Bonus – The best guilty pleasure, like ever (and it has zip to do with photography)

I. Love. Traffic.

I spend a whole lot of time in my car on the average week and there’s nothing better than my car sitting perfectly still for minutes at a time.

Know why? Because I get a little more time to indulge in my favourite guilty pleasure – listening to Podcasts. There’s just about nothing I like doing than listening to an hour of Ira Glass or Stuart Mclean tell me the stories that they do on their respective Podcasts.

In case you missed the phenomenon (or think it’s crazy tough to get on board), here’s the thing. Podcasts are essentially radio shows on specific topic. And unlike the rotation of 25 songs that the local Z109 pumps at you all day long, Podcasts are engaging, informative and interesting.

Oh, and they’re easy to find and listen to too.

The iTunes store is bursting with hundreds of different types – from music and news to how tos and lots of comedy.

I load my phone, tablet and laptop with my favourite Podcasts and can’t wait to get out on the road. Here’s four of my absolute favourite:

Friday Night Comedy Podcast

Britain’s BBC 4 runs two separate comedy radio shows throughout the year – the SNL-style “Now Show” and the Funniest Thing in the World “News Quiz.” If you like politics or sharp comedy, this is a must listen.

This American Life

I’m a documentary nut and there’s no better regularly produced documentary Podcast than “This American Life.” Hosted by Ira Glass (my favourite voice in radio), each episode takes a weekly theme and brings you stories based on that theme. A recent episode called “Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time,” included a great tale about how the Riverdance production team bought a lottery ticket and was convinced they’d win.

The Moth

I do a whole lot of speechwriting throughout the year and preach the need to tell good stories – and that’s what “The Moth” is all about. Every 15-minute-ish episode features on storyteller and one story.  Listened to one earlier this year from Darryl “DMC” about Sarah McLachlan that’ll blow you away (episode 204).

SModcast

Vulger, weird, not safe for work in the least – and totally awesome. SModcast sees Hollywood director Kevin Smith and Producer Scott Mosier talk about a whole lot of terrible (wonderful) things no person should ever, ever talk about. I never miss it.

More guilty pleasures – cars, travel websites and more. Check out the Intel Canada Facebook page.