Sometimes, I need my eyeballs while I knit.  I can usually get away with watching TV, but sometimes I have a project that needs more of my attention (especially if I’m working up a new pattern, or I’m working on something with a lot of counting).

When that happens, I like to turn on my podcasts.  Podcasts are great. They’re basically radio shows that you can have your smart phone download automatically (like magic!).  You can listen to them whenever you have the time, and can pause them whenever you need.  It’s as if there was a radio station that only aired the shows you liked, and followed your schedule.  Genius!  (And, if you don’t have a smart phone, you can find them online, and listen to them through your computer.)

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Sawbones is a podcast about the weird things that people have done to try and cure disease throughout history, presented by the totally hilarious Justin McElroy and Dr. Sydnee McElroy.  (Did you know that tying a frog to your forehead is supposed to cure headaches?  Now you know.)

Pop Culture Happy Hour is produced by NPR, and is an hour-long intelligent discussion of pop-culture-related topics.  That makes it sound totally dry and nerdy, but it’s actually really interesting.  And, the hosts give really great suggestions for books, TV shows, and other media.  I’ve discovered lots of cool things by listening to these guys.

The Knit Picks’ Podcast is (surprise!) put out by the staff of Knit Picks.  They just updaged their format, and now pick a single topic for each episode.  They interview each other, knitting designers, and local knitters about that topic.  Sometimes it gets a little commercial-y, but I enjoy listening to what’s going on at my favorite online yarn store.

What do you listen to while you knit?