This year, as I mentioned in a post a couple of months back, was the year that I finally, really got podcasts.

And since it’s nearly Christmas, I thought I’d share a little podcast-related brainfart with you: I’ve discovered in the last couple of months that This American Life is about the right length for my commute, give or take a chapter of a book on one end or other, or a few songs tacked on the end.

I also had a bit of a rummage around and managed to source an enormous number of archive TAL episodes which have been keeping me going for a while, now. Most of the time - like WYNC’s RadioLab and Chicago Public Radio/Third Coast Festival’s Re:Sound - it’s stimulating and engaging: I’m on the tube travelling around the northern periphery of central London and yet I’m not: I’m in the story, engrossed.

It’s a good place to be.

The one I listened to this morning is no exception: The House on Loon Lake is a story from 2004 about some kids who find, break into and explore an abandoned house in New Hampshire and what they find…and what happens next.

It’s a great example of audio storytelling: real, human, intriguing, emotionally involving and satisfyingly resolved. If you’ve got some downtime over the next few weeks, or a long car journey, you could do far worse than to download this episode and give it a listen. Stirring storytelling at its best.