Obsessive listening of TAL - do you think its common and/or healthy?
I'm in Australia. I started listening in my first year of university in 2012 to tune out my anxious thoughts before sleep. Suddenly now it's twelve years later and I've listened to at least one episode every single day (from the archive), at a minimum to fall asleep to. I've listened to the entire archive start-to-finish at least two, maybe three times. Have you heard of this as being common amongst fans? (Yes, I do attend regular therapy - don't worry!)
What makes an interesting story a good story to tell on the show?
Sometimes when I try to tell my wife a story I heard on the show (she does not share my interests in podcasts) she often doesn't have the same response as I had when I was listening to the show. I realize, that I am often failing to retell the story as I either try to hit the same narrative and emotional beats and lose her and or I am going straight for the "lesson" which leaves so much out that it's just not as impactful. With the latter, I've come to understand some stories are rather "mundane" but elevated through your way of telling them (i.e. a kid's first ride on the schoolbus). So, how do you know if a story, as interesting as it might be on itself, has what it takes to make a good on the show? When can you tell if it has what you need? Also, are you after all these years able to listen to a story or read a book without thinking about turning into a piece? P. S. Long-time first time. TAL means more to me than I can describe here!