My Commute Podcast Addiction

I Can't Commute Without Earbuds Anymore

Three months ago I lost my wireless earbuds. Must have slipped out of my pocket on the way to the convenience store. I ordered new ones the same day. The 47-minute subway ride before they arrived the next day felt unbearable. (That's 47 minutes one way, 1 hour 34 minutes round trip.)

That's when I realized: I'm addicted to podcasts.

How Did I Get Here?

It started a year and a half ago. Commute was boring, so I subscribed to one developer podcast. Just one. Currently subscribed to 14 channels. New episodes pile up faster than I can listen. Unplayed episodes right now: 43.

The commute alone isn't enough anymore. I listen while eating lunch, doing dishes, walking. Playback speed is 1.5x. Started at 1x, decided the hosts talked too slowly, bumped it up. Now 1x sounds unbearably slow. (Is this what addiction symptoms look like?)

What I Listen To

About three developer-focused shows. Tech trends mostly. But honestly, dev podcasts make up less than 30% of my total listening. The rest is economics news, current affairs, history, even true crime documentaries. The crime ones are too scary at night, so I only listen on the morning commute.

My most-replayed series is a 6-part deep dive on 30 years of Korean real estate. I've listened to it three times. Total playback: 12 hours 24 minutes. (No idea why I listened three times. It's just... comforting.)

The Weird Habits That Developed

First, silence makes me uncomfortable. Take out earbuds at a cafe while coding and something feels missing. Home alone with no sound playing triggers a vague anxiety.

Second, I keep citing podcasts in conversation. "Oh I heard about that on a podcast" has become a reflex. In meetings, saying "I heard this on a podcast" gets a subtly amused reaction. Citing a paper or article sounds professional. Citing a podcast sounds casual.

Third, I see people walking around without earbuds and think "what are they even doing?" I know this is a problem.

I Tried a Detox

Two weeks ago: "No podcasts for one week." Failed on day three. Day one was fine -- looked out the subway window. Day two was boring but manageable. Day three, I caught myself reading over the shoulder of the person standing in front of me. (That felt wrong, so the earbuds went right back in.)

Analyzing the failure: podcasts create an illusion of "using my time productively." Commute time transforms from dead time into learning time, so there's no guilt. I think this guilt-free pass is the core of the addiction.

How Much Actually Sticks?

Honestly, not much. If I try to recall what I listened to a week ago, I can't even remember the title for most episodes. From a 37-minute episode, maybe one or two sentences stick. And those are probably inaccurate.

But sometimes while coding I'll think "oh, I heard something related to this" and a vague direction surfaces. It's not concrete knowledge exactly -- more like orientation. Whether that's valuable, I'm not sure.

I'll Listen Again Tomorrow Anyway

I know it's an addiction but I have no plans to quit. Better than cigarettes or alcohol, right? Though I'm considering dropping playback speed to 1.25x. At 1.5x, information just flows past without sticking. But then when would I get through those 43 unplayed episodes? Anyway, time to head to work.