Who needs a car radio? Oct. 14, 2010

I have about a one hour commute to work.  It takes a bit longer to get home.  How can I use that time productively?  When I first got this job, I listened to How to Win Friends & Influence People (An Unabridged Production)[8-CD Set]; The First-And Still the Best-Book of its Kind-To Lead you to Success which really was helpful as I transitioned to a new industry.  If you are in business and haven't read or listened to it, give it a shot. For a couple years, I listened to two local talk radio shows.  They were interesting, and I'm actually sort of friends with the hosts, but every day it was really getting to me.  Today I still listen to them in my office, but not in the car.  Now, I am all podcast, all the time on my commute.  It is not a big investment.  One does not need the latest and greatest IPOD, but you certainly can if you wish.  I use a Creative Zen Stone Plus for about half the price.  It works great for my needs. 

So, what do I listen to?  First is a guy who I consider to be the inspiration for If It Hits The Fan and who really led me to organize and mature my prepping thoughts and actions, Jack Spirko and The Survival Podcast.  Each day he does a roughly 1 hour show and he covers all aspects of the "modern survival" lifestyle.  I've gone back and listened to every episode (he's over 500 now!) and learned something from every one.  I also frequently listen to one or more segments of Dave Ramsey's radio show on podcast.  Like many of you, we are fighting the debt battle with our snowballs.  I consider debt freedom to be an essential part of the prepper lifestyle and get a good dose of motivation from Dave every couple days.  I really like the debt-free Fridays where listeners call in with their success stories.

I have recently started broadening my podcast listening. On BlogTalkRadio, James Talmage Stevens now runs Preparedness Radio several nights a week.  I'm actually so new to it that I don't know the schedule or many details, but what I have heard so far is informative and entertaining.  My friend Jeff Gleason has The Berkey Guy Show that deals not just with water purification, but with all aspects of survival.  On his most recent episode, he reviewed a couple of books that I need to get, and answered some listener questions.  He's only done four episodes so far, but he does a good job.  Give him a listen.  I just found Carolyn Nicolaysen, who comes on right after Jeff.  She runs the Totally Ready blog.  Her guest the other night was a prepper who made it through the Baltimore blizzard this past winter.  We got a smaller dose of that same storm, and it was interesting to hear that side of it.  She also interviewed one of the pioneers of the survivalism movement, Ron Hood.  A very enjoyable show!  I'm looking forward to exploring other shows on Preparedness Radio.

So, don't waste time on your daily commute listening to lousy music or raising your blood pressure with talk radio.  Give prep-related podcasts a try.  I'll bet you come back for more!