I spent most of my 8th grade, Freshman, Sophomore and Junior years listening to music through my headphones. I’ve gone through nearly hundreds of artists, and after quite a while, I got insanely bored by listening to three-minute-long songs, one after another, for hours on end.

The process was commonly repeated every week– binge on an artist, album or playlist, until I couldn’t listen anymore. At that point, I’d either sit, certainly miserable, listening to something I had been hearing for days, listen to something new with little to no interest in finding that something new, or attempting to take a nap by listening to the music that has quickly become a lullaby for me.

My friend, a senior at the time, had told me multiple times to listen to podcasts. I knew what these were, audio clips ranging from 15 minutes to two hours long including a host or two that would discuss these things. I always had thought these would be boring, like a conversation you couldn’t participate in. Once I listened to my first one, though, called “Welcome to Night Vale,” I had realized that podcasts were really underrated.

They’re more than a conversation that you are not included in, for podcast hosts actually tend to include the listener in the conversation. Mostly every podcast I listen to includes words from the hosts telling the listeners to send in stories, write reviews to them on social media, or even just let them know what they think about the said topic that week.

Not only is this a factor that was exiled from my belief on podcasts, I also found that the wide range of podcast topics there were was a huge pro that I didn’t even know existed. From an episode on Ted Bundy’s serial killings to an hour of multiple people telling funny stories from their lives, the topics are endless.

So, if you’re feeling bored when listening to music during your study hall, consider opening up your podcast app that’s already downloaded onto your phone, search something you’re interested in, and put in your headphones.