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"I pretty much always have earbuds in, but it's not because I'm a music obsessive. No, I'm a different kind of audiophile: I spend every single second I can listening to podcasts. I download and stream news analysis, interviews with celebrities, book club discussions, comedy sketches, and more\u2014there are shows for just about everything you could possibly be interested in. And podcasts are great for multitasking: I listen while I ercise, ride public transportation, fold laundry, cook, and even read sometimes (though that's not recommended!). If you too want to become a podcast devotee, here are five that will get you totally hooked.\n\nThis American Life\n\n You may know This American Life as something your parents listen to when they drive to work, but like many radio shows, TAL releases its episodes as podcasts, meaning you can enjoy them whenever (and wherever) you want. And if you don't know This American Life, get ready for stories so strange, funny, and moving you can't believe they're true. The show is hosted by Ira Glass (who you'll most certainly develop a radio guy crush on), and each episode generally tells a few different stories that are united by a bigger theme and combine memoir, reporting, and found footage. Some episodes are about everyday subjects you'll know something about\u2014camp, amusement parks, breakups\u2014while others take on topics you had no idea could be so interesting or human, like patent law, healthcare spending, and immigration policy. Our suggestion for a starter episode? This one about coincidences. It will blow your mind.\n\nGirls in Hoodies\n\n Part of the Grantland pop culture podcast arsenal, Girls in Hoodies is a delightful weekly discussion from staffers Molly Lambert, Tess Lynch, and Emily Yoshida. In a typical episode, they'll talk about an indie movie they all saw\u2014often at least two of said girls in hoodies will disagree completely about whether it was good or not, and it's fun to hear them lay out why\u2014or their thoughts on the current season of a television series, with frequent tangents that show off their wide-ranging knowledge of all things culture, from reality TV and horror flicks to '90s nostalgia and internet memes. They also break down celebrity gossip and pepper in entertaining personal stories. The hosts are friends, so listening is like eavesdropping on the hang sessions of an awesome girl group you wish you knew IRL, with the added bonus that you'll come away with tons of idiosyncratic recommendations for things to watch, read, and explore.\n\nThe Sporkful\n\n Hosted by Dan Pashman, The Sporkful is a podcast for people who love food. (Pashman shies away from the term \"foodie\" though\u2014he maintains that it's a show for eaters.) If you've ever debated the best way to consume pizza (nibble off the plate or fold it in half?) or thought long and hard about whether you're team hash browns or team home fries, this is the podcast for you. Each episode focuses on a specific alimentary dilemma, with the goal of zeroing in on the best possible way to eat and enjoy food. As long as you have an opinion on the merits of various pasta shapes (even if you're not much a chef!), you'll be right at home listening to this one.\n\nRadiolab\n\n Radiolab is broadly a show about science, but instead of the stuff you study in school, it's more about following hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich's particular curiosities. Recent episodes have investigated why Kenyan people dominate long-distance running, how left-handedness has managed to survive evolution, and the mysteries of the caterpillar's transformation to butterfly. Each episode is like a short documentary, weaving together banter between the two hosts, interviews with experts, and cool sound bites to answer big questions in an accessible way. There's no shame in being a science nerd, but this is the rare show that actually holds the interest of the science-averse.\n\nAll Songs Considered\n\n Because I listen to so many podcasts, I don't have much time to devote to discovering cool music, which seems to involve a whole lot of sifting through not-so-great stuff to find something you actually like. My secret weapon is All Songs Considered, an NPR show that's devoted to new releases, with the occasional digression into the vintage realm. In each episode, the show's hosts (Bob Boilen and a cast of NPR Music staffers) play a mix of songs along with commentary about their picks. It's where I first heard St. Vincent and Waxahatchee, as well as new albums from Tegan and Sara and Best Coast before they came out. The All Songs Considered crew also puts together showcases of the best music coming out of South by Southwest and seasonal music previews, as well as end-of-year wrap-ups, all of which guarantee that you'll be in the know when it comes to the latest tunes."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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