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Audio distraction: podcasts, audio books, radio on demand

Discussion in 'Home adaptations, mobility and personal care' started by Jenny TipsforME, Aug 21, 2018.

  1. Jenny TipsforME

    Jenny TipsforME Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    451
    There is an excellent thread on TV shows in this forum: https://www.s4me.info/threads/tv-shows.483/

    There doesn’t seem to be an equivalent for audio content though. In my experience of ME there are times when audio is the only accessible form of entertainment. My intention is for this first post to be a summary of suggestions so it is accessible when we’re that severely affected (I can’t read a whole thread at the point I need to lie in the dark listening to something).

    Do you have spoken audio suggestions which are available online? Please give a link and suggest which heading it should be under (you can also add chatty comments in your post, it would be good to note if the content might be aggravating or upsetting):

    Comedy/Entertaining
    BBC's Cabin Pressure
    Comedy of the Week (BBC Radio 4)
    Friday Night Comedy (Radio 4)
    Answer me this!
    Stuff you should know
    No such thing as a fish
    My Dad wrote a porno
    Listen Against (only funny if you listen to Radio 4)
    ‘Fortunately’: Jane Garvey, Fi Glover and guests

    Gentle Fiction including Cosy Murder genre

    Harry Potter read by Stephen Fry
    Over Sea, Under Stone, the first of The Dark Is Rising series
    Wild Chamber (and other Bryant & May books) by Christopher Fowler
    Love Sex and other foreign policy goals by Jesse Armstrong
    Turbulent Priests (and others) by Colin Bateman
    The Woman who went to bed for a year by Sue Townsend
    The cost of living by Rachel Ward
    The new neighbours by Diney Costeloe
    Foreign Bodies (Radio 4 - foreign murder mysteries in English)

    Gripping/Weighty Fiction
    Autumn by Ali Smith (and other books in this series)
    Stasi Child by David Young
    One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
    A week in December by Sebastian Faulks
    Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (also funny)
    The girls of slender means by Muriel Spark
    See you in September by Charity Norman

    Politics and News
    Audio Long reads (The Guardian)
    Political Thinking with Nick Robinson
    Reasons to be cheerful with Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd
    Week in Westminster
    Analysis

    True Stories
    This American Life
    The ME Show
    This is Criminal
    Sick Boy
    All in the Mind
    TED Radio Hour or TED Talks Daily
    The Moth
    On Being
    You Must Remember This
    Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
    Ouch! Disability talk
    The Teacher’s Pet (true crime podcast)
    S-Town

    Sciencey
    Brain Science Podcast
    Freakonomics
    All in the Mind
    Science (The Guardian)
    More or Less: Behind the statistics
    Thinking Allowed
    Science vs.
    The Antidote by Oliver Burkeman
    Bad Science by Ben Goldacre
    The Self Illusion by Bruce Hood


    ME Specific
    The ME Show

    Misc/Other
    Test Match Special on Radio 4 longwave
    How to Disagree: A beginner's guide to having better arguments (Radio 4)
    Sleep with Me (for insomnia)

    I noticed @hellytheelephant has blogged about podcasts:
    https://thechronicelephant.blogspot.com/2018/02/10-podcasts-to-make-your-ears-smile.html

    There’s also a thread about books which says it includes audiobooks but I haven’t read that because my ME dyslexia is too bad to read for pleasure (I can often read for information but it’s no longer enjoyable). Are there good audiobook suggestions in that thread? https://www.s4me.info/threads/books-including-audio-books.111/
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2018
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  2. ScottTriGuy

    ScottTriGuy Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    692
    Some of my favs:

    Brain Science Podcast
    Freakonomics
    This American Life
    The ME Show
    This is Criminal
    Sick Boy
    All in the Mind
     
    inox, shak8, hellytheelephant and 2 others like this.
  3. Jenny TipsforME

    Jenny TipsforME Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    451
    Also what do you use to listen to content?

    https://www.stitcher.com/
    I’ve listened to 700 hours of podcasts in the last 18mths on Stitcher. Some of my links will be stitcher links but you can also find many of these podcasts elsewhere. The idea is you stitch together the podcasts to create the equivalence of your own talk radio station.

    https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/podcasts/id525463029?mt=8
    I also use the Podcasts app by Apple

    https://rbdigital.com/
    I listen to audiobooks through the RB Digital app. My public library is signed up to this which means I can borrow audiobooks for free (I needed my library card details). Even though these are digital they are treated as out on loan when someone has ‘borrowed’ them. This means it is worth clicking the ‘available’ filter when searching.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio
    I listen to the iPlayer radio app too, but I can’t remember if you need to pay the BBC Licence fee (lots of BBC content is also on Stitcher).

    https://librivox.org/
    Suggestion from @Sly Saint - these are public domain books read by volunteers (so generally fiction written pre 20th century).
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2018
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  4. Jenny TipsforME

    Jenny TipsforME Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    451
    @ScottTriGuy what are those about and which categories should they go under?
     
  5. Jenny TipsforME

    Jenny TipsforME Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    451
    Freakonomics is very interesting, I listen to that too. It’s basically economics made interesting.

    This American Life is American people’s lived stories. That’s also one I follow.
     
  6. Sly Saint

    Sly Saint Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    9,574
    Location:
    UK
  7. ScottTriGuy

    ScottTriGuy Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    692
     
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  8. Trish

    Trish Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    51,871
    Location:
    UK
    No licence needed for BBC radio, only for TV.
     
  9. NelliePledge

    NelliePledge Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    13,145
    Location:
    UK West Midlands
    I’ve been enjoying Test Match Special on Radio 4 longwave available online or through digital TV. Even though India are shredding England. Bit of a niche one though. :D
     
  10. Trish

    Trish Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    51,871
    Location:
    UK
    If you can afford it, I find Amazon's Audible good. You pay about £7 per month subscription which includes one free audiobook. And they have special offers and some free downloads. If you don't like a book you can sell it back and get your money back.

    Bargains I've bought include Stephen Fry reading the entire Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes collection - including several novels and lots of short stories, all counted as a single 'book'.
     
  11. Jenny TipsforME

    Jenny TipsforME Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    451
    I’m going to add some comment and links later but here are some I like taken from screenshots to save energy

    [​IMG]
    These are podcasts I listen to on Stitcher

    Audio long reads are long Guardian essays read aloud, usually topical.

    Science is science news from the Guardian

    More or Less is fact checking statistics and more amusing than it should be

    Thinking Allowed is discussion of new sociology/ethnographic research

    The Moth is a story slam with stories of personal experiences

    On Being is true stories with a spiritual emphasis

    Sleep with me is a silly approach to helping insomnia

    These are audiobooks I enjoyed on RBDigital (presumably available on other apps):

    [​IMG] "
    Ali Smith was involved in this year’s MillionsMissing but the novel is nothing to do with ME/CFS. Except I found it meandered a bit like my mind does, so I wonder if her style of writing is somehow the product of forced physical rest?
    https://rbdigital.com/#book/9781501942297

    [​IMG]
    This sparked my interest in Modern Stoicism which I’ve blogged about a few times (not the same as being stoical in everyday speech): https://tipsforme.wordpress.com/?s=Stoicism+&submit=Search



    [​IMG]

    These are cosy murders I didn’t find any of this series disturbing.




    [​IMG]

    This was a heavier novel than I usually listen to but it kept my interest.

    [​IMG]
    You’ve probably heard of this.

    [​IMG]
    I’ve seen Bruce Hood speak live, interesting ideas (I studied psychology at Bristol uni once upon a time)

    [​IMG]
    Famous Magical Realism novel

    [​IMG]
    I found this amusing.

    [​IMG]
    This is a good novel, heavy themes.

    [​IMG]
    I wasn’t sure how to categorise this. I remember laughing but one of those that takes you through different emotions.

    [​IMG]
    Colin Bateman’s Dan Starkey novels are humorous mysteries (more ridiculous than Cosy Murders genre).

    [​IMG]

    If you’ve watched the series, you’ll be amused to spot the difference from the original book (a lot less sex).


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2018
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  12. Jenny TipsforME

    Jenny TipsforME Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    451
    I’m intending to come back, add some comment and add everyone’s titles into the first post, but before I go for today here are a few more audiobooks I enjoyed:

    [​IMG]

    I found this entertaining. I think some pwme might get very frustrated with the idea that she has chosen to stay in bed. https://rbdigital.com/#book/9781501950780

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2018
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  13. Snowdrop

    Snowdrop Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    2,134
    Location:
    Canada
    BBC's Cabin Pressure (Comedy) with Benedict Cumberbatch and Roger Allam. Hilarious.
     
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  14. arewenearlythereyet

    arewenearlythereyet Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    2,092
    I also find Stephen fry audio books quite relaxing and not too harsh on the ear. Currently listening to his reading of the Harry Potter books.
     
  15. Kalliope

    Kalliope Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    6,237
    Location:
    Norway
    I enjoy listening to podcasts with fun facts

    Answer me this!
    Science vs.
    Stuff you should know
    No such thing as a fish
     
  16. Little Bluestem

    Little Bluestem Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    1,450
    FANTASY

    I recently listened to Over Sea, Under Stone, the first of The Dark Is Rising series. I liked it a lot. It is young adult fiction, so nothing too drastic. There are some chases and situations where people are in danger, but it all works out in the end.
     
  17. Jenny TipsforME

    Jenny TipsforME Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    451
    Are these all 'Sciencey'?
     
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  18. Kalliope

    Kalliope Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    6,237
    Location:
    Norway
    I think more in entertainment, comedy
    Except for Science vs, which is sciencey.
     
  19. Jenny TipsforME

    Jenny TipsforME Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    451
    I think I've added all suggestions so far into the first post.
     
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  20. Jenny TipsforME

    Jenny TipsforME Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    451
    Having got into true crime TV documentaries I’m now discovering the world of true crime podcasts.

    NB these aren’t necessarily the best idea if you’re feeling low (would increase perception of the world as a dark place I expect) but they are absorbing for times of being bored sick of being sick.

    The Teacher’s Pet is one I’ve listened to all the episodes. It’s an Australian missing person case.

    My Favorite Murder I tried but haven’t got into yet.

    I’m currently listening to S-Town which isn’t necessarily the type of series you think it’s going to be at the start. Definitely not one for if you’re already low, but I’m finding the (real) characters fascinating. It would make a good film. It’s made by the This American Life team.

    I think I like the ones where they take time to investigate the cultural context. I’m not really into hearing the gruesome details condensed into one episode, I’m interested in what creates these situations. Teacher’s Pet is interesting in that way.
     
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