Why do I use Stitcher SmartRadio instead of just subscribing to the podcast? Simple. It’s easy to find what I know I want and it also shows me other podcasts that I might want to hear.

We live in an age where amount of material to listen to is like the overflowing fruit from a cornucopia … it almost threatens to drown us. The number of shows alone on NPR stations is just overwhelming. I’m always behind in listening to shows and podcasts that I know that I like, much less trying to find new shows/podcasts to try out.

If you have a Sonos system (and that’s another posting in itself), you may want to try out Stitcher, downloading it as an app within Sonos. You can also download the Stitcher app for iPhones or iPads … or for Android devices. (Or you can try Stitcher on your Mac or PC by going to http://www.stitcher.com)

Once you have Stitcher, what do you do with it? It’s organization is great, with three main heading Stations, Sources, and Favorites. Stations, though, really isn’t radio stations. It’s a set of shows/podcasts.

The subheadings are Popular & Trending, New & Noteworthy, Comedy, Business & Industry, etc.

The Popular & Trending then has three subheadings: Top Shows, Top Movers, Most Shared

The Top Shows then gets you down to the actual shows and podcasts: Stuff You Should Know, Marketplace on Stitcher, Radiolab from WYNC, etc …

By the time you see the shows/podcast you want to hear you’ll probably see a lot of other ones you may want to try out. Just don’t drown in the thousands of shows/podcasts that are available!