Where I Get My News
Introduction
I value my time abroad at all stages of my life. While making me not only a better and more curious person, it has changed the way I consume and understand news. My Wife also has helped shape the routine. Our day is usually filled with:
- Wake-up and start to switch between the live news streams and clips. We usually flip as they wrap-up their news routine for the hour.
- Check our favourite apps.
- Share some Twitter links or news from our consumption.
- Get ready with BBC stream.
- Listen to podcasts on commute.
- Read RSS feeds.
- Discuss throughout the day.
- End the day catching-up on news from other parts of the globe.
It sounds like a ton of work, and it is, but we are a connected world and the perspective is so important to our wellbeing and success. My Wife and I are often asked by friends for our perspective on things soley because we can speak with some authority having been there, knowing people in the region, and spending a ton of time with our daily routine.
Is it worth it? No idea, but at least it keeps us sane and outside the echobox of the American Media currently.
Android Apps
I am primarily an Android user, but most of these have equivalents on iOS.
- BBC App
- This app has improved drastically as of late. The alerts though are my main drive to use it.
- Economist
- I have all but given up on the print edition due to our address changes and moves.
- Espresso
- Every morning this is one of my first apps to open and read for the day.
- gReader Pro
- RSS4LIFE: I have collected around 100 feeds I read/skim while listening to podcasts on my commute. This number of feeds fluctuates between 100-200 depending.
- A link to my opml file
- Pocket
- What started as just a read later service has some really great recommendations now. I often will open this up even after finishing off my read later items and getting some great new sources or people to follow.
- BuzzFeed News
- Never would have imagined I’d have BuzzFeed anything installed, but it works great and their reporters do great work. Alerts are usually a tad quicker than BBC, but with less valid sources I find.
- HackerNews
- This is more of a tech centric view of the news, but I appreciate the perspective. HackerNews has been a staple for a very long time.
- Google News
- This new app is amazing. I love it. The ability to have it personalise based on my reading habits and also be able to specify local news regions I am interested in. Key cities and locales are placed right there with breaking world news.
- Reddit
- For over a decade this website and the communities within have been a wonderful area for discourse on topics. The default subreddits are horrible, but once you filter and mute it turns into a still pleasent to use platform.
- TuneIn
- The Sonos integration is important for my homes and the fact I can share favourites between the app and house is a huge help.
- PocketCasts
- Best. Damn. Podcast. App. Ever. Sync multiple platforms and devices. Makes my heart flutter.
- Talon
- For better or worse Twitter is still the firehose of real-time, but rarely correct news.
Audio
Streaming
- BBC World Service
- I listen to this every morning, no matter where I am in the world, as I shower and get ready.
- NPR/WCMU
Podcasts
- Hardtalk
- The Daily
- This is my daily walk podcast into work.
- Planet Money
- Intelligence^2 Debates
- Less news and much more analysis of current events with a strong desire to provide a sounding board to both sides of the issue.
- No Agenda
- Can get to be a bit off the rails and dip into conspiracy theories, but overall it is solid entertainment and always brings up something I haven’t had time to research.
- Congressional Dish
- Recent addition to my cycle, but Jennifer does so much research into the bills I could never have time to review, it ends up a good springboard for my own review or synopsis needs.
- Common Sense
- Many of you will know Dan Carlin from Hardcore History, but his Libeterian views also provide a more timely perspective in today’s age.
- FRDH
- Short, sweet, and interesting. From a published historian who writes today’s “history” through journalism.
- Intercepted
- Jeremy is well read, spoken, and travelled. The amount of research that goes into each episode is incredible.