I've got NPR in my pocket!

(...not literally, of course)

So I'm about a month into life with my new iPod, and I'm still loving it.

I'll try really hard not to gush too much, but I have to gush just a little bit about the joys of podcasts. In particular, I'm loving the podcasts available from public radio--at least, the few that I've had the time to listen to.

Now, I make my living working at an NPR affiliate, so it will come as no special shock that I'm a huge, raging NPR geek. But one of the curious things about working at an NPR station is that, since I'm working pretty much the whole time I'm there, I don't get to listen as much as you might think.

Enter NPR podcasts, which let me catch up on all the stories I end up missing, on account of my job and all. Lately, I'm really digging "NPR Shuffle," which pulls together about half a dozen stories and interviews from the news magazines. It ranges from 25 to 40 minutes every day, and usually 15-20 on the weekends. Since my communte's only 15 minutes, it's actually a little too long for me; in fact, I built up a backlog over the week, and I've been listening to them tonight to catch up. But I bet it's perfect if you're stuck on the subway for an hour each day.

The only downside for me: I think this means that I've spent perfectly good money, just so I can take my work home with me.

Maybe the iPod wasn't such a great idea, after all.