Entertained On The Plane

It was video coming down. It’s been audio on the way home. I just listened to “This American Life” then WNYC’s “RadioLab.”

Greeting from seat 4A. I have no clue where I am except it’s 10:01 PM and it’s dark outside.

I’m on Southwest which is old school as far as entertainment is concerned. There is no entertainment other than what you bring yourself.

There’s a laptop in my bag in the overhead, but it’s the iPhone I writing this blog entry on that’s been stocked to entertain.

It was video coming down. It’s been audio on the way home. I just listened to “This American Life” then WNYC’s “RadioLab.”

What sets these two podcasts apart is their ability to tell a story in a full and richly detailed way. You just don’t hear radio like this ever. It’s a shame. It’s really entertaining. I’d say it’s also educational, but that would probably turn you off.

The first story was about a young girl who became General Manuel Noriega’s pen pal. The story was fascinating and I’d never heard it before. Second up was a woman whose imprisoned husband wrote a letter every day for eight years. Not as good. Finally I heard the story of a assisted living facility in Germany that erected a faux bus stop to catch wandering patients. I couldn’t stop listening.

Maybe this is an acquired taste? I’m not scared to listen. I can’t see my daughter doing this willingly. She’d probably enjoy them anyway.

“Sully” says 50 miles to go. I can now see New Haven under the plane. Almost home.

It goes more quickly when you’re entertained and busy.

One thought on “Entertained On The Plane”

  1. This American life is probably my favorite hour of the week (in my car). I listen to numerous podcasts and radio shows, but this is by far the best. The variety of stories is excellent. The episode this week, about NUMMI, a joint-venture auto plant set up by Toyota and GM is very interesting. When telling new friends about the show, I feel like an evangelist! If you have not heard it, go into their archives and listen to show #354 – Mistakes were made. I sat in the driveway for 20 minutes to finish that one after I arrived home!

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