A whole new way to experience audio

Who knew listening could be so delightful?!  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Cool Tools, by The Intelligence](#) Brought to you by: [BookBub logo](=)​ Probably no big surprise here, but I'm a pretty big fan of the written word. I like reading. I like writing. And I'll almost always choose one of those two activities over listening or talking, given the choice. Even so, I'm constantly finding my interest piqued by podcasts. I enjoy listening to 'em at times and have a few I keep up with semiregularly (with an extremely loose definition of the prefix "semi"). But more than anything, what I find myself doing is saving interesting-seeming podcasts to queues that I never come close to catching up on. There's just too much out there, and unlike the skimming-friendly nature of the written word, most of it inevitably takes a chunky time commitment to get through. Or so it seemed. I recently discovered a really interesting tool that completely changed the way I think about podcasts. And whether you're a podcast avoider, a podcast-curious dabbler like I am, or a full-fledged podcast aficionado, this thing can completely change the way you think about experiencing audio. Let me show you. [JR Raphael, Author of Android Intelligence] JR Raphael​ Author of Android Intelligence --------------------------------------------------------------- Your audio experience — remixed My fellow aural adventurer, allow me to introduce you to a nifty little somethin' called [Hark](=). ➜ Hark is a cross-platform app that's almost like a magazine editor for the spoken word — or a personal mixtape creator for the types of discussions you're bound to find captivating. At the risk of overdoing the analogies, it's also kind of like YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels for podcasts — a carefully curated collection of short, snappy audio clips organized into thematic playlists around your favorite topics. ⌚ The service will take you two minutes to install or explore on the web, though fair warning: You may end up spending much longer within it once you get going. The main idea of Hark is that, as we were saying a second ago, there are tons of podcasts out there — and whether you're a frequent listener or a rare-to-never dabbler, it can be overwhelming and oftentimes impossible to keep up and decide what to try. So every day, Hark creates new playlists filled with quick clips from different podcasts that add up to form a cohesive, thematic listening experience. Each clip is typically only a few minutes, give or take, and each playlist could range anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour. The topics go from broad — "the best podcast moments from today," for instance — to delightfully niche and specific: - ​[The origins of pizza](​ - ​[The fascinating history of board games](​ - ​[AI and creativity](​ - ​[A crash course in fermentation](​ - ​[How to make an album](​ - ​[The chaos at OpenAI](​ - ​[Why we should be thinking about the Roman Empire more often]()​ The list goes on and on. And on. (And on.) And new collections get added constantly. [The Hark mobile app's list of podcast clip playlists in categories like artificial intelligence and Silicon Valley] [A Hark podcast clip playlist about the history of board games] It really is a fascinating new way to think about the experience of enjoying podcasts — and that's true whether you enjoy 'em already or not. 📌 You can snag the Hark app [for Android](=) or [for iOS](), or you can access the service from any device — mobile or desktop — [via the Hark website](=). 💰 Hark is completely free to use, with the potential for occasional ads interjected into a playlist. 🕶 The service doesn't require any unusual permissions and doesn't share data in any disconcerting way. You can sign in with your email address or Google account if you want to save stuff and personalize your experience, but you can also skip that step and stay anonymous, if you'd rather. Now, speaking of smart new ways to take in tasty info... ​ SPONSORED MESSAGE Save up to 95% on ebooks 📚 [Tom the mouse from Tom and Jerry readingg](=)​ There is nothing quite like diving into a great new book, but why, oh why, can it be so hard to find a book you want to read? ​[BookBub](=) makes the process of finding a new book easy and fast, by sending you personalized ebook recommendations — based on your reading preferences — for up to 95% off. More great BookBub features: 💸 Subscribe for F-R-E-E 👏 Get handpicked deals from BookBub’s editorial team on everything from bestselling books to hidden gems 📖 Read your new book on any Kindle, iPad, phone, tablet, or ereader BookBub also makes it easy to connect with friends and family — to share book recommendations, of course — and follow your favorite authors to receive alerts when they have book news to share! ➜[Don’t wait! Spend less time searching and more time reading with BookBub.](=)​ [START READING TODAY ➜](=) ​ This Week's Cool Tools Quiz Which program is widely credited as being the world's first official app for podcast consumption? Remember: NO CHEATING! Anyone can look up info on the web. Stick with the spirit of the game and test your actual knowledge without searching. It's just for fun, anyway! [iTunes]() [iPodder]( [PodBaby]( [Poodt]( Answer correctly before next Wednesday and secure your spot on the [Cool Tools Leaderboard](=)! 👉 Last week's question and answer: How many emails are sent each day — worldwide? 350 billion. [Statista]() estimates 347.3 billion emails are sent every day. The number is increasing every year, and the global volume of emails is projected to hit nearly 400 billion in the year 2026. 🤚 Wait! Before you go: What'd you think of this issue? [Thumbs Up]() [Thumbs Down](=) Hit the thumbs-up or thumbs-down to cast your vote and let us know. ​ Want less email? [Update your reading preferences](=) to opt out of any individual publications or unsubscribe entirely. New here and not yet subscribed? Take two seconds to [sign up for our newsletters](): Cool Tools, Android Intelligence, or Windows Intelligence (or all three!). Hungry for even more? [Learn about becoming an Intelligence Insider,](=) our one-of-a-kind community where you'll have access to power-packed advanced resources, an on-demand help desk, and tons of free apps and services. Independent journalism relies on you. 🤝 [An Intelligence Insider membership](=) allows you to support our work and keep this newsletter sustainable! # #