Using time wisely.....

12:03pm Thursday 8th November 2007

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We live such hectic lives scurrying from one place to the next. This causes a lot of 'dead time', i.e. when you are not actually doing something you want to, but are in between tasks.

I've found a great way to fill in those gaps when driving to and from work, doing the washing up or mowing the lawn.



Podcasts.

What are Podcasts ?

Well, they can range from complete radio shows to programme highlights, and professional broadcasts to amateur musings. There is a vast range of these things out there and many tools to access them.
I personally use iTunes (even though I don't have an iPod) as it is very simple to browse the online store of different podcasts (the majority of which are totally free).

I have some favourites though:-

The Naked Scientists - sounds rude, but the 'naked' part simply refers to the 'stripping down' of science information into manageable chunks and lay terms.

Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time from Radio 4 - topics as varied as Socrates to what Taste is

Scott Mills' podcast from Radio 1 - all the funny antics of Radio 1's best DJ


It doesn't stop there though.

Podcasts are traditionally audio files that you can put on your mp3 player. However there is now a plethora of video podcasts.

Like podcasts, these video podcasts are available on various topics: astronomy, cooking, foreign language tuition, cartoons, Kerrang! TV.....the list goes on.

If you are so inclined, you can even download lectures from the Massachusett Institute of Technology (MIT) and Berkeley College in the US.


So, pop on The Naked Scientists on your mp3 player and learn all about the Human Genome Project whilst mowing your lawn !