My one and only Podcast was a flop

I'm always hearing about runners talking about their favorite podcast. Some have even made a top list of the best running ones.

I for one know that I can not run while listening to people speak. I've tried listening to the radio while I run before and every time the music stops (due to talking or commercials) I can tell I start to struggle.

However, this past summer I downloaded a book (short story rather), The Gingerbread Girl,  and I listened to it while I walked on the rail trail.  The story was only about 2 hours long and I walked more than 7 miles while listening to it. It was a blissful day on the trail!  That experience got me thinking that I'd love to download more short stories (preferably less than 2 hours) to listen to while I walk. Over Holiday break my sister showed me how to download some podcasts to my ipod. Why hadn't I done this before?

I found a podcast series on Fashion. I thought for sure that after listening to these that I would have some fresh new ideas to write about for my newspaper column.  I downloaded about 10 of them and was eager to get listening.

Now usually if I don't like something I'll just keep it to myself and move on. There's no need to spread negativity. However, I feel so passionate about how BAD this podcast is that I just had to get it off my chest share.  I don't want to be cruel enough to share the name of it but I do believe she records it from the Chicago area. The podcast is about 30 minutes long and half of the time she is talking about her Facebook group and how everybody needs to follow her rules before they join (she spends a LOT of time talking about this). She also talks about how she gives so much valuable advice for FREE so her facebook page is NOT a place to ask for advice...blah blah blah.  She then spends time trying to promote her jewelry line and how each piece is so unique, followed by promoting her personal styling service and how much of an amazing value it is!

With the remaining time left over, she whines talks about a a certain topic. One recent one I listened to was about Fashion week and how we need to just love it for what it is and stop trying to make it something it's not. Another recent cast was how women need to stop feeling guilty about spending money on themselves for clothing. I think the topic titles are good and make you think some good information will follow but the execution of is only sub-par to say the least (and I'm being nice here).

And the thing is, after the first couple of her podcasts I CONTINUED to listen to more because I assumed they just HAD to get better. They didn't.

This lady has such a whiny voice and she repeats the same thing over and over again during her podcast. I think her whole podcast could be wrapped up in maybe 2 or 3 sentences but she continues to drag it on. I really wanted to learn something, but I didn't.

So now this makes me wonder, what exactly does it take to make a podcast and can anybody do it? (I'm in no way considering doing a podcast, I'm just curious).

Even though my first pick of a podcast was disappointing, I'm not giving up on them quite yet.

Do you have any suggestions for me? Which ones should I stay away from? -M

PS: I'm pretty sure my ipod died this week. I was using the ipod Nano. I guess its time to look for a new one.  
Who still uses an ipod and who uses their phone?