Imagine a world where you looked forward to your train journey to work – hoping for delays due to signal failure – or headed to the post office bang on 1pm, willing the line to be out the door. We spend between 50 and 70 minutes of our day commuting and, according to a recent poll, stand in queues for six months of our lives. But perhaps this needn’t be time wasted, idly checking Twitter. Instead we could use it to educate, entertain and better ourselves by listening to a podcast.

As radio’s younger, edgier sibling, the podcast has been around now for 10 years but came into its own when The Ricky Gervais Show became the most downloaded UK podcast in history (with over 300 million downloads).

There are now somewhere in the region of 250,000 podcasts available, some repeating radio shows, others creating brand new content. While it’s not always practical to be glued to a screen, audio has long been the multitasker’s best friend, and with the rise of the smartphone, it’s never been easier to listen while on the go. In July this year, Apple announced that podcast subscriptions on iTunes had hit the one billion mark for the first time, while UK podcast site Audioboo attracts 10 million unique users a month. So whether you want a fresh take on current affairs, to swot up on some science, or just something to make you smile at the end of an exhausting day, there’s a podcast for everyone. Best of all for women – our selection won’t cost you a penny. So go forth and expand your horizons.

Best 10 Free Podcasts for Your Commute