few “a-ha!” type moments.

5: This American Life

What, the great TAL ranked so low, you might ask? Well, I am talking about podcasts that are good for hospital stays, when one is likely be feeling a bit weak and drained. There are a couple of problems with TAL when you’re in a weakened state. First, Ira Glass talks way, way too fast, so that you have to concentrate a bit to understand him. Also, many of the stories are so involving to the point of being a bit exhausting. I recommend TAL for when you are feeling a bit stronger. They’re great for listening to on walks, especially since each episode is 1 hour long.

4: The Moth Podcast

The Moth is this great rolling event thingie where they set up open mikes at various clubs and such in a handful of American cities, and people walk up to the mike and tell their true stories in front of a live audience. The podcast selects the best of these stories. You never know what you’re going to get with each episode; sometimes the stories are belly-laugh hilarious, while some will have you sobbing. Always interesting though. I’m trying to get all the back archives now.

3: NPR Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me

Honestly, Wait Wait is my favorite way to get a weekly roundup on the news - at least the news in the U.S. If you don’t know Wait Wait, it’s a weekly panel radio show recorded in front of a live, enthusiastic audience (usually in Chicago) that takes a lighthearted look at the news. Pure fun.

2: WNYC Radio Lab

Radio Lab, produced by WNYC Radio, is the most beautiful podcast or radio program to listen to. It’s really an aural work of art. The soundscapes they create are mesmerizing, and the popular-science oriented topics are always interesting. If only they produced more new hour-long episodes though. (They fill up in between with “Shorts” which are 7-8 minute long episodes.) Because of the lack of a steady stream of new episodes, I can’t rank them no. 1.

1: Filmspotting

So, the no. 1 spot on my list goes to Filmspotting, a podcast (now also a weekly radio show) about movies hosted by Adam Kempenaar and Matty “Ballgame” Robinson. There are many things that make this the perfect podcast for hospital stays. First, the production quality is top notch. Second, both hosts have very easy to listen to, friendly Midwestern voices. Third, the subject matter, movies, is interesting without stressing you out unduly (except for those times whem Adam or Matty admit to never having watched a True Classic and you go like “WHAT? And they call themselves movie critics?!?” etc etc. I like entertainment-oriented shows are are intellectual without being pretentious, informative and thought provoking, that have hosts who can disagree with each other without making you feel uncomfortable, and are just fun to listen to. Filmspotting fits all of those criteria. I’ve been listening to this since it was called Cinecast, and long may it continue.

Honorable mentions

I used to love the podcasts done by San Francisco Chronicle movie critic Mick LaSalle, but he stopped doing them in 2010 to write a book. He sort of hinted on his blog that he might resume them, but hasn’t since. His co-host, editor Leba, had a sort of Long Island-nasal voice which was a bit grating but I got used to it, and their banter (mostly about movies) was always good.

I listen to the A.V. Club’s podcast, Reasonable Discussions because I like my entertainment-news (not gossip) podcasts. As a podcast it’s fine really, but some of their hosts (Nate and Genevieve in particular) have such annoying voices/ways of speaking, which are probably totally fine in person but almost intolerable via an earbud in the middle of the night. I guess not everyone can have the smooth dulcet tones of Matty Ballgame.

I dip occasionally into the Travel With Rick Steves podcast, depending on the topic. It’s very very American-centric as is all of Rick Steves’ stuff, which can be good or bad I guess. (When he talks about Japan at all I avoid it like the plague, and I’m getting to that point with France too.)

NPR’s Planet Money is very well done. It’s just that money and finances these days is just so depressing to even think about.

Update

I hadn’t actually listened to the Travel With Rick Steves podcast for ages. I did so recently, and found that it’s no longer for me. (Actually, I found some of the talk insufferable. But you may still like it - the change in perception is more about me than the podcast itself, which really hasn’t changed at all.)

Also, Matty Robinson recently left the Filmspotting podcast. I’m so sad! It will take me a while until I can listen to it again.

Podcasts I’d like to see

A really really good, unpretentious fashion podcast.

A really good, unpretentious food oriented podcast.

If you know of any, let me know on the Twitters. ^_^