audio stimulation for stroke victim

June 25, 2007 2:17 PM

Audio stimulation for stroke victim. How can I do bulk downloading of podcasts, as a simple library on an mp3 player?

My mother has just suffered a stroke, lost her speech and is struggling to gain back some functionality. She used to listen to NPR programs while working in her kitchen. She does not own a computer and will not so much as touch a keyboard or mouse.

Is there some way for me to select a big gang of "all things considered" kind of stuff as mp3s, and just load them all on a player that she can simply push one button to select through?

I'd like to get something like 500 hours of stuff on there because she will be at this for a while, and looking for simple ways to stimulate and keep her mind occupied.

1) How do I script or automate to grab entire catalogues of programs?

2) What programs can you suggest for a generally intelligent, curious, liberal, literate and artsy grandmother?

posted by StickyCarpet to media & arts (3 comments total)

I'll come up with some scripting on that and get back to you on that. There's a way to do it, definately.

You might want to think about how much space you're going to have for all this mp3... You can fit about 20 hours of voice at 24kbps on a player that holds 128mb...
posted by gregschoen at 2:49 PM on June 25, 2007

The Apple Airport Express will wirelessly stream audio to any stereo system, big or small.

Hook up a mac on the backend with iTunes subscribed to a billion podcasts. She can press 'play' on a simple stereo upstairs and get all the music she can handle.
posted by unixrat at 2:54 PM on June 25, 2007

I'm really looking for a no-computer solution. She doesn't want one in her house. I'm thinking a pair of computer speakers and a bunch of 128m mp3 players, I see those for under $10 at discount stores. Each little player could be labeled and selected by swapping the speaker cord into the headphone jack.

The big question is how to get a whole slew of bite-sized content she will be familiar with, like NPR shows, in simple to handle mp3 format, and as quickly as possible.
posted by StickyCarpet at 5:30 PM on June 25, 2007