April 2, 2018

Finding more about a book or topic via podcasts

Let me share one of my ”information consumption” hacks. I often come across books at a library or while reading an article. I am intrigued by the book, but I may not have the time to buy/borrow and read the book right then. I search for the name of the author or book on the iPhone Podcast App. There is a good chance that I will find an interview featuring the author. I can listen to the interview and get an appreciation for what the author is trying to communicate in the book. The interview also helps me decide if it is really worth buying or borrowing the book. If you are on Android, you can use the excellent listennotes.com site to search for audio clips related to a particular keyword. This hack has helped me make my commutes and queuing up fun.

I made a shortcut to do this. Now I can search for a selected text on listennotes.com sites. Listennotes is a Podcast search engine.

A screen cast showing how to use the shortcut.

Install the shortcut on your iPhone or iPad

You may have to enable “Allow Untrusted Shortcuts” from other sources” under Settings > Shortcuts.

Books

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