Life on the road while shooting campaigns can get very lonely. Sometimes it is a welcome thing, and at other times I find myself texting everyone in my phonebook to see what’s new and have a conversation. Of the many things I have picked up while on this journey, having an interest in learning is a way to take some of the lonesomeness out of the given situation. Which brings me to perhaps the greatest travel companion I have ever found, the Stuff You Should Know podcast.

Truth be told, I used to find podcasts odd, and still don’t know how I ever got into SYSK. Perhaps it was my want to be better at trivia nights when I was in town, or perhaps I am just interested in knowing how to survive a plane crash…. a little side note, not to be morbid, but on no less than 10 occasions have I sat in an airplane casually listening to the plane crash episode. On one campaign last year, my assistant and I had to drive 14 hours in 2 days (along with shooting periodically), so we loaded an iPod all the episodes out and left, thinking we’d throw some on when we were tired of talking. Fast forward two days when we were returning home and we had barely talked the entire trip other than to see where to stop for food. There is something to be said about not having to read that intrigues me.

I love to learn, and due to dyslexia have a very hard time doing it through reading. This is something that is quite angering to me as I even bought an iPad with the idea of teaching myself how to read, or more like forcing myself to consume words that get scrambled only to frustrate me when the eventual solution is confusing. Books on tape is one option, however the stale approach to listening to someone read is a very simple way to put me to sleep quickly. With SYSK, I can casually listen while planning shoots, constructing bids,… hell, I’m listing to it while I write this blog (Listening to How Lotteries Work for my 63rd time).

So if you are like me and need the distraction on a plane from all the people passing around the super flu, go check out HowStuffWorks.com and click on the Stuff You Should Know podcast. Also, stay tuned in to the Science Channel as an SYSK show is coming out very soon.