When my 21 year old daughter was small, she had learning difficulties that made it very difficult for her to learn to read. All she ever wanted to do was hear stories. We understood that even if she couldn’t read, it was good for her to be in the habit of listening. We read to her as often as we could and got books on Audio tape. We joined an organisation, for people with disabilities, that contained thousands of audio books, not commercially released. As a family, we got used to constantly listening to spoken word narrative. This proved useful for my son as well, who had late language skills (among other things).
Sorry Beeb
I’ve had many enjoyable years of listening to the BBC. While the Beeb makes great spoken word radio, I have wearied of its point of view. I guess I miss North American accents and humour.
Comedy
My favourite podcasts are funny ones.
- Answer Me This This is the first comedy podcast I got hooked on. They are on a paternity break now but enjoy their extensive back catalogue.
- My Brother, My Brother and Me This may be an acquired taste, as many comedy shows are. I listened to it about 3 times before getting drawn in. Now it’s the highlight of my week.
- Baby Geniuses Lisa Hanawalt is the illustrator/character creator for Bojack Horseman and Emily is a great comedian. I love their tits-out sense of humour.
- John Finnemore is my favourite BBC comedian. We savour this, as a family, when a new series comes out.
- Judge John Hodgeman.
- International Waters. This hits my sweet spot as it is a panel comedy show featuring tran Altantic comedians.
Crafting
I’m not as much of a fan of crafting podcasts as one might think. I’d rather do, or have a real conversation with someone about crafting than listen to someone else talk about it. But here are a few I do recommend:
- The PomPom Quarterly Pomcast are my good pals.
- While She Naps with Abby Glassenberg. I’ve been picking my way through these, based on what interests me.
- Seamwork Radio These are excellent; they take an “American Life” flavour to stories about sewing and are very well produced.
- The Crafty Planner. I’m also enjoying picking my way through these.
