OK, I’ll do a podcast

Why not?

Note to self: practice the seafood flambé before trying to do one on a podcast

Ever since I heard the word “podcast” I’ve been fleeing from that irritating word. Who’s in the pod? Why cast it? And who are these people living in this ever growing nation which I’ve decided to call Podcastistan.

What was weird, though, is how much space podcasts were taking up among the lives of my friends. Not all friends, mind you. But certain friends. I love them all but I do have to say that my podcast friends were just kind of, I dunno, podcasty. They lived in Podcastistan and they all spoke versions of Podcastistani. An interlocking web of gobbledy gook that I just didn’t get.

I also have to admit that I just really couldn’t even figure out how to listen to a podcast. I know many of them have their own apps. I know there are many apps that can corral all the podcasts for you onto one app and you can toggle from podcast to podcast all the livelong day.

I just didn’t want to do it. The only time I can ever imagine wanting to listen un-live people talking is when I’m driving. And actually, come to think of it, I hate driving. Whoops, sorry, I forgot, one other time I like to listen to people talking at me: when I’m cleaning the bathroom.

And yet, Podcastistan kept reaching out to me. This year I published two books: Goodbye Phone, Hello World and The Climate Diet. In normal times I…