As I continued listening, I was able to increase the listening speed to an average of 1. I tried 3x, but it felt way too fast for me. I could still understand what the podcast was saying, but it required all of my attention and was tiring to keep track of. Lifehacker staff writer Nick Douglas says that Overcasts Smart Speed works great for unedited talk shows, but not as well on highly produced shows. When listening to The Upgrade, Smart Speed ranged from normal speed 1x to 1. But for shows like On Being with Krista Tippett, which publishes unedited versions of its episodes, Smart Speed sped up recordings 1. And while speeding up podcasts certainly saves time, it could take away from the listening experience, depending on your personal preferences, as well as what type of show youre listening to. Obviously, you shouldnt speed up podcasts when the timing is important like meditation podcasts, music podcasts, or comedy podcastsyou cant listen to Welcome To Nightvale at 2x speed without ruining the suspense and changing the tone of its storytelling. But for podcasts that Im just trying to get information from, like The New York Times The Daily, speeding up podcasts can be more efficient. Chaplain Branch Manual Canadian Forces Bases. Like multitasking, where Im rushing to do as much as I can in a short amount of time, Ill continue listening to podcasts sped up, knowing its a bit of a tradeoff between enjoyment and efficiency. Theres something appealing about being more efficient even when you dont have toand having an extra 1.