I commute to northern Virginia (NoVA) a couple of times per week.  I make this longer-than-ideal commute to preserve a small-town experience for my family AND a morning waterskiing habit for myself during the summer 🙂 Few things make me more productive and happy that sitting down to work at 830a/9a with a cup of coffee having already taken 4-6 passes at the slalom course earlier that morning!

My commute takes one of two forms:  car or train.  I drive when I need to have total control of my movement when I’m in NoVA.  The drive is regrettable mostly because I lose the ability to produce.  I do, however, retain the opportunity to learn by listening to NPR, a book from Audible, and/or podcasts.

I had built a habit listing to long-form podcasts but that was getting frustrating.  Many podcast hosts mimic talk radio which adds WAY to much banter and who-gives-a-crap dialog to the preamble.  Dear podcast publishers – I assure you..  your opening banter is of no value – please STOP.

A month or so ago I searched for some short form podcasts and I was rewarded with some hits!  Using the Downcast podcast app on my phone I’ve assemble a Morning Commute playlist consisting of a series of 8-12 minute podcasts.

Downcast Website

I’ve configured Downcast to only keep the latest episode of each podcast making the playlist a custom radio talk show with the most recently and relevant (as curated by ME!).  Downcast automatically updates the playlist podcast when I open it.   I’ve built the playlist to take slightly longer than the average commute meaning I can get stuck in traffic now and again and still be learning until I pull into the office building.  Good stuff.  If you spend time commuting I recommend you give this a try!

Morning Commute Playlist