Hey Google, play [something that doesn't mention american politics]

July 14, 2024 10:32 AM

For years now I've gotten ready for bed listening to the news on my google speakers. My "Hey Google, play the news" is configured to play CBC News this Hour (I'm in Canada). But even our Canadian news is saturated with American politics, so i'm very quickly yelling at google to stop. What else can I ask google to play?

"Hey google, play [local talk news radio station]" isn't much better - its not long before even they dive into US politics. But I would really like google to play some sort of talk content for 10 minutes every night that doesn't make me want to yell at google to shut up... what can I listen to?

I'm looking for something that:
* is talk content - no music
* has at least daily updates
* has zero mention of US politics
* is not religious content in any way shape or form
* is generally relatable to the average left-leaning canadian that believes in science, etc
* is available via my smart speakers
* will fill up 10-15 minutes of my day as background audio content that still works if i'm not giving it my undivided attention.
* I'm not opposed to sports radio, but it's not my first choice

I'm ok with world news for example, but US political updates leading up to the election, especially with a certain someone always in the headlines, is too much and is not good for my blood pressure. Is there a world news station that actively doesn't discuss the US election? (Note -- I should have asked this before yesterday. I don't expect them to ignore huge things like assassination attempts, etc). Or heck, even an random (english-speaking) local news station somewhere in Australia or Europe I could start following just for kicks might be fun, as long as they don't feel the need to update on US politics!

Any suggestions on what I should ask google to play? A podcast would be fine, but it's important that it's updated every day; I don't want to try to get google to try and track what episode of something I'm on. "Hey google play the latest XYZ" is how it needs to work. Daily radio shows with fluffy evening-drive type banter are fine, but most are Mon->Fri.

In terms of content sources, google can access radio stations via tunein radio, youtube content, spotify podcasts, etc. The only audio subscription service I have is SiriusXM, but I'm completely ignorant to it's current talk radio content - but if there's something there that fits it could work!

I've been poking around internet radio stations and podcasts for a while trying to find something that hits all my criteria, but i've yet to find my unicorn. So I thought I'd see if anyone here has any ideas. Thanks in advance!

posted by cgg to Media & Arts (10 answers total)

I should have asked this before yesterday. I don't expect them to ignore huge things

Yeah, today is going to be a bad example, but as a general rule France 24's live Youtube broadcast in English works fairly well for this. I'd also wonder if something like NASA TV / NASA Live meets practical 'headspace-clearing before bed' requirements without being high profile news--just low-key, rotating, informational, talky content.
posted by Wobbuffet at 11:11 AM on July 14 [1 favorite]

BBC Witness is superb, daily on weekdays (and has a huge archive), and 7-15 minutes. A little burst of well done history for your day. Checks all your boxes other than not updating on weekends. Strongly endorse.
posted by moosetracks at 11:57 AM on July 14 [1 favorite]

I’ve been enjoying the rural news from New Zealand and the general news from Pacifica since the last US election.
posted by hydrobatidae at 12:08 PM on July 14 [1 favorite]

Fresh Air - always interesting, not usually anger-provoking.
posted by theora55 at 12:52 PM on July 14

"Hey Google, play 'The History of Philosophy without Any Gaps' podcast" may serve your purpose for the rest of your natural life, though updates aren't technically daily. Religious themes may come and go as they relate to the topic, but I mean religious themes like the Greek gods or Descartes or, recently, Jesuit philosophy.
posted by kensington314 at 2:47 PM on July 14 [1 favorite]

I've been listening to Radio Bulgaria's English service since it was Radio Sofia on shortwave. Thankfully now their daily news programming is available in podcast form! Immerse yourself in Bulgarian news and culture with a decisively inward-facing perspective. All Bulgaria, all the time! (They are also on Spotify, but the feed seems to stop at May 3 for some reason. I'm going to write them about that.)
posted by mykescipark at 6:39 PM on July 14

Honestly, I think this is why podcasts exist.

Okay, I kid. But only partly - because there are podcasts of all lengths and on all topics. You could very easily find podcasts where each episode is about ten minutes, on a non-political topic, and then just play one episode each night. I think there are some food ones that are about that length, for example, and those tend to a) be politics-free and b) hell, everyone likes food to some degree.

Also, presumably since you are playing this before falling asleep, you're probably only partially attentive anyway, so even if the topic is kinda dull, then that's kind of what you want.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:07 PM on July 14

You can specify the news source or by topic so you can say in “OK Google What’s the news on space?” Other topics include health, arts, entertainment, etc. You can also say “ OK Google tell me something good” to focus on positive stories.

Finally, through Settings —> Google Assistant ->Manage all Assistant settings —> News. You can add/remove your news sources to target closer to what you’d like to keep tabs on. I can suggest PBS news hour Art Beat e.g.
posted by Lucubrator at 4:58 AM on July 15

I can validate that this is very hard to find. Many choices which release 5 days a week, I haven't found one which is 7 days a week. I wonder if you could do a 5 days a week one for weekdays, and specific ones for sat and sun. I haven't listened to many episodes, but I'm assuming there is little to no politics on The Puzzler with AJ Jacobs, he has such a nice soothing voice too, but again 5 days a week.

Not sure if you can get this on your Google Home (I can't figure out a way to), but might be worth checking out the BBC Shipping Report, definitely released multiple times and day and definitely no news, but also not something you can really understand because it is in a kind of code.
posted by catquas at 11:18 AM on July 15

Also I respectfully disagree about Fresh Air; great show, but there are a lot of episodes on how maddeningly broken US politics is. ;)
posted by catquas at 11:43 AM on July 15 [1 favorite]