Entertain me, please.

in Random Crap

This isn’t a real post.  It’s a request.  Tomorrow I drive Hailey to the sleep-away camp she’s gone to every year since she was 9, where she’ll ride horses and work on a ranch with no internet or tv or air conditioning or phones and I will wonder whether she was adopted because that sounds like the 7th circle of hell to me but she adores it.  I, on the other hand, need constant distraction so that means that we need something to listen to for 6 hours tomorrow and also something that will keep me awake for the 6 hours driving back the next day.  PLEASE HELP.

Hailey and I are both big fans of podcasts but we’re also open to good audiobooks that won’t put us to sleep.  Fascination nonfiction is a plus.  (I’m thinking of Packing For Mars by Mary Roach but I’ve read it 3 times so I’m up for something new.)  We’ve already binged This American Life, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, Lore, Criminal, The Grift, Invisibilia, Reply All, Stuff You Missed In History Class, NightVale, Within the Wires, You Must Remember This, 99% Invisible, Revisionist History and Thrilling Adventure Hour.  Give me suggestions.

Our favorites podcasts are less conversational and more “tell me a story”.  Dark is a plus.  Sex is not.  I mean, for the ride down.  For the ride back I’ll be alone because Victor is working so I’m fine with sex.  Podcasts that refer to sex, I mean.  I’m not fine with sex without Victor.  YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.  Also, I’ve already binged My Favorite Murder, My Dad Wrote a Porno, 2 Dope Queens, Serial, S-Town, Ear Hustle, Mortified, True Crime Garage and Up and Vanished.  (These are all excellent suggestions, btw, and you should listen to them if you haven’t already.  I’d link to each of them but I’m still trying to fit a half of a months worth of clothes and safety equipment into one trunk and it’s not working.)

What’s the perfect road trip listen?

Thanks, y’all.

 

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759 thoughts on “Entertain me, please.”

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  1. For your drive back, try “Pod Save America,” “The Hilarious World of Depression,” and “Casefile.” All podcasts. For the drive there…I honestly have no idea. Sorry 🙁

  2. Personally, I have to have music I can sing to when I drive or I get sleepy. Hopefully everyone else will have fabulous suggestions for you and then I can learn to appreciate something new as well! 🙂

  3. Wish I could help, but I’m a music junkie myself. Hope you have a good trip, and don’t close the trunk with Ferris still in it!

  4. David Sedaris’ diary, read by Sedaris.
    It’s like people watching with your best friend.

  6. I agree with Hilarious wprld of depression. Right now im listening to Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids. Its actually amazing and keeps meawake from laughter

    (Is that the same thing as Mortified? Or just same premise and different people? ~ Jenny)

  10. I’ve heard excellent things about My Favorite Murder. Haven’t got ’round to it myself, but it’s on my list, so if you wouldn’t mind going there first…

    (It’s one of my favorites. Not kid friendly though. I’ve tried it a few times with Hailey and it almost immediately goes to dildos for some reason. ~ Jenny)

  13. Podcasts of Snap Judgment with Glynn Washington, who is a crazy amazing storyteller!

  14. Buffering the Vampire Slayer.Ep by Ep Funny, thoughtful,there’s songs,Nd they ha e a t shirt that says “Smash the daemon lizard patriarchy.Buff said !! 😊

  18. If you liked Packing for Mars, have you read her other book “Stiff”? I also highly recommend Down Among the Dead Men by Michelle Williams. If you want something wierd as hell and hilarious I adore “John Dies at the End” by David Wong. It’s weird and silly and creepy as hell and the audio book is AWESOME.

  20. All podcasts: Levar Burton Reads and Radio Free Burrito. A great scifi horror one is Darkest Night, but maybe not if your kiddo is listening too. It’s kinda graphic.

  21. The Black Tapes, Tania, Rabbits, and Alice Isn’t Dead are all great

  22. Conviction, Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin, and the Nerdist are faves! Just started Twice Removed and it’s also worthy. I love podcast road trips. It makes the time fly. :),

  23. News of the World – Paulette Jiles. Audiobook. The Narrator is divine! Loved this book so much, I was sorry when it ended.

  24. Episodes of Dragnet radio plays are fun!

    Search for “Dragnet OTR”

  25. The Hollows series by Kim Harrison is my all time fave. I’ve lost count of how many times I have read them. The first book in the series is Dead Witch Walking.

  29. The Dollop is an amazingly funny podcast. I aleo like My Favorite Murder quite a bit.

  31. I’ve been listening to the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones on audiobook and really enjoyed them! The protagonist is the grim reaper and a private investigator. They’re funny, well written, and have some sex. As a plus, they’re read by Janet Evanovich who is wonderful.

    Hope the drive goes well!

  33. The only podcast I listen to – when I listen- is Talkin’ Toons with Rob Paulson because he is THE VOICEOVER GOD. But it doesn’t sound like that one fits your requirements. A well read Kathy Reichs can be good, and Dick Francis is good and no sex, but those are always murder mysteries. I’m totally not helping. But does trying count? I’m sorry. I’m not myself today. The depression demon is whispering in my ear incessantly and it’s making me dull and sleepy and grumpy. And I’m still at work pretending that’s not the case. But I would talk to you for six hours with crazy stories about random famous people and not so famous people if that would entertain you. Cause I loves ya Jenny. ❤️❤️❤️💋💋💋

  34. The Moth podcasts are nonstop stories of all kinds! The new Prairie Home Companion is wonderful and always leaves me feeling hopeful, which I badly need some days. Old Time Radio shows can be fun – many include the advertisements too.

    (I love The Moth but I can’t listen to it because I never know what’s coming and I get to weepy at the sad ones. I need a trigger warning for each episode. ~ Jenny)

  35. Potterotica Podcast, My Dad Wrote A Porno, No Sleep Podcast… though they’re not kid friendly.

  36. Buffering the Vampire Slayer.Ep by Ep Funny, thoughtful,there’s songs,they have aj t shirt that says “Smash the daemon lizard patriarchy.Buff said !! 😊

  37. Audiobooks: The Jason Crane books. They’re YA fantasy/horror. A modern retelling of Sleepy Hollow. Engrossing.

  38. If you were/are a West Wing Fan, The West Wing Weekly is an excellent podcast.

  41. So it doesn’t seem to be available in audio form, but if you’ve not read the Sex with Kings or Sex with Queens books by Eleanor Herman, I would highly recommend them for non-driving times.

  42. Umpteenth rec for Casefile. Listened to episodes on recent 6 hr drive and the time flew.

  43. You can get the entire original Sherlock Holmes stories narrated by Stephen Fry for one credit on Amazon’s Audible service, instead of paying the 55 dollars. It’s really great.

  44. Audiobooks:
    Surpassing certainty – janet mock
    Born a crime – trevor noah
    Art of asking – amanda palmer
    Aristotle and date discover the secrets of the universe – bejamin alires saenz
    The cornoran strike books – robert galbraith (jk rowling)

    Podcast: dear sugar, in the dark, s-town

  45. NPR’s Embedded is my favorite. What it Takes is empowering. Here’s the Thing w/Alec Baldwin and How to Be Amazing w/Michael Ian Black are both engrossing interview pods. NPR’s Fresh Air and The New Yorker Radio Hour tell great stories.

  46. You’ve done Nightvale. Have you tried Alice Isn’t Dead? For non-fiction podcasts, I enjoy Freakonomics, and there are a ton of previous seasons to binge. Audiobooks – go for the Laundry Files series by Charles Stross, narrated by Gideon Emery. Dark, but humorous and awesome.

  48. A lot of my podcasts are faith-based, but I also love The Popcast, Radiolab, Levar Burton Reads, and The Road Back To You (if you know about the Enneagram, this is an awesome podcast).

  49. I think you would like The Magnus Archives. It’s a series of scary stories that have a connecting thread. As an added bonus, the narrator has the best English accent.

  50. Garrison Keillor’s “News From Lake Wobegone” is wonderful to listen to. Humorous and good for all ages. “Call the Midwife”, by Jennifer Worth fits the fascination nonfiction bill. Very engrossing! I don’t recall a lot of sex so much as the aftermath of sex… Have a safe trip!

  51. Levar Burton’s new podcast ‘Levar Burton Reads’. It’s basically Reading Rainbow for adults, except instead of picture books, he’s reading us short fiction (with sound effects & stuff).

  53. Podcasts I Love:
    * Harry Potter and the Sacred Text
    * Stuff You Missed in History Class
    * You Must Remember This (History of Hollywood)
    * Sawbones
    * Why I Write
    * Pop Culture Happy Hour
    * LeVar Burton Reads (Like Reading Rainbow for Grownups)

    Safe Travels!

  55. Myths and Legends. Sometimes the stories he shares contain sex (as in this Greek god and this mortal had a child and that child went on to become such and such famous warrior), but he does it in a way that isn’t offensive for young listeners and he warns you at the start of the show if there are any adult themes.

  56. If you liked “Welcome to Nightvale”, you may like “Alice isn’t Dead”. It’s darker – more Stephen King than David Lynch – but same feel.
    Also “Snap Judgement” podcast. Similar to “This American Life”, but more individual stories: some light, some heavy.
    For audio books, I LOVE kid/teen fiction. It is entertaining without making you work to hard.

  57. It’s not dark, and it is conversational… but it’s also Wil Wheaton so may I recommend TV Crimes? Wil and Mikey Neumann watch old TV shows and judge them for their crimes. tvcrimes.net

  60. Mark Maron podcasts. He has interviewed so many interesting people. Pick and choose the people you find most interesting

  61. I’ve been listening to audiobooks of Anne rice’s vampire chronicles. Love them.

  65. For your ride back, you might consider KUEC – Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap. Noted children’s book author Ursula Vernon and her husband Kevin eat horrible prepackaged foods and “review” them. Usually there are adult beverages so by about half way through everyone is slightly lit and ranting about something, often in very entertaining ways. You certainly don’t need to start at the beginning – just pick one at random (though they did save the can of silkworm larvae in soy sauce for episode 200,)

    For more family-friendly fare, going back and digging up some old episodes of the SF Squeecast, where Elizabeth Bear, Seaman McGuire, Lynne M and Michael Damian Thomas, and Paul Cornell would get together and each bring a book/movie/media property/etc that they wanted to squeeze about.

  67. Casefile, Twisted Philly, Small Town Murder, All Killa No Filla, Someone Knows Something (season 2, especially), and Pleasing Terrors are a few of my favourites.

  69. As an alternative to podcasts and audiobooks, I’d like to also recommend Old Time Radio shows. Suspense is especially good. It had an occasional less than stellar show, but it was generally well-written and well-acted. It may hold interest on the long drive better than an audiobook since it isn’t a reading, but plays written to be consumed by an audience that couldn’t see the action. The Internet Archives has Suspense, and many, many other shows, and you can either stream them from the site or download them to your favorite device for listening. https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Suspense_Singles

  70. Well, Stephen King’s Dark Tower series is plenty awesome, but there’s dark and then way dark… also maybe it’s peppered with some sex. Now can’t remember. So, yeah, dang it.

  71. The Memory Palace, The Mystery Show, Cosmic Vertigo, Judge John Hodgman, and The Mysterious Secrets of Uncle Bertie’s Botanarium. If you like quiz shows, Ask Me Another is fun. For your ride back try Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People.

  72. Howdy! Not sure if it’s an audio book but the “Thirteenth Tale” is an awesome read and twisty enough to keep you entertained.

  73. My daugher Bree is the same age as Haley. Recently we have enjoyed the following audiobooks together.

    Serafina and The Black Cloak
    https://www.audible.com/pd/Kids/Serafina-and-the-Black-Cloak-Audiobook/B00ZB7Q93Y?qid=1499486699&sr=1-1

    Name Of the Wind (is what we will be listening to in the car on the way to sleep away camp)
    The Name of the Wind: Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 1
    https://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Name-of-the-Wind-Audiobook/B002UZMLXM?qid=1499486809&sr=1-1

    For a podcast – we enjoyed “limetown” – Totally freaked us both out and we had a good time talking about it afterwards.
    https://www.twoupproductions.com/shows/limetown

    *hint: packing is easier once you take the cat out of the box.

  74. I recommend “Beautiful/Anonymous” with Chris Gethard to just about everyone so that’s what I’ll add here. It’s beautiful stories from anonymous people. There’s a bit of the conversational aspect to it (it’s a phone call), but it’s strangers telling personal tales and Chris guides them into some of the more interesting bits of their stories. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll hear some crazy things and some really mundane things, and you’ll probably smile a lot. Some episodes might be fine for Hailey, but I can’t think of specific ones so file it under “maybe save for the ride back”.

  75. There is a oddly compelling podcast about Fitness guru Richard Simmons. People in his life think he’s being held against his will and made a podcast about it.

    I would also recommend the audiobook for ”¹³ reasons why.” It kept me engaged when I drove across the state of Ohio!

  77. For the drive there, Science Vs. it’s science with a side of puns. I also love the memory palace. Episodes are short, but there are lots of them.

  78. Sleeping Giants audio book It’s an amazing sci fi and told with a large cast or narrators in interviews and journal logs 💗

  79. My family listened to the Percy Jackson Series on our road trips last year and this year. The Host by Stephanie Meyer was one of my favorite audiobooks.

  80. Story corps, the hilarious world of depression (comedians talking about dealing withentail illness), the moth, radiolab,popculture happy hour.

  84. Story corps, the hilarious world of depression (comedians talking about dealing withentail illness), the moth, radiolab,popculture happy hour.

  86. A friend just introduced me to Levar Burton Reads. Reading Rainbow for grown up. Yay!!

  88. the Witches Of Echo Park written and read by Amber Benson are fabulous!

  89. I’m sure episodes of This American Life have already been suggested, but just in case they haven’t, I’m mentioning it here. There’s an app that allows you the choice of streaming directly or downloading it to your device.

  93. Radiotopia podcasts, especially The Kitchen Sisters present (Hidden Life of Girls episodes top of the list), The Allusionist and Criminal. Listening to Stitch of Time by Lauren Marks book right now. The Allusionist episode “Eclipse” is an interview with her. Fascinating and a good story, too. Safe travels!

  94. I don’t know if you’ve read The Handmaid’s Tale but the Audible version narrated by Claire Danes is amazing. Her voice is phenomenal and I’d forgotten how juicy Margaret Atwood’s writing is.

  95. My go to recommendations for audiobooks are always “Let Pretend This Never Happened” and “Furiously Happy”, but I think you may have already heard of those.

  96. If you like stuff you missed in history class, try the other “stuff” – stuff you should know, stuff they don’t want you to know, foodstuff and stuff mom never told you. I’d start with Stuff you Should Know. Love Josh and Chuck!

  98. Mike and Tom Eat Snacks with Michael Ian Black and Tom Cavanagh always makes me laugh.

  99. I Love You So Much! Stuff about Austin. Am-Statesman staff discusses.And The Moth–
    Really great stories from everyday people about a lot of over the top stuff.

  100. Hello Internet is fantastic. Two dudes talking about pretty much random topics with good humor and great chemistry. Try Episode 66 to start with to see if you like it.

  101. Lavar Burton Reads- new and basically Reading Rainbow for adults. J’adore.

    You made it weird with Pete Holmes- is conversational but about sex and religion and making the conversation weird.

    Invisibilia has been recommended to me several times.

    A Way with Words- word and slang origins based on listeners calling in with their questions.

    Drive safe!

  102. Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History. It’s…just amazing. That is, if you’re into history. If you’re not then it would probably be pretty boring.

  103. Tina Fey – Bossypants, Amy Poehler – Yes Please, Justin Halpern – Shit My Dad Says, Max Brooks – World War Z

  105. I have never listened to a podcast in my entire life, but this is making me want to get started!!!

    (They are ADDICTIVE. I listen when I’m driving or cleaning. And there are so many good suggestions here. I’m already starting a new list. ~ Jenny)

  106. Anything David Sedaris, although you may have an accident because you’ll be laughing so hard. Also, the Mr. MERCEDES series by Stephen King.

  108. Second the suggestion of the Dolllop – try starting with Bricklayer Bill or The Hippo Bill
    If you like fantasy ‘Critical Role’ (a bunch of nerdy voice actors playing DnD) is coming out as podcasts now. Excellent improvisational story telling, a great mix of adventure, comedy and emotion.

  109. Would it be completely weird if I suggested my own podcast? I do think I mentioned Furiously Happy in one of the last few episodes.

  111. We survived the most boring road ever listening to “Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians”. Hilarious and action packed, and kid friendly to boot!

  113. Echoes from the Bell Tower from Saint Meinrad Archabbey (https://soundcloud.com/saint-meinrad-archabbey) I know, I know, you’re saying “Monks? Have we met? So not my thing.” but a) Yes, monks, b) Yes, we have, and c) It’s a really cool podcast. It’s not at all about religion, it’s more like “A Day In The Life”, but with monks.

    Also good is A Way with Words (http://www.prx.org/group_accounts/57260-waywithwords) and You Made It Weird (http://nerdist.com/podcasts/you-made-it-weird-channel/).

  115. Mike and Tom Eat Snacks by Michael Ian Black and Tom Cavanagh always makes me laugh.

  116. Star talk with Neil Degrasse Tyson. It’s awesome!!!! Witty and interesting.

  117. My Dad Wrote a Porno
    The Greatest Generation
    Tested – As Yet Untitled, The Adam Savage Podcast
    Have fun and drive safe!

  119. Hidden Brain podcast is really interesting. I would second (third? fifth? tenth?) Radiolab. Also, Witch, Please podcast (a close feminist reading of the Harry Potter franchise). And if you’ve never listened to the Harry Potter audiobooks, (or even if you have) they are FANTASTIC and good for road trips. I can only speak to the American version (Jim Dale does an excellent job). I mean, that’s a lot of $$ for all the books, but you can also check them out from the library (which is what I did).

  121. For the return trip, My Father Wrote A Porno- it is hilarious. For the trip there, what about Harry Potter … even if you’ve read them before, Jim Dale is an amazing narrator.
    Also Flavia deLuce series. The Sweetness at The Bolton of the Pie is the first. I tried for several years to read the book but couldn’t get into it and then someone recommended the audiobook version because the narrator is so good and I agree … binge listened to the entire series after that.
    Or the Enola Holmes series…murder mysteries with a strong young heroine.

  122. Sawbones! Safe to listen to with a kid, but they cover weird medical history. And it’s very funny. Theyve covered topics like trepanning, a guy with a permanent hole in his stomach and Resurrection men. Going, try the Dollop. Definitely adults only

  124. Dang! I was going to suggest My Favorite Murder, cuz those gals are the best damn storytellers (about murders, I guess). Sword and Scale is another true crime podcast that I listen to. Definitely dark. Some x-rated content though, so maybe for the ride home.

  126. The Dork Forest is a fun podcast. A lady comedian talks to someone about something they are really into (their “dorkdom”) for each episode. Stuff like Disney, or reality tv or Lord of the Rings. Many different topics, you could probably find some you and your kid are interested in.

  127. Sawbones: a marital tour of misguided medicine. Definitely recommend the birds, gonnarhea, and spontaneous human combustion episodes.

  129. Oh No! Ross and Carrie! (ohnopodcast.com) has been doing a series on UFOs this summer. I love their podcasts — they’re hilarious. Sawbones is another fun one (and it’s clean, but skip the conversion therapy episodes — too sad).

    A Christmas Carol (Tim Curry’s or Patrick Stewart’s audiobooks are my favorite versions) is one of my favorite stories to listen to on long rides. For some reason, time seems to fly when I listen to it.

  133. I say the Dollop but you’d have to cover Hailey’s ears for the bad words and sex jokes. It’s a hilarious American history podcast. Kid friendly would be hard for podcasts for me since I listen to mine on headphones with kid not hearing them. Sorry for the useless answer 🤷‍♀️

  134. Chris Moore’s Fluke is an amazing audiobook. Tom Robbins’ Villa Incognito is also great. Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody books are good too–but only the ones read by Barbara Rosenblat!

  135. You could try tasteslikeburning.libsyn.com for the drive back. Albeit it is conversational, but we do tell stories and try to keep things hilariously irreverent and inappropriate (quasi-adult humory).

  136. Hello Internet is as a fun, interesting podcast with two guys talking about seemingly random topics but with great chemistry and rapport. Try Episode 16 which has a fantastic segment on US State flags – it’s way funnier & interesting than it sounds (honest!).

  137. Ooh! We just traveled back and forth to a family reunion with the kids, 14 and 17
    On the way out we did Good Omens, and on the way back it was The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. Both got really excited reviews and made the time go really fast 🙂 Safe travels! 💚

  138. Also, didn’t notice Ask me Another on your podcast list, fun and funny!

  139. Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, whixh he also reads. It’s technically a kid’s book and won The Newberry Medal and a Hugo Award but the hubs and I would sit in the car together and listen for 10 or 15 minutes after we’d arrived home. It was that good. It also meets the spooky criteria (being a Neil Gaiman book) but isn’t too much so. https://mobile.audible.com/pd/Teens/The-Graveyard-Book-Audiobook/B002V8DEKC/?ref=msw_search_c1_0_2_AL

  140. My kiddo and sing along to the Hamilton soundtrack a couple of times per road trip.

  143. Podcast – You Must Remember This (All about Old Hollywood, so cool!)
    Books: The vampire trilogy by Christopher Moore, The Cormoron Strike books, American On Purpose by Grieg Ferguson, I’m not a Terrorist, but I’ve Played One on TV by Maz Jobroni, The Odd Thomas Series By Dean Koontz (But pull over when you start to cry!)

    That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. I’m a little picky with my audiobooks, the voice has to be right.
    Hope you have an awesome trip!

  145. If you remove the cat from the trunk you might be able to fit more stuff in 😜

  146. Podcasts–How I Built This, Pop Culture Happy Hour, It’s Been a Minute

  147. If you are in the mood for something different, I highly recommend the Hamilton Podcasts (Room Where It’s Happening and The Hamilcast). Listen to the soundtrack first (if you haven’t) and then start at the beginning.

  149. For the ride back and if you’re at all interested in learning about other people’s intimate details about relationships and sex I recommended The Savage Lovecast by Dan Savage.

    For thebsrive up with your girl: Strangers, StoryCorps, RadioLab, HiddenBrain and my absolute personal crime favorite was the follow-up to Serial S1 – Undisclosed.

  150. SOULLESS by Gail Carriger. This series is delightful. Steampunk. Funny and charming and exciting with a dash of romance. LOVE.

  151. I quick-scrolled through the responses, so these may have been mentioned before: S-Town, the podcast series, and any and all Moth podcasts. Bejeebus love you, I wish I was in the back seat, because I wouldn’t want to drive and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t want you to.

  152. Runemarks and Runelight by Joanne Harris. Fabulous and fascinating YA Norse mythology and very strong girl heroine!

  154. I’m actually listening to my first audiobook ever and started with The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher. She reads most of it but Billie Lourde reads some. I’ve cried a few times though so maybe it’s not a good suggestion for a road trip. She is so poignant and honest and funny.

  155. Listen to the Spooktacular episodes of Snap Judgement. There is one every year. Also, the Halloween episodes of Stuff You Missed in History Class. Also, How To Be Amazing, Invisibilia, Missing Richard Simmons, My Dad Wrote a Porno, Mystery Show, More Perfect, Reply All, Revisionist History, S-Town, Strangers, Sworn, Up and Vanished and What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law. Excellent podcasts every single one.

  156. Forgot my PS
    I don”t think any of thse are kid friendly, but good for the ride back. Probably a silly question but have you ever listened to His Dark Materials? I loved the audio version because it was like an old radio play.

  158. “How to be Amazing” with Michael Ian Black is an awesome podcast. Start with Tim Gunn.

  159. https://www.modernathenas.com/ is amazing! All about women today and the breakthroughs and struggles and triumphs. Latest ep is: In this podcast, we will be discussing the book “Canyon Solitude,” by Patricia C. McCairen. Canyon Solitude takes the reader through Patricia’s journey of self-discovery as she leaves her life of comfort and stability and heads West. She lives a life of adventure out west, drifting through the high plateaus of Colorado, learning how to be a river guide down many of the most dangerous and beautiful rivers, and, through it all, she demonstrates why sometimes in life, it is better to leave the safety of the known for the adventure and uncertainty of the unknown. Like all Modern Athenas, Patricia pushed aside the critics and followed her dream. She set her raft afloat down the river and, through her rafting, discovered that not only could she survive, but that she could thrive. Her inner strength, determination, and courage remind us all that in life, you have to keep taking risks and moving forward to new adventures because the true rewards are found beyond the edges of your comfort zone.

  160. Have you tried Alice Isn’t Dead, it’s by the same people as Nightvale and very good. Also a big fan of No Such Thing As A Fish, very funny. The Myths and Ledgends podcast is also pretty good.

  162. You can blame my husband for the majority of these, but this is what I’ve been listening to lately.
    Hopefully this will give you some ideas.

    Podcast: Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
    Podcast: The History of Rome
    Podcast: Revolutions (same guy as History of Rome)
    Podcast: Hollywood & Crime (probably for the drive back)
    Podcast: Alice Isn’t Dead (again probably drive back, it took a couple episodes to really get me hooked, but season 1 was amazing!)
    Book: A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage
    Book: How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson
    Book: God Is Disappointed in You by Mark Russell, Shannon Wheeler
    Book: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies by Jared Diamond

  163. Holy Cow -An Indian Adventure by Sarah McDonald. Read by an Australian author about her trip to India to find enlightenment. Hysterical, entertaining, one of my favorite audio books ever.

  165. You absolutely need to listen “my dad wrote a porno”. It is hilarious!

  166. Have you considered old time radio serials like The Whistler, or Yours Truly, Johnny Dollsr?

  167. Heyla.
    So. I’ve a feeling you’re freinds with her, so you may have already read/listened to these. But, me being… me

    Seanan McGuire
    “Every Heart A Doorway”
    “Down Among The Sticks and Bones”
    “Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day”

    I’ve read two out if the three. I can’t do audio books because I hear the first three words and then it just becomes any adult speaking in a Peanuts cartoon. “Whomwhawhawomwomwha…”

    You’re welcome to my Audible points.

  168. Audio versions of Sharon Creech’s books and of The Secret Garden (which is impossible for an American, or at least me, to read aloud due to the Yorkshire accent in it) were hits with my boys when they were ages 8-13 and I enjoyed them too. I echo the David Sedaris audiobooks for you, and he has a new one out.

  169. The Moth Radio Hour. Not all of them are Hailey appropriate, but the ones that are are amazing.

  171. The Moth Radio Hour. Not all are appropriate for Hailey, but there are some amazing stories on there.

  172. Something from the Nightside by Simon R Green, and the other 11 books in the nightside series, reasonably PG-13 audio books, great entertainment for a long drive, it’s like Harry Dresden meets Doctor Who with a dash of Supernatural:
    -Something from the Nightside
    -Agents of Light and Darkness
    -Nightingale’s Lament
    -Hex and the City
    -Paths not Taken
    -Sharper than a Serpent’s Tooth
    -Hell to Pay
    -The Unnatural Inquirer
    -Just Another Judgement Day
    -The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny
    -A Hard Day’s Knight
    -The Bride Wore Black Leather

  173. Thinking Sideways. It’s a bit like a cross between Unsolved Mysteries and 3am conversations. I love it for road trips because each episode is about 60 to 90 minutes, so it kills time.

  174. Someone I know said World War Z is an awesome audio book, if you haven’t already read it. Also, for adult time, Silence of the Lambs is an AMAZING audio book read by Kathy Bates. I listened to it on a road trip when I was 12, scared the hell out of me.

  175. If you like Stuff You Missed In History Class then I think you’d like No Such Thing As A Fish (though it can be a little about sex stuff sometimes, so maybe vet it). Currently I am obsessed with Buffering the Vampire Slayer.

    In terms of podcasts that are more in the storytelling vein of things, ones I have heard good things about (but have not gotten to listening to myself yet) are The Adventure Zone, Wolf 359, TANIS, Under Pressure, The Strange Case of Starship Iris and Ars Paradoxica.

  177. Searching for Richard Simmons, on Being , loveet or leave it , Katie couriic and the longest shortest time are all my favorites Pod at the moment

  178. Surely you’ve already listened to the audiobook for Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,but if you haven’t Lin-Manuel Miranda narrates…it’s probably worth listening to again if you have already actually because LIN-MANUEL + beautiful prose = awesome.

  182. Stuart McLean – Vinyl Cafe series – good, clean, fun stories read by the good Canadian author. If you do not like this series, I will fight you. (Jk – Anchorman reference)

  183. “Sawbones” podcast – hilarious and informative medical history…right up your alley. The other day I bonded with my dentist over an obscure fact Iearned from it, and I’m sure I got less drill time and more novocaine as a result.

  184. Coming from Canada I’d recommend anything by Stuart McLean, the Vinyl Cafe stories, or anything else he’s written. Or his books of stories sent in by his listeners across the country. Good for the whole family, funny, touching, witty, the whole lot. And intelligent. Grounded. I could go on. And it speaks to a slower and more lovely time. Plus my daughters, now 22 years old, loved his stories enough to see his live Christmas shows twice. Sadly, he has passed, but will live on as one of Canada’s icons. Did I mention funny?

  185. Audio book: “The End of the Affair” by Graham Greene, narrated by Colin Firth. BEAUTIFUL writing. Gorgeous narrator.

  188. MBMBAM (my brother my brother and me). The brother’s spin off d&d podcast Adventure zone (amazing story telling. Especially once you get past the first arc and they really find their voices). Dear hank and John for a different (and less swear filled) brother experience.

  189. Thinking Sideways. It’s like a cross between Unsolved Mysteries and 3am conversations. I like it for road trips because each episode is about 60 to 90 minutes so it makes time go by quickly.

  191. Oh my gosh, CABIN PRESSURE!! They have the full series on Audible (maybe 5 downloads?), and it is wonderful. Family friendly, but incredible British humor. My boys were just a bit older than Hailey when we first listened to it,and we’ve listened to it many times since. It’s the only Audible listen (other than your books!!!) that I have listened to again and again, guffawing like a loon each time. Strongly recommend!! The series (it’s kind of like a radio sitcom) is written by John Finnemore and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Roger Allam, and Stephanie Cole. It’s about two pilots, the owner of a charter plan, and her somewhat dimwitted son. It is TRULY wonderful. Extremely good writing!

  192. Have you listened to any of the original Sherlock Holmes stories? I once checked out a “book on tape” from the library and listened to the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle masterpieces. Something about them told in a male British voice makes them so much better… 🙂

  193. I’m really more of a fiction gal, but I completely understand needing to keep the brain busy! For a couple of engaging memoirs, Carey Elwes’ book “As You Wish” about the making of the Princess Bride, and Dick Van Dyke’s memoir “My Lucky Life: In and Out of Show Business” are both charming recollections, and both read by the authors.

    For fictional docudrama podcasts, I’ve been enjoying “The Black Tapes” and “Tanis” and look forward to seeing where the stories go.

    Other audiobooks I think are great are “The Neverending Story,” “The Martian,” “Howl’s Moving Castle” and its sequels, “Ready Player One,” “”Watership Down,” and “The Last Unicorn.” Of course anything by Neil Gaimain gets major points in my regard as well.

    I could go on and on for ages, audiobooks are an addiction, but those are some of my top picks for this scenario. I hope you guys have a great drive and Hailey has a great time at camp!

  194. Find Your Gods is a personal favorite! I may be slightly biased because he mentions our engagement after the last Hades/Persephone episode. 💖

  195. Have you read Mary roach’s (packing for mars) other stuff- all so funny (well, I didn’t enjoy spook as much as her others)

    Other things we’ve loved on road trips:
    Anything written and read by David Sedaris
    Tina Fey’s bossy pants
    John hodgeman’s the area of my expertise
    Mindy khalings first book
    Steven Colbert: I am america (and so can you)

  196. Risk, a podcast by Kevin Allison, is funny but only appropriate for your drive home without Hailey. A fantastic audio book is Wonder by RJ Palacio. Wonder is a book for the younger set but it is one of the most touching, relevant books that covers so much of what kids are going through growing up in today’s world. Have a safe drive!

  197. Because I know you love Doctor Who: The Ood Cast. Lovely,funny,kind and friendly.

  198. I’m currently listening to You’ll Grow Out Of It by Jessi Klein in my car. OMG. She reads it so well. It’s hilarious. You’ll die.

  200. For stories, definitely the Moth. These are real people telling real stories (as opposed to broadcasters). Some hilarious, some sad, always pretty good. If you like language, I recommend the Allusionist. Hidden Brain is good for learning about how our minds work.

  202. Hi! I love With Friends like These, Call Your Girlfriend and More Perfect by RadioLab. More Perfect should be good for the way there, it’s sort of like Revisionist History. Friends and Girlfriends may work as well, not so much sex but cursing for sure happens and Girlfriends talks about periods a lot. If you are into Game of Thrones Peter from Wait Wait recaps it with the ladies from Nerdette (another good podcast) and I love it. It’s called Nerdette recaps Game of Thrones and it’s a good way to prepare for the new season.

  203. “Code Name Verity” by Elizabeth Wein. Available on Audible, brilliantly narrated. It’s a YA book, so entirely appropriate for Hailey. Lots of suspense and some great plot twists to keep you awake, two extremely strong, positive female lead characters, and set in WWII so some historical educational value too. One of the best audio books I’ve listened to so far (and I get through 50+ books a year).

    You’ll also probably LOVE Mary Roach if you haven’t read her yet. Gulp is probably a good one that would be OK for Hailey.

  204. podcasts for the drive back without hailey:
    my dad wrote a porno
    absolute worst podcast
    the baby-sitters club club
    ear biscuits
    sweet teen club

    podcast that is more appropriate for the drive with hailey,
    but would also be enjoyable if it is just you:
    here’s the thing
    house of carbs
    levar burton reads
    stuff mom never told you

  205. Radiolab for the ride down, Throwing Shade for the ride back? That’s the best I can do.

  207. There’s a wonderful reading of A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving on audio if you can find it, that gets Owen’s voice NOT what I heard in my head while reading the book, but, good try, and close enough to tell a great and funny story, and also break your heart, but in a good way.
    Safe travels, thank you for all you do for us weirdos (we weirdos?)

  208. Legit the first audio book that came to mind to suggest was yours! Ha

  209. Highly recommend the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne.. (it’s sort of an urban fantasy type series.. The main character has a dog named Oberon as a trusty sidekick, and he’s absolutely hilarious. The audiobook version (on Amazon, at least) is voiced by Luke Daniels and he is absolutely amazing!

  210. The Hike by Drew Magary. Audiobook is amazing. It’s a fairy tale on some kinda crazy drug cocktail.

    You can trust me because I’m a librarian. 🙂

  211. If you haven’t listened to the audiobook of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, read by Jim Dale I believe, then I recommend that for the drive up.

  212. I was SO going to suggest My Dad Wrote A Porno! Knew I liked you for a reason! My favorite other podcasts are The Myths & Legends podcasts (he tells stories – myths from all over the world. Has a beautiful voice and a great sense of humor) and No Such Thing As A Fish (random trivia that will make your life and those around you SO. MUCH. MORE. INTERESTING. And British accents! 🙂

  213. I am a huge fan of Laura Resnick’s “Esther Diamond” series. Available on graphicaudio.net, there are 6 books (so far) but start with “Disappearing Nightly”. Enjoy!

  214. On the way HOME listen to David Sedaris’s new book Theft By Finding. I loved it!

  215. The Adventure Zone http://maximumfun.org/shows/adventure-zone for the ride back. It’s the McElroy brothers (they also do MBMBAM, Sawbones, Rose Buddiez, Shmanners…among others) and their dad doing a D&D game. Not for young ears as there’s loads of swears and dildo jokes. My advice is start with Murder on the Rockport Express, as the first episode they were finding their feet. (It’s good, and there are callbacks to some of the characters in the first arc, but the second is a murder mystery. The story does get quite emotional in later arcs, but also improves immensely as Griffin finds his storytelling voice–and it’s a good one.

    I also like The Greatest Generation (Star Trek: The Next Generation) the guys watch then review each episode of that series. Also for the ride back as they make loads of fart and dick jokes.

    I second Pop Culture Happy Hour.

  216. Highly recommend Just One Damned Thing After Another for youe trip back as there is a bit of sex in it. It’s hilarious, entertaining with time travel and dinosaurs. It’s the first book in the St Mary’s Chronicles.

  218. Chatterbox Audio Theater. They’re theatrical performances ranging from family friendly to frightening. Noteworthy episodes: Prison Stories, The Human Experience: Fear/Love, Lineage, and Journey of Truth. There’s others performances like Oedipus as well as Argonautica based off of Jason and the Argonauts. It’s worth looking into. If you do Audible, the book When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanathi is so much yes. And all of Neil Gaimans audiobooks that are read by him are magical! His is the voice that I always imagined told me bedtime stories when I was little <3

  219. LeVar Burton Reads – it’s like Reading Rainbow for Adults! I loved Up and Vanished and S-Town. You could find The Vinyl Cafe Stories by Stuart McLean. He’s a Canadian storyteller and writer with amazing stories to listen to. Good luck on your trip!

  220. I don’t listen to a lot of podcasts, but a regular at my comic shop just started one called Pet Theories. They discuss all things pets. The latest one included the age old question “Will your pet eat your face if you die?” Also a story about a cheetah and a dog that are best friends. So it’s a nice balance.
    pettheoriespodcast.com

  221. You do realize that somone would pay a lot of money to drive you and spend 6 hours with you.
    Extra if you sing Don Cato.

  222. Terry Pratchett’s “Wee Free Men” is really good, as are the other Tiffany Aching books that follow it. His books that star Sam Vimes and the other members of the Watch are also very good. Both sets are going to be kid friendly.

    I am currently listening to the Vorkosigan Saga. It’s a series of books by Lois Mcmaster Bujold. It’s sci-fi, and funny. The first one is “Shards of Honor”. “The Warrior’s Apprentice” would be the other starting point choice.

    Everything else I would suggest has already been suggested. =)

  223. There are a couple of audio books that I love on long car rides. But, considering that you wrote them, you already know how they go. Have a safe trip!

  224. Audiobook: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Anything by David Sedaris.

    Podcast:Star Talk Radio with Neil Degrasse Tyson

  226. The Adventure Zone http://maximumfun.org/shows/adventure-zone for the ride back. It’s the McElroy brothers (they also do MBMBAM, Sawbones, Rose Buddiez, Shmanners…among others) and their dad doing a D&D game. Not for young ears as there’s loads of swears and dildo jokes. My advice is start with Murder on the Rockport Express, as the first episode they were finding their feet. (It’s good, and there are callbacks to some of the characters in the first arc, but the second is a murder mystery. The story does get quite emotional in later arcs, but also improves immensely as Griffin finds his storytelling voice–and it’s a good one.

    I also like The Greatest Generation (Star Trek: The Next Generation) the guys watch then review each episode of that series. Also for the ride back as they make loads of fart and dick jokes.

  227. Gail Carriger’s “Etiquette and Espionage” (First in the Finishing School series) Alan Bradley’s “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie” (The first in the Flavia deLuce

  228. If you like mysteries that aren’t just true crime, Thinking Sideways is enjoyable 🙂

  232. “I, on the other hand, need constant distra… OH LOOK! A SHINY!”

    Podcast suggestion: Last Podcast On The Left. They discuss the exploits and careers of serial killers and mass murderers. So good.

  235. Gail Carriger “Etiquette & Espionage” Alan Bradley “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie”

  236. The Allusionist, Unexplained, and the Memory Palace. On the way back Tanis, Rabbits, the Bright Sessions and the Magnus Archives.

  238. I love Jack Reacher novels (written by Lee Child, read by Dick Hill). I refuse to watch the movies because Tom Cruise is no Jack Reacher. Great for road trips – kick ass scenes, smart ass scenes, mystery, some sex, but not”slippery sex” (as my mom says) so you can tolerate it with Victor. The reader can make all the difference, and Dick Hill is great.

  239. I literally was just going to post the CBC radio podcasts!! I love them all but for beginners The Debaters are funny and Under the Influence is really interesting.

  240. Anything by TJ Kline. For the ride back. Definitely not kid friendly but absolutely hilarious.

  241. Lets Pretend This Never Happened. It is hysterical.
    Or Stardust by Neil Gaiman
    Or Lamb: The Gospel Acording to Biff by Christopher Moore. Funny. Shakespearean.

  243. Casefile, but only on the way back – real dark crimes, but Australian accent makes it better. Someone Knows Something is wonderful for going or coming home. I listen to most of the ones you listed, like your style. happy trails!

  244. Cormoran Strike Series, Robert Galbraith, JK Rowling.
    Hunger, Roxane Gay
    Podcast: S-Town

  245. Audiobook The Hate U Give would be life changing for both of you. It is YA

  247. I don’t listen to nonfiction. Never been into it, but I’ve got a couple of good suggestions anyways.

    My favorite all time Podcast is Limetown. There’s only one season, but you NEED to listen to Limetown. It’s only 6 episodes, probably won’t take up to much of your time, but it’s totally worth it.

    Books, if you like Fantasy, the Fifth Season and it’s squeal The Obelisk by N. K. Jemisin about a world where certain people are born with the ability to control the Earth. There’s a third one coming out in August I can’t wait for.
    If you like Space opera, We Are Legion and For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor. Hilarious books about a guy who gets turned into AI far into the future. There’s also a third one coming out in August.
    Both of these I’ve listened to on audio, and the readers are amazing.

  248. We’re Alive – zombie apocalypse podcast. Got my daughter through Iraq. I can also highly recommend the audio book for Ready Player One

  250. Someone Knows Something
    Missing and Murdered – Who Killed Alberta Williams
    Vinyl Cafe Stories (good family listening)
    I’ve recently loaded up my CloudLibrary with short stories: Neil Gamen Trigger Warning and Agatha Christie murder shorts

  252. Homecoming from Gimlet. Weird radio drama (with actors you know) about a government program to help soldiers with PTSD. Probably not kid safe.

  253. My favorite podcast is the Half Hour Happy Hour but that’s a return trip kind of thing because the hosts drink a little and are sometimes willing to talk about how they lost their virginity and such. But there’s a lot of misunderstanding of science and weird stories of the world.

  254. I don’t usually listen to audiobooks, but I’ve been loving Eddie Izzard’s Believe Me, which is almost like listening to one of his stand-up shows, complete with spontaneous not-in-the-book “footnotes”.

  255. Girl on Guy is a podcast by the woman who used to be on Talk Soup. Maybe too wholesome for you, but she does interviews more like oral histories, with lots of story telling. Usually she interviews actors, but the interview with her mom is beautiful.

  258. I’m not a podcast person, but our whole family enjoyed Jeeves & Wooster audiobooks (P. G. Wodehouse) on a long road trip. Warning: If you are the driver, you may find yourself laughing so hard, for safety’s sake you should pull over to the side of the road until you regain control of yourself.

  259. It won’t get you very far because it’s relatively new and each pod is short, but if you watched Little House on the Prairie you should listen to Little House on the Podcast. Every episode is a short snarky recap of an episode of the tv show. It’s my new favorite pod. If you’re even vaguely interested in Dungeons and dragons you should listen to The Adventure Zone. My favorite audiobooks (besides yours) for a silly funny listen are by Sophie Kinsella. Can You Keep a Secret made me laugh until I cried. The Undomesticated Goddess is similarly fun. For a weird awesome listen I loved The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

  260. I’m a Big audiophile. No lollygagging around the old hippocampus. Bob and weave is my motto. These books will work either direction: Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness series. “I am Malala,” by Malala Yousafzai (Nobel Peace prize winner). If you like teenager Zombie books (who doesn’t), Jonathon Maberry’s Benny Imura series is age appropriate.

    Neil Gaiman’s, “American Gods” is very good, but would probably be best for your return trip. “11.22.63,” by Stephen King. Not a typical King horror book. It’s a time travel trippy novel about a man who finds himself in 1963, days before Kennedy is shot.

  261. For the ride with H, try The Thrilling Adventure Hour…pretty entertaining with great guest stars – very old radio show. Plus they have a segment about drinking supernatural detectives that’s amazing. It’s currently off the air but they have a pretty good backlog.
    For the ride home, try My Brother, My Brother and Me – their only rule is no bummers so it rarely, if ever, triggers my sadness or anxiety. If you enjoy them, you can try their D&D podcast, The Adventure Zone, which is Incredible with a capitol I, but make sure you start at the beginning since they’re entering the finale of the first campaign and things would be confusing if you jump in now.

  262. Oh, also Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. You’ll laugh till you cry. Seriously.

  264. For the ride up listen to Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane or Stardust. Both read by him and absolutely enchanting. For the ride home listen to either The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant (read by the unequivocal Linda Lavin) for a sweet dip into American history or, if you’re feeling more twisted, any Margaret Atwood. Stone Mattress is short stories that may or may not be interwoven, I’m still not sure, one of the reasons I loved it. The Heart Goes Last is quirky and classic Atwood, not necessarily my favorite. Oryx and Crake is one of the best books ever written, but I’ve never heard the audiobook of it.

  265. I love audiobooks!! On the way to: The Mysterious Howling (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #1) is a fun audiobook! My girls and I have enjoyed the series! On the way home: my latest favorite is City of Thieves by David Benioff (read by Ron Perlman–so good!!)

  266. Rabbits is really cool. The first season just wrapped up, so you can binge from start to finish. It’s a dark and twisty mystery story involving a strange disappearance and a dangerous alternate reality game. Fiction, but told in a Serial-esque style (You might want to screen the first episode on your own to see if you think it’s sufficiently kid-friendly – there is some periodic swearing, and a brief side plot that involves and escort agency I the first or second episode but there’s nothing especially “racy” about it – but I’m not a parent, so…). If it’s not kid friendly enough, The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel is a YA podcast (serialized fiction) that’s this enjoyable for grown-ups. Happy listening & safe travels! 🙂

  267. Cabin Pressure, BBC radio show on audible, with Benedict Cumberbach. Goofy. We just listened to 3 seasons worth (2 adults. 19yr, 13yr) on a road trip and really enjoyed them

  268. I see you have chosen (or been chosen) Road Trip Kitteh in goes with everything grey so, really, job well done. FIN.
    Hailey’s trip sounds luscious. I have lived way out in the wilderness, without plumbing or electricity, and one gains a tacile feel for Time that is painful to live without. Everyone looks more romantic when lit by an oil lamp. It’s also not a big deal to sing songs with others. The gap awing to be “entertained” is acquired and it’s my experience that the brain says, “Don’t hook me back up to that crazy train, k thanks.”

    For the solo, R-rated podcasts, I like Bill Burr’s. He does a new one on Monday mornings and another shorter one on Thursdays. They get uploaded later. He talks a lot about his life and the Biz and I like the scope of his thinking. He’s very compassionate but doesn’t seem to know it. He loves to throw around a certain four-letter word that you generally hear from real Irish lads, but he uses it affectionally. He’s kind of an acquired taste but I love comics; they’re the only ones that tell the truth. (Also, “F is for Family” on Netflix is his) NPR’s “Hidden Brain” is also good.

    “Pod Save the People” with Edward Snowden is one I keep as a download. His guest-starring with Neil de Grasse Tyson was almost as good.
    Another G-rated one that might be off your radar is “The Smart Passive Income Podcast” by, again, someone encouraging me to look in different places for alternate ways to live my best life.

    I bought an audiobook (it’s 16 hours long!) by Dr Bessel Van der Kolk called “The Body Keeps the Score…” some new thinking on helping people who are overwhelmed with PTSD. Not at all dry and bookish. Engaging and passionate. Clearly this man’s life work.

    Lastly, have you looked through the audiobook offerings on the Gutenberg site?

  269. Already mentioned, but I emphatically second Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. I could not put the book down and I’ve heard the audio version is even better because he reads it. I don’t know how he manages to talk about the hardships he went through and still stick some humor in there, but I bet you would. 🙂

  272. Above. “Gap awing” is bot-speak for “conditioning” apparently.

  273. Survivel guide to life by Bear Grylls is a great motivationsl audio book.
    Any of the memoirs by Carrie Fisher.

  274. Death sex and money, good job brain (pg), tell me something I don’t know, freakanomics radio, an Washington posts presidential series that goes through all the US presidents. Have a great drive!

  275. I haven’t gotten into podcasts, though I keep meaning to. My recent favorite audiobooks are The Unseen World by Liz Moore, Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry, Man in the Empty Suit by Mauro Hantman, The House of Tomorrow by Lloyd James, Soulless by Gail Carriger, Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart, and The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.

  276. sawbones a medical history show that is awesome and fits some macabre things with no swear words.

  277. Stuff You Missed In History Class in very interesting and my all-time favorite podcast! Books, maybe The Shepherd’s Life: Modern Dispatches From An Ancient Landscape by James Rebanks. I’ve listened to it several times. Usually when I’m upset and need to know that somewhere something is right in the world. And that there are sheepdogs there.
    The Hot Zone will creep you out and scare the hell out of you and keep you awake at night so it’ll definitely keep you awake during the day. You will not fall asleep to Love and War by Mary Matalin and James Carville. Trevor Noah Born A Crime is read by him and is funny, moving, sad, and entertaining. Colin Firth’s reading of The End of the Affair. Rawr!
    Mortality by Christopher “The Blessed Hitch” Hitchens.

  278. Alice isn’t Dead is fabulous and creepy (assuming by Night Vale you didn’t mean all of their podcasts)

    The Allusionist is all about words and language. One of the recent ones had a fascinating story of a woman with aphasia. There are a couple episodes with adult content, but those are obvious from the titles.

  279. Sarah Vowell has a few books that are connected to her funky approach to history (“Assassination Vacation” is about her trips visiting anywhere remotely connected to presidential assassinations) and a couple that are compilations of her essays and NPR bits.

    Have a safe trip!

  280. Sawbones and Still Buffering and Star Talk are all good podcasts.

  281. My favorite is Planet Money from NPR. It’s about economics, which sounds kind of boring, but they tackle everyday concepts in an informative and interesting way. In one they bought a few barrels of oil (from an independent driller) to see what was involved – they followed their oil from the drill to the gas pump. In another they tracked cotton in the fields as it got turned into a t-shirt (via India, South America and then back to the US).

  283. There are a lot of good radio shows you can download from the Old Time Radio website.
    Two I really like are:
    The Black Museum – Orson Welles basically tells stories behind the artifacts in the Black Museum, NSY’s private crime museum. While Welles may have embellished a bit on the show, they are based in real crime stories.

    Secrets of Scotland Yard – true crime stories of the London Metropolitan Police.

    Old Time Radio also has a few podcasts under their name but I’ve only listened to The Horror! and Strange Tales. Both are really great!

  284. The Chet and Bernie mysteries are great fun for you and Hailey. They are told from the perspective of Chet, who happens to be a dog. So you only get what he pays attention to. The author is Spencer Quinn and I highly recommend them!

  286. Have you listened to Oh No Ross and Carrie? (They show up so you don’t have to.) So far I’ve only listened to the (nine-part!) Scientology series, but I really enjoyed it. They’re very informative and I love their personalities.

    http://ohnopodcast.com/

  287. So I don’t know if you listened to Serial, but I found it interesting.

    And, I had a moment tonight, I wanted to tell you about: Leaving my grandmother’s house, I saw an animal climbing up the side of one of those wooden mailbox houses. The first angle and the low light, my brain said “OH! Lookit the monkey!” Then I realized that I’m in the Pacific Northwest, and last I checked we don’t have wild monkeys. “IS that a giant squirrel?” My brain asked excitedly as we pulled even with it, then the animal turned and looked at me, and I realized it was a run of the mill 15ish lb grey tabby cat. And I had to laugh at my brain. And I wanted to share the laughs.

    Another fun audio thing is to find the old radio plays, like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and listen to those on road trips.

    I hope she has another awesome camp experience!

  288. for something different, check out Kick Ass Oregon History, a podcast filled with all sorts of unusual things from Oregon’s past – possibly best for the ride home, as sometimes they cover gruesome or sex-related topics. you’ll be entertained, and learn all sorts of completely unessential things that you don’t really need to know
    http://orhistory.com/

  289. Just finished The Boy on the Bridge by MR Carey. All the yeses. Also am currently re-listening to all of Stephen King and Carrie Fisher. Highly recommend Eddie Izzard’s new memoir, too! Another fun one is Brian Blessed. And he says “GORDON’S ALIVE?!” Like 40 times in it, so it is totally worth it!

  290. I got an audio version of “The Art of War” from-somewhere? And it’s really good. Fits tightly in the ear. Ya never know when ya might hafta whip out some crafty war on someone. All cats have read this book at night while you are asleep, so regrettably these tactics do not work on cats.
    Might have been on the Gutenberg site?
    Also, this is a cool group. They love cash donations and volunteer readers to build the audio library. So many wonderful ebooks now in the public domain. 1800’s gardening or etiquette, anyone?

  291. There are 3 Nerdist podcasts with interviews with Maria Bamford, my personal hero. As a fellow passenger of the Purple Van (at different time from her though) I have so much admiration for her tenacity. She travels in that Tig Notaro/Sarah Silverman pod of people who walk their talk.
    “The Nerdist” also has done interviews with Lily Tomlin and maybe more than one with Mel Brooks. You’ll find your own favorites are in there too, I feel certain.

  293. Unexplained, Case File, Someone Knows Something, The Vanished are all interesting podcasts. Have a fun trip!

  294. For audiobooks, I highly recommend Stephen Fry’s complete Sherlock Holmes on Audible, it’s so good plus anything Stephen Fry reads is instantly relaxing (so maybe not for the drive back!)

  295. Strongly recommend The Guilty Feminist podcast. For the way back though, some content not suitable for kids!

  296. My daughter and I just completed a road trip, 8 hrs each way. We listened to stories on The Moth (NPR). The miles and time flew by. We laughed, we cried, we had great discussions on what we’d heard. I highly recommend!

  297. Download Cabin Pressure, a BBC radio show starring Benedict Cumberbatch. It ended a couple of years ago so you can get the whole series. Extremely well written and hilarious.

  298. So many suggestions….did you see The Martian? The book is maybe ten times as good, and I thought the movie was great. The book is hysterically funny at points. Very well narrated.

  299. I’m for David Sedaris’ new book, once you’re sans kiddo. Also, anything by Sweet Potato Queen Jill Conner Browne. You will laugh. If you’re up for serious, Brynn Greenwood’s All The Ugly and Wonderful Things is the second or third best book I’ve ever read, And I’ve read everything .

  300. I would suggest The Martian as a book tape, and Dear Hank and John for a podcast. I absolutely adore both and think they’re particularly great for listening to in the car.

  301. Stuff You Should Know is great. (Same format as Stuff You Missed in History Class, but a wider range of topics, many of which are reallly interesting for kids). Real Time with Bill Maher is another favorite of mine, but there’s always swearing so save that one for the ride home if you’d prefer to keep it clean in front of your daughter. Have a great trip!

  305. Ditto on the suggestion about David Sedaris’ new book. Also, “Consider the Fork” by Bee Wilson. A simultaneously fascinating and uncomfortable book by Mary Roach is “Stiff: The Curious LIves of Human Cadavers” (you might want to save that one for the ride home).

  306. For the ride out Ready Player One by Ernest Klein and narrated by Will Wheaton!. It’s such an awesome story!!!

  307. The audiobook version of Here Comes Trouble, by Michael Moore, is just the ticket. Whether or not you like his movies, he knows how to tell a story.

  308. The disappearing spoon by Sam kean

    Of Patricia we’d e’er enchanted forest books, they have a full cast and are big on my suggestions to tweengirls! And you’ll like it too, I promise !

  309. I like murder/crime podcasts so these are great series…
    In the Dark
    Up and Vanished
    Someone knows something (s2 is better than s1)
    Missing & Murdered: who killed Alberta Williams?

    If you want more thought provoking conversations (not serial):
    Death, sex, and money
    KCRW’s unfictional

    If you want something silly and lighthearted:
    Young house love had a podcast

  310. I second radiolab, my favorite podcast! Stuart McLean is also good and I’m a big fan of planet money though perhaps a 13 year old would find them boring. We listened to a good British version of The Hobbit our last road trip. Was fun to hear as an audiobook. Sometimes classics/ kids books are great!

  311. There’s No Such Thing As A Fish by the makers of BBC TWO’s QI covers a huge range of trivia and has plenty of filth, but you might want to screen s couple of episodes to see if they are age appropriate for Hayley.

    Have you looked at In Our Time from BBC Radio 4? It’s a 45 minute factual programme covering a wide range of scientific, artistic and historical topics – one per week.The programme is hosted by Melvin Bragg with one or two experts. It is definitely highbrow but if nothing else you can laugh at the accents.

    Probably too young for My Dad Wrote A Porno – but you aren’t.

    All on iTunes.

  312. Stacey: Cabin Pressure – good call.

    And then the two of them can start playing Yellow Car and The Travelling Lemon – FOREVER!

  313. The best road trip read I ever listened to was The Screw tape letters by CS Lewis read by John Cleese First, it blows your mind by gleefully talking about how screwed up we all are from the Devil’s point of view. Next, if is JOHN CLEESE! I was sick with the flu and driving to get to Jeopardy testing when I heard it and it perfectly got me through two 5 hour drives.

  314. The Infinite Monkey Cage and The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry. Both BBC productions, both science-based. Monkey Cage is an often funny conversation between experts on a topic. Cases answers questions you didn’t know you had 🙂

  315. An audio book you both may enjoy, Island In The Sea of Time by S.M. Stirling which is of course a gateway drug to the Emberverse series. Trust me, I know of what I speak. Carried me rapt from New York to Michigan and back again. So enthralling I was actually sort of disappointed to reach my destination.

  316. Nonfiction is my jam! (Yes, I am aware of my extremely high level of nerdism.) Anything by Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods seems appropriate. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks. Cosmos by Carl Sagan. Robert Heinline is great on audio. The Harry Potter books are great because they never make you sleepy.

  317. Last Podcast on the Left! They do deep dives into stories about true crime, aliens, chupacabra, magic, and really just all sorts of weird/dark shit…and the guys that do the podcast are so funny!! It doesn’t seem like you could make a podcast about Jack the Ripper (for example) funny, but they totally pull it off. 😅

  318. My two current favorites are:

    GOOD JOB, BRAIN -Trivia and fun stories.
    SAWBONES: A Marital Tour of misguided medicine- so f-ing funny

  319. Sherlock Holmes (unabridged!) read by Stephen Fry. Fry also wrote and reads an introduction to each book or set of stories. Wonderful stuff, and there’s 63 HOURS of it.

  320. Podcasts:
    The Karen and Ellen Letters
    Wine and Crime
    The Guilty Feminist
    Casefile
    Wilosophy with Will Anderson

  321. I’m probs too late for this but I love Unqualified with Anna Faris. For the way home because subject topic may be inappropriate and there’s cursing. Don’t go in order…just scroll through and pick a celebrity you like and listen away. I was trying listening to the interview with Tiffany Haddish while I was gardening that is soooo funny and inappropriate, I could not stop laughing out loud.

  324. The chronicles of St Mary’s, history, timetravel, drama. All good stuff! And a series of audiobooks I can’t stop listening too.

  325. Considering what you’ve already binged, podcast wise. I’d definitely recommend @RadioLab. I also enjoy the Judge John Hodgman podcast as well as the Kevin Pollak Chat Show. The Moth is good for stories too.

    As for “Audiobooks”, if you are into Sci-Fi, check out the original Radio Broadcasts of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

  326. The Wishing Spell, by Christopher Colfer is almost exactly 12 hours. I got it for a road trip with my daughter and now we are both addicted to the series.

  327. No podcast (can listen to the Ballymena blather on youtube)but day of the dead cd/download,6 hours of top notch music

  328. Considering what you’ve already binged, podcast wise. I’d definitely recommend @RadioLab. I also enjoy the Judge John Hodgman podcast as well as the Kevin Pollak Chat Show. The Moth is good for stories too.

    As for “Audiobooks”, if you are into Sci-Fi, check out the original Radio Broadcasts of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

  329. Late to the party so you may already be stocked up but there are some really good BBC podcasts. Seriously and The Untold are two of my favourites. I also like David Sedaris’s show although I think only one of them if available at the moment as it just restarted.

    Also Homecoming and Uncle Bertie’s Botinarium are good episodic podcasts.

    All should be family friendly.

  330. Have you tried any Sarah Vowell? I’ve read Assassination Vacation and listened to Wordy Shipmates. Quirky history and both are out in audiobooks. She’s written much more but these are just the two I’ve heard.

  331. In the Dark is about the Jacob Wetterling case, and is so well done. Not for your ride with Hailey b/c of the details but riveting for the ride home. Accused is another very well made crime podcast that I loved, about a case I had never heard of. Both of these are scary both because of the crimes they discuss, but also because of how the justice system focused on the wrong person for so long and the damage that did to both the accused and the case. Again, not for Hailey.

    Have a great trip!

  332. I love this post, because I’m getting good ideas? ! Nonetheless, here are some ideas which I didn’t see in the first 20 comments:
    For you and Hailey: Ask Me Another (podcast game show with music and trivia; if you love Wait Wait, you’ll prob. love this)
    Depending on topic, Stuff Your Mother Never Told You (some may be about subjects you don’t want to discuss with her, but there are a lot of ones related to history and being a woman that you guys could really enjoy together )
    Both David Sedaris and Amy Sedaris’s audiobooks
    I adore Mary Roach, and think Stiff, Spook, or Gulp would be a great option for a reading with Hailey, and Bonk would be great to listen to on your own
    You probably know about it, since you listen to Stuff you learned in history class, but Stuff you Should Know is really fascinating, too.
    Safe and Happy Travels!

  333. If they exist as pod casts, any of rhe Anne Rice vampire books.
    Stephen King.

    Im a fan of road music, and one of my favorites is early Bob Seger–also Train, and David Gray. All in my key (which these days is the key of surprise) but easily sung along to.

  334. Trae Crowder’s Liberal Redneck Manifesto: Dragging Dixie Out of the Dark audio book and Wellred podcast, lots of swears so maybe not for your girl, it’s all wonderful. Funny, touching, relevant probably to much of small town America. Nick Offerman’s Gumption, really interesting and you learn good stuff! And always David Sedalia!

  335. Well first you’ll need a cassette player & then a
    few days’ wait to get it in the mail, but for a future
    road trip, you can’t beat the audiobook of Thomas
    Gifford’s The Assassini, read by Will Patton. It’s
    a great murder-thriller-international espionage
    story, first of all, but perhaps more importantly for
    an audiobook, Patton’s narration is The Bomb.
    He does ALL the voices and avoids campiness.
    He does sinister especially well, and there’s a
    whole lotta sinister in a book about murdered
    nuns and plotting around dying popes and
    ancient secret catholic societies.
    (This is no Dan Brown wannabe. The novel
    predates Da Vinci Code hoopla.)

  339. One good audiobook I suggest to ever3 (other than all neil gaiman books) is Tigerheart by Peter David. Basically it’s a retelling of Peter Pan and it’s excellent.

  340. I love “Grown-ups read things they wrote as kids” and “Modern Love” both are super fun

  341. Sawbones!!! It’s a husband and wife podcast discussing old, ridiculous medical treatments. It’s interesting and fun for the whole family.

  342. My absolute favorite Podcast that is safe for everyone is The Thrilling Adventure Hour. Like the old time radio when they would do skits. Several celebrities guest on it. My faves are Sparks Nevada and Beyond Belief. For the trip back alone I would suggest Unqualified with Anna Faris. She’s hillarious and even with celebs I don’t know, her podcast is worth a listen. Drive safe!!

  344. My fave podcast these days is Stuff you should know. Have a safe trip

  345. So many good suggestions.

    I’d recommend at least taking a look at the offerings over at The Teaching Company http://www.thegreatcourses.com/ Their list prices are kind of up there but they do rotating sales that are much more reasonable. Also have some free podcasts.

    A personal favorite that’s on sale now is “The Birth of the Modern Mind” http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/philosophy-intellectual-history/intellectual-history/birth-of-the-modern-mind-the-intellectual-history-of-the-17th-and-18th-centuries.html which I once had on cassettes but foolishly lent it out, never to be seen again. Good stuff; maybe not too kid-friendly but for the trip back?

  346. Wine & crime podcast!!!!!!!!! Wine & Crime is a brand new true crime / comedy podcast. Join three childhood friends as they chug wine, chat true crime, and unleash their worst Minnesota accents. https://wineandcrimepodcast.com/

  347. Any David Sedaris audio book. He’s hilarious and dark. No sex, I think. Right up your alley. Also Here’s the Thing podcasts with Alec Baldwin. He interviews artists, entertainers and some political folk. He’s a surprisingly entertaining interviewer.

  348. This is a great list. Wrongful Conviction is really good. If you liked Serial season one, listen to Undisclosed. It goes into more detail about Adnan’s case. There are some pretty disturbing bits- testimony by the medical examiner, and general discussion about what happens to dead bodies. Maybe don’t listen while you’re eating.

  349. Wholeheartedly endorse the recommendation of Ask Me Another (host Ophira Eisenberg is fabulously sharp and funny)!
    You and Hailey might also like How I Built This (also from NPR), in depth interviews of founders/entrepreneurs – it is fascinating and inspiring (spoiler alert – hard work, perspiration, dedication got these folks a long way).

  350. Old but definitely kid friendly and fabulous entertainment are Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon audio books. My kids listened to them over and over when we had long drives.

  351. I don’t do much listening and such, but I’ve always loved Margaret Atwood. Her last series starts with Oryx and Crake, and the audiobook is really good. It’s long–and then you’ll want to finish the series. If you haven’t read her, Handmaid’s Tale was dark and not funny. This one is dark and funny–zombie type things and semi-religious cults where they relocate bugs and high-tech splices of pigs and racoons called pigoons and so on. I think you’d love it actually.

  352. For the ride back, listen to Lamb by Christopher Moore. Or most of his books (tapes). Also try Jasper Fforde. Both very funny.
    Drive goodly.

  353. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman (same author as A Maned Called Ove). It’s amazing and I’m listening to it for the 4th time now. If you like The Princess Bride (cause honestly who the he’ll doesn’t) Cary Elwes book As You Wish

  354. The Dollop (an AmericanHistory podcast where comedian Dave Anthony reads a story to comedian Gareth Reynolds who has no idea what the topic is about) is my current obsession. They were on MFM a time or 2 so you’ve probably heard them. Not super kid friendly, but man is it both funny and informative.

    A political one I love is Lovett or Leave It. They swear but that’s about the only non-kid friendly thing there.

    I’ve heard great things about Lore but I’ve not gotten to it myself yet.

    Safe travels!!

  355. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah – autobiographical scenerios read by comedian Teevor Noah himself. Sex free but includes language.

  356. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman (same author as A Man Called Ove). I’m on my 4th listen

  357. Tanis and the Black Tapes!! I liked Rabbits but got kinda los in some of the video game stuff. Also the Halloween episodes of Stuff you missed in history class. And Return Home and Unexplained.

  360. audiobooks:
    Bill Bryson’s At Home: A Short History of Private Life (or really, any of his books, for detailed stories)
    Michael Crichton’s Timeline (or really any of his books, for nailbiting moments)

    podcasts:
    Harry Potter and the Sacred Text!!! definitely kid-appropriate and such a lovely interpretation
    No Such Thing as a Fish, mostly kid-appropriate (they are usually clean but not always)
    Stuff Mom Never Told You, intersectional feminist, some episodes are kid-friendly and others aren’t (but it’s never dirty jokes, just honesty from 30something cis white women)

    I do realize all of these have already been suggested. But they were worth saying again because they are so awesome. Safe driving!

  361. The Passage trilogy (The Passage, The Twelve, and City of Mirrors) by Justin Cronin. He’s a fellow Texan too. It is fiction, but excellent – a dark, Western-style book about what happens when scientists think they find a virus to cure any illness, but then the government decides to weaponize it. Lots of people die and this story about the survivors.

  365. One More Thang with Jaye and Robert. It’s a podcast that explores pop culture through an LGBTQ+ lens. Super entertaining and informative.

  366. Mozart’s Piano Sonatas and Four Horn Concerti. That’ll only get you through part of the six-hour drive, but I find these works to be extremely soothing, and actually make me a more courteous driver.

    Or silence. If the weather is nice, sometimes just shutting everything off and just listening can be a balm.

  367. Not even reading all the comments and suggestions you’ve received, and it’s NOT dark or sexy but we loved Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns, read by Richard Thomas.

    The book is read in the voice of a14 year old character and is a funny and charming story of how his recently widowed widowed grandfather immediately remarries and the family is shocked and horrified.

  368. Dear Sugar. It is an advice collumn radio show that I recently got into. It sometimes deals with dark topics, but Cheyrl and Steve are so compassionate.

  369. I just binged on The Adventure Zone podcast. It’s amazing, and it only gets better and better and better the farther you go.

  370. For the ride back, Limetown, Homecoming, Darkest Night, or for something light and silly Comedy Bang Bang or if you like terrible movies, How Did This Get Made. For the ride there, no idea, iTunes doesn’t seem to have much for anyone who’s not a small child or a full fledged adult.

  371. Narrative fiction (each episode is a chapter in a long story):

    Mars 2060 – about a colony on Mars, sent to study a mysterious rock formation that looks intelligently made

    *The Far Meridian – about a woman with agoraphobia. She lives in a light house, alone after her brother mysteriously disappears. She starts waking up with the lighthouse in a new place every morning. (sadly not many episodes yet)

    The Strange Case of Starship Iris – a woman alone in space after the rest of the crew is lost in an explosion gets rescued by an unknown ship (feels somewhat Firefly-ish. Not many episodes yet)

    Wolf 359 – a space ship revolves around a star with four crew members. Light-hearted in the beginning, turns serious and complicated. MASH-like.

    *The Bright Sessions – therapy sessions for people with special, x-men-like powers.

    Non-fictionish:

    Geek Therapy – I haven’t listened yet, but a friend just recommended it. Discusses mental health through fictional characters.

    Gastropod – the history and science of food

    invisibilia – wierd stuff about life

    Undiscovered – science behind discoveries, how things came about

    Every Little Things – dives deep into the history of normal, every day things. The last one was about the ubiquitous plastic lawn chair.

    Stuff to blow your mind – general science, pretty interesting

  372. I love The Purple Stuff podcast because it’s the ‘Member Berries of podcasts. Werewolf Ambulance is also a favorite.

  373. Have you listened to Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids? It’s mostly funny but sometimes very serious. My daughter & I love it.

  376. I think you might really like “Suff You Should Know” – great bante between the hosts and you’ll learn some stuff, too. I also second “Radiolab” in the storytelling genre. Elizabeth Gilbert’s podcast, “Big Magic” is all about creativity, and you and Haley may both enjoy it. “Pod Save America” is better for the drive back – very political and might be stressful.

  378. We seem to listen to all the same podcasts already! I love the Martian by Andy Weir on audio book (even if you’ve read the book or seen the movie, the audio book is really good just to listen to again.) The Gril Wirh All the Gifts is a ‘adventure’ zombie book.

    I keep both of your books on my phone so if I ever find myself freaked out on the road I can just start Furiously Happy at any point and it calms me right down. 😁 Last time my hubby heard me listening he said ‘oh god, there are more like you!) 🤣

    Have a fun road trip!

  379. I really loved the radio play of Neil Gaimen’s Neverwhere. It’s available on Audible.

  380. For the trip out “Johnny and the Dead”, “Johnny and the Bomb” and “Only You Can Save Mankind”. They are brilliant, and great for kids and adults. There is also the wonderful world of “The Navy Lark”, and on a much much darker but utterly utterly brilliant note, there are the PC Grant mysteries (Rivers of London, Moon Over Soho, Whispers Underground, etc). They do reference sex, and sexual attraction but not graphically. However, the violence is precisely drawn though not in a way that makes you think the author enjoys its existence.

  381. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. The book is entertaining, gut wrenching, laugh provoking and makes you look at the world in a new way. The narrator is incredible talented and perfect. It’s a must listen.

  382. OMG – this is so well timed for me! I’m driving my son to camp tomorrow- 7+ hours – and now have some great ideas for the car! Thanks!!

    My contribution to this post? What’s up with cats and packing/suitcases?! I have to leave my suitcase closed until the very last minute or mine is using it as his own personal lounge. I doubt that he really wants to come with me.

    Have a great trip!

  383. Bill Bryson reading The Thunderbolt Kid or AWalk in the Woods (don’t watch the movie)(especially while driving)(or doing anything else cause it’s a terrible movie).

  385. I just finished listening to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and LOVED it! Any of Frederik Backman’s books are great listens, too.

    Hunger Games are old hat but great listens, and Claire Danes narration of The Handmaid’s Tale is fabulous.

    The Moth is awesome as far as podcasts go.

  386. I’m sure someone said it before, and I’m almost positive you just left it off the list of stuff you already listened to. But if not, MEMORY PALACE IS PERFECT FOR YOU.

    I also recommend The Grid. by Gretchen Bakke. It’s a nonfiction book about the Electrical Grid. I know. But really.

  387. My all-time favorite is The History of Rome by Mike Duncan. It’s very clean, but it was his first podcast so it starts a little slow. I would recommend his Revolutions Podcast. He covers ones we’ve all heard of (American, French) and ones I’m embarrassed to say I knew very little about (Haiti, South America). He has a dry sense of humor I thoroughly enjoy, entertaining delivery, and you learn a lot in a few hours!

  388. Greatest podcast everrrrrr: Hello From the Magic Tavern. Ever. Seriously. I’m not even kidding. It may seem like I’m kidding, but I’m totally not.

  389. Podcast Sword and Scale as recommended that I listen to as my tattoo artist stuck me with needles:) The episode covered true crime children who murder and get away with it. I’ve really liked the Red Rising audiobooks. I’m on the second one. Tina Fey and Amy Poehlers audiobooks are hilarious because they read them.

  392. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman should be appropriate for both of you as the audio book on the way down.

  394. The Moth!!!!! Run, Selfie, Repeat (mostly about life, little about running- BEST podcast ever and you certainly don’t need to run to like it.), The Story Collider (another one that’s better than the description leads you to believe), The Way I Heard It With Mike Rowe (excellent for the short attention spanners), Reply All, The Hilarious World of Depression (in very small doses- binging it is depressing.), Heavyweight, Mystery Show, Homecoming.

  395. The Memory Palace is awesome, beautiful story telling. Stuff You Should Know is often unexpectedly fascinating as well.

  396. Judge John Hodgeman, Larry Wilmore’s Black on the Air, Michael Ian Black’s podcast How to be Amazing, Pop Culture Happy Hour.

  397. In case you haven’t heard every last episode of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, find the one with Kevin Fitzgerald, a veterinarian from Denver. Absolutely the best guest they ever had. I want to say November, 2011?

  399. For podcasts, you can’t go wrong with Judge John Hodgman. For YA audiobooks, try The Bartimaeus Trilogy (and the prequel) by Jonathan Stroud. Also Lockwood and Co series by him as well. The Fairyland series by Cat Valente is also amazing. http://www.randomhousekids.com/brand/wollstonecraft-detective-agency/ is a good time with Adam Lovelace and Mary Shelley as girl detectives.
    I have a longish commute and live and die by audiobooks; I find that well written YA has enough going on to keep me engaged without causing me to drive off the road.

  400. Sawbones is one I can’t live without. It’s a medical history podcast so it gets gross and silly. (I.e. try donkey poop for chapped lips)

    Audiobooks, anything by Molly Harper is my jam. Start with her Jane Jameson Nice girls don’t series. It’s funny, sexy and clever.

  401. I’m a big fan of the sort of cheesy mystery novel audiobook genre. Growing up we would take long car trips across the country to visit family and we listened to a lot of books on tape, mostly cheesy mysteries. My favorite ones were the Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun. They focus on an eccentric accidental millionaire living in a small town, his librarian girlfriend, and his psychic mystery-solving Siamese cats which he accidentally inherited while working as a crime journalist in Chicago. Also, somehow this small town has a lot of murders. And the books are pretty chaste. All Quilleran and his girlfriend do is go out to dinner and listen to opera recordings. But the books are fun to listen to and the guy that reads them is fun.

  402. Bill Bryson reading The Thunderbolt Kid or AWalk in the Woods (don’t watch the movie)(especially while driving)(or doing anything else cause it’s a terrible movie).

  403. Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me is always my go to road trip listening, doesn’t matter if you’ve already binged it! For the drive home, try Serial (season 1 with Adnan Syed), it’s the most compelling true crime story I’ve come across.

  404. Maybe some of the new episodes of Stuff Mom Never Told You? I wasn’t a huge fan of the old hosts, but the new hosts I’m kinda digging. 🙂

    And maybe for the drive back (too much cursing for a kid to hear, IMO) Wil Wheaton’s TV Crimes. Esp “The Day My Kid Went Punk” episode. 😀

  405. The audio book of Ocean at the End of the Lane made our six our drive to Michigan fly by. Radiolab podcasts are my go-to if I’m caught up on This American Life. Even if you’ve heard them before, I always go back to the Jim Dale-narrated versions of the Harry Potter books. They are often my escape during the work day.

  406. Paula Poundstone has a brand new podcast, can’t wait to try that. Also Snap Judgment for the way up. Hollywood Babble On and the Crabfeast for the way back! The Nerdist either way, just pick one where he talks to someone you love.

  407. Lots of people have already suggested Pod Save America, but you should try their other products: With Friends Like These and Pod Save the People. Those have really changed my personal perspectives!

  408. Maybe late, but what if you could do a podcast and audiobook at the same time? Check out LeVar Burton Reads, it’s LeVar’s new podcast. Exactly what it says on the tin: He reads you a book.

  409. These are a bit outside of your norm, but really good – Homecoming (great cast, HBO is turning it into a series) and The Bright Sessions. The Beight Sessions is as if the X-Men had therapy. It’s good stuff!

  410. Wow. You already have over 400 comments, but here’s my suggestion: “Myths & Legends Podcast” – excellent stories and fascinating. Also, if you’re a fan of Sailor Moon, I quite like “Sailor Business” where they watch and review every episode of the original series.

    And to quietly plug my own podcast, it’s called “True North Nerds” but it is definitely conversation and not story. Still, if you like hearing people talk about nerdy things from a Canadian perspective, give it a listen 🙂

  411. Ember in the ashes is a great book! Dark, I think the second book has a quick reference to sex but nothing was too explicit. Pretty sure the first book was booty-free. Also it’s becoming a movie next year so you can read it now and forget enough by the time the movie comes out that you won’t be too angry at what’s left out.

  412. “The sweetness at the bottom of the pie” by Alan Bradley a murder mystery set in Edwardian England. They have one telephone! Flavia deLuce is charming

  413. Jennifer Estep wrote a series about Teens who are descendants of the gods. It’s called Mythos Academy. It’s sort of a teen angsty adventure and I really enjoyed it. If you haven’t read them give the fist one a try.

  414. Normally I recommend YOUR audiobooks to my patrons and friends! I’m currently listening to Radium Girls by Kate Moore, and it is FABULOUS as well as a little horrifying. Before that I listened to What If? by Randall Munroe read by Wil Wheaton and that was hilarious!

  415. The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E. L. Konigsburg. The audiobook is read by Molly Ringwald and it’s a great book to listen to with a kiddo

  416. Alan Bradley writes a series of books about a girl named Flavia who is a detective. Flavia is a very interesting kid and I get a kick out of the books. These aren’t kids books but I think your daughter would enjoy them anyway. Flavia is such a little’ snot and the interactions with her sisters are pretty funny. They are long though.

  417. The Black Tapes and Tanis are two of my all-time favorites. If you like eerie story-telling, you can’t go wrong with these.

  418. The Moth Radio Hour (NPR) real people telling their own stories. Have you ever listed to the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich? Pee in your pants funny. Safe travels!

  419. You absolutely need to listen to Whales On Stilts! by M.T. Anderson. My kids and I adored it on a road trip. Synopsis: In Whales On Stilts, a madman has unleashed an army of stilt-walking, laser-beaming thoroughly angry whales on the world! Luckily, Jasper Dash and his friends Katie Mulligan and Lilly Gefelty are around to save the day. It’s a hoot.

  423. Radiolab (podcast awesome) and Bill Bryson’s a Short History of Nearly Everything. Audiobook awesome.

  424. Sawbones! It’s a medical history podcast where they talk about the messed up ways we used to try to fix each other. Informative and also very funny.

  425. Audiobooks (kid friendly):
    The Unexpected Nrs Polifax by Dorothy Gilman
    The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
    Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

  427. Was just reading the comments and got some great ideas for myself. Also, because I’m cheap I wanted to just comment that a lot of these things are available from the digital library through your public library. I download books onto my phone And play them from there.

  428. DEFINITELY THE PODCAST “S TOWN”!!!! It’s the same producers of the Serial podcast and it’s great! Very interesting story about a murder in a small town in Alabama!

  429. KRCW has a show called “Unfictional” that I love listening to. It’s basically people telling a 15 or 30 minute story about something funny, scary, or intense that happened to them.

  430. lol jk about S Town, I got too excited about suggesting it and didn’t see where you already listens to that! In that case, The Night Circus is a great audio book and Odd Thomas. Odd Thomas is about a boy who sees dead people and he helps solve their murders:)

  431. I am listening to the audiobook The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (I downloaded it for free through my public library). The actor reading it sounds just like Judy Dench. A delightful murder mystery where the amateur sleuth is an 11 year old girl. It is fantastic.

  432. The Alchemyst series by Michael Scott. Lots of real historical figures woven into a young adult fantasy adventure story.

  433. The Last Podcast on the Left for the ride back. Anything from UFOs to Serial Killers..very well researched and the hosts use humor to get through very heavy topics. I listen at work and have to stop myself from laughing out loud. Not for the easily offended though.

  434. First, the comments section is a goldmine! I’ll be returning here for months and months.

    Now, my additional offerings: a link to a RS article with a list of some great suggestions for true-crime-type podcasts: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/lists/beyond-serial-10-true-crime-podcasts-you-need-to-follow-w429955/criminal-w429959

    And my all-time favorite audiobooks (besides the HP series) is His Dark Materials which is a series of three books, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

    I have read and reread the book and I listen to the audiobooks every year or so.

  435. Pete Holmes (comedian) and Aaron Rogers (Green Bay Quarterback) two hour conversation on You Made It Weird podcast is so strange and entertaining.

  436. My favorite nonfiction audiobook is Unbroken by Laura Hildenbrand. It’s longer than six hours but it’s amazing and inspiring and leaves you thinking give this guy a break! Very vivid.

  437. Its kind of old but this is the best nonfiction audiobook Ive ever listened to: Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster is a 1997 bestselling non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer.

  439. I always listen to the entire Harry Potter series. Girl on a Train was last year’s audio book and if you’re feeling silly the series of unfortunate events. Drive safely!!!!

  440. Crimetown, Freakanomics, and the West Wing Weekly is great if you were a fan of the show

  441. For kid friendly on the way there: You’re the Expert (3 comedians interview a scientist about what they study- very funny and light-hearted with a little twisted humor in a few eps but still kid friendly). On the way back Hilarious World of Depression and Terrible, Thanks For Asking (but get ready to pull over and ugly cry a few times with Terrible, Thanks for Asking (though an episode of this gave me the inspiration to come out about my own rape experience to help others with similar experiences to mine feel less alone and feel validated in calling the experience rape.).

  443. I highly recommend News of the World by Paulette Jiles and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. The first is based on Texas history and the second is pure fantasy. Read them in hardcover, but see recommendations on the audiobook versions. Enjoy!

  444. Well, I don’t know how you feel about science fiction, but I’ve just given my 4th listen to Ann Leckie’s marvelous Imperial Radch series on audio. (Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy.) I adore the characters, the world-building, the humor, the drive for justice for the marginalized.

  445. I have a long commute so I have been listening to old time radio shows like Chandu the Magician, Sherlock Holmes, Gunsmoke, Have Gun will Travel, lots of science fiction series. They are great, usually 15 to 30 minutes per episode. Keeps me sane while I’m driving!

  447. Ask Me Another is fun- kinda like Wait, Wait, but not. Mystery Show with Starley Kine is great, but there’s only one season, unfortunately.

  448. “Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicholson)” (and the following books) by Louise Rennison. Laugh-out loud funny. My daughter and I read these together in her pre and early teen years, and there were times when I’d thought I’d be sick from laughing so hard.

  450. Podcasts: Radiolab, Hidden Brain, Pop Culture Happy Hour, the One you Feed, Judge John Hodgman. Audio books: anything by David Sedaris or Justin Halpern, also The Last Lecture is wonderful..

  451. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, any of the 3 books, or the Hobbit. I know everyone’s probably read this a lot, but there is an unabridged version narrated by Rob Inglis where he not only does all the parts extremely well, but he SINGS all the songs. To hear the “bathtub” song sung is a joy not to be missed. Of course it’s more than 6 hours worth. Also I hope people suggested the Avenue of the Giants, Old Growth Redwoods on Hwy 101 in Humboldt County, CA. It’s magical! Step off the road 20 ft. into the woods and it’s SILENT (unlike my shouting caps) unbelievable peace.

  452. Alice Isn’t Dead is my favorite podcast ever. It’s done by the same people who do Nightvale and In the Wires. There is one episode in season one, I think it’s the sixth one, where a semi truck horn gets honked, which can be super terrifying if you’re driving. Especially if there’s a semi truck near you at the time. Speaking from experience, here. But other than that, it’s super entertaining.

  454. For podcasts, I’ve just discovered “Seriously Strange” with Rob Dyke and Cayleigh Elise. It’s usually about disappearances or weird murders that happened but don’t have a good explanation. The beginning though has what they call “This week in weird” which are usually hilarious.

    If you’re looking for good YA fantasy I’d send you to Brandon Sanderson. He’s got a great series called “The Reckoners” which is basically a trilogy about “what if some people had super powers? If power corrupts, does that mean super powered people would be evil?” It’s a great series and I’ve listened to it twice all the way through. Macleod Andrews narrates and he does a great job.

  456. I listen to the Dresden Files audiobooks when I’m driving on long road trips. The actual books (by Jim Butcher) are wonderful too, but the audiobooks have the added benefit of being read by James Marsters (Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). He does a wonderful job!

  457. Sarah Vowell’s audiobooks are very entertaining and informative.

  461. You should listen to Desert Island Discs. It’s a BBC program that’s been on since 1952 and interviews all kinds of people about what music the would want if they were stranded. Some of the favourites so far Stephen King, Yoko Ono, Emma Thompson and Tom jones. So addictive. All shows since 1952 available.

  463. Too Beautiful to Live. From the beginning. After Jenn left it changed so I would listen to it at least to that point.

  465. Her Voice Echoes stories of historical women told in their own words

  466. Snap Judgement. Great storytelling, from an African-American perspective. Funny, intriguing, dark, no sex (that I remember, anyway.)

  468. I’m glad that you got a lot of replies because I have no suggestions that you probably haven’t already thought of like David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs.

  469. Has anyone suggested Levar Burton Reads yet? Because it is awesome! Think Reading Rainbow for grownups. It’s my new favorite.

  470. Audiobooks: The Chronicles of St Mary’s. OMG. You’ve probably read it but OMG. So awesome. Podcast: Infinite Monkey Cage from BBC4. If you haven’t listened to this one you MUST. Pairs a panel of scientists with comedians. Priceless.

  472. I am podcast clueless. And now I’m wondering when my house became a rock.

  473. Lore. It’s a podcast about folklore and urban legends and scary stories and where they came from, hosted by a horror writer. It’s great if you like a little scary and a little history. Each episode is like 30 minutes or less, so it’s good for binging.

  474. I love No Such Thing As a Fish. Hilarious (but informative) British podcast done by the researchers of QI, which was hosted by Stephen Fry for several seasons.

  475. Audiobook “Lab Girl” by Hope Jahren. More personal than Mary Roach – family, mental health, raising a child – is all in there as well as the science and the analogies and the stories and the beautiful writing.

  476. I love Radiolab and The Moth stories program on NPR; the Moth’s stories are funny, poignant and sometimes really sad, but in a redemptive way. For me, road trips mean MUSIC!! Either stuff I’ve recorded (I love to make various mixed CDs) as well as tuning in to local radio stations- the ones down on the left hand side of the dial..

  477. Cabin Pressure is a radio sitcom from the BBC and is actually the single funniest thing I’ve ever heard. There’s three seasons, all an audible I think, and you should really skip the Cremona episode but everything else is perfect. It’s about an airdot (“I only have one plane. You cannot put one plane in a line.”) run by the CEO, her bumbling son, their nervous Captain (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the smooth talking First Officer.
    CP is a go to for me with great relisten value. It’s also just go to self care for me. It’s not dark, it’s silly and goofy and eminently sarcastic and just Really British. Highly recommend.

  478. I know it’s a late post but maybe for the return trip: My daughter and I loved The Great Detectives podcast from the old radio shows, some TED talks to add to your list, and our last big trip we listened to Erik Larson’s Thunderstruck. Very detailed and I thought maybe it was going to be too much, but she really listened to it.

  480. For the drive BACK, Death Sex and Money. There are different episodes, so you can skip the sad ones.

  482. For true crime additions, I would recommend Breakdown (each season deals with a specific case), Crimetown (Providence corruption), and Accused (9 episodes on one case).

    I really enjoyed Limetown. It is a fictional podcast about the disappearance of 300 people from a town couched as an investigation by an NPRish reporter.

    The Dead Authors Podcast isn’t posting new episodes anymore, but it was great while it lasted. Paul F. Tompkins as H.G. Wells uses his time machine to bring a famous author from the past to interview them. My favorites are Andy Daly as L. Ron Hubbard, Matt Gourley as Ian Fleming, and the Superego guys as the guys who wrote the Gospels.

    If the ridiculousness of medical history sounds fun, you would probably enjoy Sawbones. One of the MBMBAM brothers, Justin, hosts the show with his wife Sydnee, and she tells him about medical history as a doctor, and he reacts.

    And finally, if you like MFM, you might like the Dollop. Comedian Dave Anthony tells a story from American history to his friend, comedian Gareth Reynolds, and Gareth reacts. The MFM ladies have been on a live episode called Otto in the Attic. Not all the episodes are Hailey friendly, but there are a bunch that you both can enjoy if profanity isn’t an issue. If it is an issue, then it isn’t for her. For great episodes, try Rube, Hippo Laws, The Cereal Men (with Patton Oswalt), Jock and the Boston Marathon, Competitive Endurance Tickling, James sulivan and the 1904 Olympics, Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, Thomas Kinkeade (yes, the Painter of Light), and Carry A Nation. There are very few duds in the Dollop library, but these are some of the standouts.

  483. I highly recommend the WoodenOvercoats podcast. http://www.woodenovercoats.com/ It’s hilarious, very British, and addicting. It’s a story about two competing funeral home directors on a tiny island, and they named it Wooden Overcoats. hehehe

  484. You mentioned all my favorites from NPR, have you tried the Canadian version? Stuart McLean/Vinyl Cafe will give you great stories!!!!!

  485. More Equal! It’s a gripping deep dive into the Supreme Court.

  487. Neil Gaiman! Just finished The View From The Cheap Seats, 11+ hours!

  488. P.S. I could listen to him read the phone book… Remember phone books??

  490. Audibooks:
    His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass is AMAZING. It’s narrated by the author, but also has entire cast for the characters. It’s my go-to recommendation for audiobooks. Also, any of Terry Pratchet’s Discworld audiobooks–Monstrous Regiment is particularly good. I also agree with everyone who recommended David Sedaris.

    Podcast:
    The Thrilling Adventure Hour–really funny, lots of guest stars, and catchy theme songs.

  491. Podcasts: Queens of England – it’s a look at the queen consorts of England from Matilda, wife of William I. I LOVE it. It’s a chance to get to know the women behind the kings we already know. SO cool!
    Audiobooks: The Lockwood and Co series by Jonathan Stroud. It’s about an alternative history England where ghosts have started haunting the country and killing people. Children are the only ones who can see “visitors” and many of them join agencies to fight the “problem.” I, as a grown adult driving in broad daylight, still get freaked out by these stories. Wonderfully spooky writing. And the main character, Lucy, is great!

  493. A Girl Named Zippy — Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana, by Haven Kimmel
    . Because if you are not already, you two should be best friends. On the other hand, I have no idea if it is available on audio… 🙁

  495. RadioLab, RadioLab, and RadioLab. It’s kinda sciency, but for people who hate science. I mean, you’ll learn something, but you won’t FEEL like you’ve learned something. And it’s funny. And occasionally heartbreaking. And the guys that do the podcast were besties with Oliver Sachs, which is just awesome. And it’d be fine for Hailey, too. That’s a lot of “ands,” which I’m pretty sure means you HAVE to listen to it.

  497. If you’re open to some fiction, I HIGHLY recommend the Mercy Thompson series. The first book is called “Moon Called” and yes, it’s got werewolves and vampires but it’s really good, I swear! I even got my husband addicted. Added benefit, It’s set in the Tri Cities, with a side trip to Montana, so it’s thematically related to your upcoming vacation road trip. If you shape changed into a coyote and Victor were a werewolf, it would be even more thematically appropriate. You can get the whole series (and Shifting Shadows, the collection of short stories) at Audible.

  498. The Historian. It’s so good,
    Also,I recommend any Neil Gaiman audiobooks read by him or BBC audio plays based on his books.

  499. Last podcast on the left. 3 hilarious men making each other laugh while geeking out on well researched podcasts of serial killers, aliens & big foot etc, and con artists.

    Fantastic! My roommate went to boot camp and I had to use podcasts to not go nuts in that empty apartment for the last months of the lease.

    For history I recommend Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History which has no sex despite the name but he is the best storyteller I’ve heard in a long time. Less garrison Keillor and more “oh my god humanity has always been wack but fascinating” we’re talking hours of fascinating context to help you understand 20 minutes worth of history. I recommend the story of how a German town spiraled into chaos because of religious con artsistd – so so good.

  500. The Leviathan Chronicles is pretty spectacular. It’s a sci-fi audio drama and is available for free. I can’t guarantee that it’s still going (listened to it a couple years ago and your post reminded me of it!) but there’s plenty of story there. I don’t remember it being kid unfriendly, but ymmv.

  501. I have to throw RadioLab out there too even though it’s already been said. And always anything by David Sedalia as read by David Sedaris

  502. I truly enjoyed listening to this awesome author..Jenny Lawson! She keeps me giggling for days! LOL… I’m all for thrillers, anything from James Patterson works great on long trips.
    Melissa O

  503. I’m listening to Eddie Izzard’s autobiography THAT HE READS and it’s wonderful. It’s called Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens. I think it’d be right up your alley!

  505. My Favorite Murder and My Dad Wrote a Porno podcasts are both awesome and weird, but awesome 😎

  506. I listen to Coleyology. Sometimes funny, sometimes informative… She always has guest speakers that are involved in the mental health field and they explore different facets of life. She is on iTunes and Soundcloud for her extended podcasts, then she does a mini series called “Journey to the Heart” on Youtube.