Hello, friends! I mentioned a few weeks ago when I detailed some of my favorite podcasts right now that I thought it might be interesting to keep track of exactly when I’m listening to podcasts and how long I’m listening to them during a typical week. Well, last week, I kept track of my podcast listening times and tabulated my results for you guys! Here’s the breakdown:

Getting ready (21%) – I had no doubt that this would be where the bulk of my podcast listening occurred. Since I live alone and don’t have to worry about bothering anyone, I can listen to my heart’s content as I get ready for the day. I listen in the shower (I have a Bluetooth speaker for my shower), while I do my hair and makeup, as I feed the cats, as I pack my lunch, etc. It’s nice to feel like I’m hanging out with some friends in the morning. Bonus – I don’t have to make conversation with them! 🙂

Playing games on my phone (16%) – Okay, I’m kinda surprised this is my second-largest category. I’m going to guess it has to do with the fact that I didn’t exercise as much this week due to some unpleasant GERD symptoms I was experiencing. That has to be it, right? Otherwise, I may need to come to terms with how many hours I’m spending playing games on my phone. But it’s nice when I need a break from work. I pull up my latest podcast episode and crush some candies or play some Wordscapes for a few minutes. It’s totally mindless and wonderful.

Driving (11%) – This percentage is higher during the weeks I’m not listening to an audiobook. But this week I was, so I only listened to podcasts while driving after I finished my audiobook (on Wednesday). As a note, I don’t have Bluetooth in my car. I just turn the volume up as high as it can go and tuck my phone into a cup holder, which helps to amplify the sound. It works for me, although I dream of the day when I can have Bluetooth!

Working (10%) – I can’t always listen to podcasts while I’m working, but at least a few times a week, a task pops up that’s mindless enough that I can listen to a podcast while doing it. Usually, this is when I’m publishing content on a client’s website or working on a content plan.

Nighttime routine (8%) – Every night, I take the time to tidy up my apartment, clean any dishes in the sink, and scoop all of the litter boxes. This takes 15-20 minutes every night and accounted for 8% of my podcast listening last week!

Exercising (7%) – As I mentioned above, exercising fell to the wayside a bit because I wasn’t feeling my best. I only worked out twice, both long walks (around 45 minutes) while I listened to a podcast.

Cleaning (6%) – Cleaning is one of my go-to suggestions for how to start listening to podcasts. Listen while you sort laundry, fold laundry, clean the tub, sweep the floors, wash the dishes, etc. I got a good amount of podcast listening in while cleaning last week!

Preparing meals (5%) – I had quite a few plans this week, so I didn’t spend a ton of time making recipes. But I did listen while heating up some meals, as well as when I was making my breakfast and lunch at work.

Coloring (3%) – I take in a lot of podcasts while coloring. It’s one of the most relaxing things for me! I didn’t do as much coloring this week as I normally do, but it’s one of my favorite things to do.

Grocery shopping (2%) – Grocery shopping is not my fave, but listening to a podcast makes it a little less painful. I spent about a half-hour at the store this week and caught up on a fave podcast while checking off items on my list.

Misc (11%) – There were a lot of little categories where I listened to a podcast while doing something, so I combined them all into a miscellaneous category. This includes walking Chip one evening, unpacking my lunch bag and putting things away, eating a quick lunch in my car at work, online shopping, making my meal plan for the week, formatting a blog post, and walking into work/walking to the parking garage after work. All of these little snippets of time added up to over two hours of podcast listening over the week.

After the week was finished, I learned that I had listened to more than 21 hours of podcasts! And the crazy thing is, a lot of that podcast listening happened in short bursts. There were only a few instances where I listened for more than 30 minutes (getting ready, driving, working). Most of the time, it was a snippet of 5-15 minutes. This is very similar to how I read, preferring to read in short bursts rather than sit down for an hour or two, so it must have something to do with my attention span. I probably need to challenge myself to focus for longer periods of time, especially at work, so I’m not breaking my focus to play a quick game of Candy Crush while listening to a podcast. Maybe it’s time to give up the iPhone games? (Please say no.) Or maybe it isn’t something I need to fix.

It was interesting keeping track, though, and to see my podcast listening laid out like this. It’s making me think more deeply about my listening habits and what they mean for me, big picture. I don’t have any pretty answers here… just something I’m thinking about.

Do you listen to podcasts? When you do get the majority of your listening in?

At first, I was going to label this list as my favorite true crime podcasts, but not all of these are true crime. Some of them are just short documentaries about a thing that happened. I love these types of podcasts. I think it’s because they are, at their heart, telling a story. Each episode feels like a chapter in a super engaging book and I can’t help but binge all of the episodes quickly because I just want to know what happens next. Even when I know how it’s all going to play out, it’s the way the story is told that keeps me engaged. So, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite docu-series – podcasts that tell one story and one story alone (with one exception).

1) Believed.

Believed is the story of Larry Nassar, who molested dozens of female gymnasts during his time as the USA Gymnastics national team doctor. It’s an incredibly well-produced and thoughtful documentary that delves into exactly how Larry was able to get away with his abuse for so long and the courage of these women to come forward and accuse him. I listened to this podcast over a year ago now, and it’s still one I talk about a lot and encourage everyone to listen to.

2) Cold.

Cold is about the disappearance (and likely murder) of Susan Powell, who disappeared in December of 2009. Her husband, Josh Powell, was the prime suspect in her murder and there is no doubt in my mind that he did it. Unfortunately, there will be no justice in Susan’s (likely) death, as Josh killed himself and their two young sons in February of 2012. Cold takes a deep dive into this case to show us who Susan and Josh were, what their marriage was like, and the ebbs and flows of the investigation.

3) Dirty John.

Oh, man. This podcast. What a wild ride it was. It’s about a single woman in her fifties (Debra) who meets a man (John) on an online dating site, has a whirlwind romance, and marries him, against the wishes of her grown children. One of her daughters does some digging into her mom’s new husband’s past and learns that he’s a con artist but it takes her mom a while to come to terms with it. I must say, Debra infuriated me, mostly because I have my own experience with my mom using dating apps and I am positive she would have taken my concerns seriously.

4) Dr. Death.

This is another wild story, one that hit a little too close to home at times. It follows the story of Christopher Duntsch, a neurosurgeon who seriously injured multiple patients and is responsible for the death of two others. The podcast gives voice to all of Dr. Duntsch’s victims and lays out the long and horrifying journey of this man, one who should have never had any sort of medical license or been in any kind of operating room.

5) Up and Vanished, season one.

Season one of Up and Vanished follows the mysterious disappearance of Tara Grinstead, a high school teacher in Ocilla, Georgia. The host investigates this case from every angle, piecing together Tara’s life and what could have happened to her. Then, halfway through the podcast series (in real time!), an arrest is made in the case. I found the entire series fascinating, but I’d advise just to stick to the main episodes. There are so many “extra” episodes that were unnecessary and I don’t think you need to listen to them to get a full view of this case. The host provides updates from time to time on the case as the murder trial proceeds, and it’s super interesting. I’m glad justice is being done in her case.

6) Broken Harts.

In March of 2018, Jennifer and Sarah Hart, a married couple who were adoptive parents of six children ages 12-19, drove their van off a cliff, effectively killing the entire family. (One of the sons, Devonte, who was 15 at the time of the crash, is still missing and presumed dead.) Broken Harts explores the adoption of these six children, the alleged abuse the children suffered, and what led to Jennifer driving off a cliff. It also explores transracial adoption, which was a big theme throughout the podcast, as Jennifer and Sarah were white and all of their adoptive children were black.

7) The Dropout.

The Dropout chronicles the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and CEO of the now-defunct Theranos, a medical company that claimed it was going to revolutionize blood testing. Instead of needing vials of blood to diagnose disease, a single finger prick is all that would be needed. Theranos received millions of dollars in venture capital and a partnership with Walgreens. But… it was all a fraud. This podcast does a great job of unraveling all the threads involved in the story of Theranos, and it’s not to be missed.

8) Standoff.

This four-episode podcast details the standoff at Ruby Ridge and how it became the foundation for the modern right. I didn’t know anything about Ruby Ridge until I read about it in Educated by Tara Westover, so it was serendipity that this podcast premiered soon after I finished that book. It details the Weaver family and how they got onto the U.S. Marshals watchlist, as well as the eleven-day siege that resulted in three deaths. The last episode was the most interesting to me because it discusses the aftermath of this siege and how its effects reverberated throughout the nation, especially in Republican politics.

What’s a podcast docu-series that I need to listen to?