Journeying Through Sound: Finding Inspiration on the Road with Podcasts and Audiobooks

Listen. Close your eyes. What do you hear? What sounds make up your daily life? Which ones bring the most comfort? Maybe it’s the keys of a piano, a baby cooing, or the pitter-patter of rain on a window. It could be laughter floating in from another room or the birds chirping outside.

We associate a lot with these sounds. We recall experiences and emotions, like opening an old scrapbook or watching a home video. It’s why listening to things is a favorite pastime of most people. Whether that be an audiobook while cooking, a podcast while taking a nice bath (or the obvious: music), you’re always listening to something.

But there’s one place we listen more than any other: on the road. Listening while driving can be so many things. Calming, entertaining, exhilarating. Our Werner professional drivers get to do it all day, every day. So, if you were looking for a little playlist inspiration, we’ve got you covered.

Podcasts

Let’s start with podcasts because they’re short, sweet and to the point. Most of them have different weekly topics instead of an ongoing storyline, so they’re largely non-committal, unlike an audiobook. There are a ton of options, so we’ve narrowed down your choices.

1. WHAT THE TRUCK?!?
   The hilarious, multi-award-winning podcast WHAT THE TRUCK?!? from FreightWaves dissects the most significant stories in logistics and transportation. The focus of WTT?!? is all on you: “the people who make freight move.” You’ll hear from founders, CEOs, VCs, truck drivers, brokers and influencers.
2. Talk CDL
   TalkCDL’s main goal is to entertain their fellow truck drivers! They cover all aspects of the trucking business, including the most recent legislation, trucker surveys and any other news truckers send their way.
3. Red Eye Radio
   Originally aimed at long-haul truck drivers, Red Eye Radio’s objective has expanded to encompass almost everyone who lives and works outside of regular business hours. The audience consists of truck drivers, shift workers, travelers and others who appreciate the 24/7 way of life.
4. The Lead Pedal Podcast
   The Lead Pedal Podcast for truck drivers offers business advice for owner-operators, equipment information, interviews, and employment opportunities for truck drivers and other transportation industry professionals.
5. Werner Podcasts
   Of course, we had to include Werner’s very own podcasts. Three of them: Werner DriveCast, Werner Talks and Werner Veteran Voices. Listen for interviews, in-depth discussions about the industry and new features from Werner. We’ve got something for everyone!

Audiobook Services

Next, we have audiobooks. There’s nothing like a long drive spent with a good book. The services we’ve linked below will keep you entertained for hours with their hundreds of thousands of titles.

1. Audible
   Audible is undeniably the most popular audiobook service of the last few years. It has more than 200,000 titles available to buy, stream or rent. When you join, you get 30% off all audiobooks and every book you purchase is yours to keep, even if you decide to cancel your subscription!
2. Everand
   Everand is giving Audible a run for its money. Not only does it give you access to audiobooks and podcasts, but you can read eBooks, magazines and sheet music. It also includes a joint subscription with its sister platforms, Scribd and SlideShare. Plus, it’s a bit cheaper than Audible, too!
3. Libby
   A reading app created by OverDrive, Libby helps you read and listen to books from your local library. All you need is a library card, and then you’re set to read as much as your heart desires. And you’d be supporting your local library, which is always a good thing!
4. Audiobooks.com
   Audiobooks.com measures up perfectly with the other services on this list. It has more than 425,000 premium audiobooks and even offers 10,000 titles for free. There are curated reading lists for you to choose from and a nice VIP program with membership perks to boot.
5. Hoopla
   “Your public library at your fingertips.” Similar to Libby, hoopla lets you borrow and read audiobooks on your phone/browser with your library card. Except, they offer eBooks, comics, movies, TV, magazines and music as well. You can’t go wrong here!

How much can you learn by listening to the sounds around you? How much have you already learned, without even realizing it? How much do you think you could learn?

There are a ton of amazing podcasts and audiobooks just waiting for you to listen. Now that you have a comprehensive list at your disposal, we hope you’ll put it to use during those long drives.