Doubling Your Podcast Efficiency

Self improvement is so easy these days.  Geeks already know podcasts can assist learning and keep your mind sharp when working out, walking to work, or even cleaning the house.  However, the number of quality podcasts and online talks is only increasing which means it's important to stay efficient.  In this post I'll explain how.
As mentioned above, auditory learning can be a great supplement to other techniques; it hits different parts of the brain and can therefore aid in more complete understanding.  Another benefit is you can build expertise or be entertained while utilising otherwise available time.

2x, Baby

While I have been using VLC for years and occasionally watching DVD's at 1.2x to add a little pep to plodding or too-long movies (why are they all so looong these days?), it wasn't until Apple added the 2x feature to its iOS iPod app that I became hooked.

As we can listen a lot faster than we can speak, this increase really cuts down on the BS and time required to crank through a show.  Umms, hmms..., uhhhs, and advertisements are zipped right through.

I've found 95% of the time I can keep up just fine, and can drop back or repeat with the @30s button if needed during a meaty discussion.

Tips:

• Mobile:  Hit the 1x button (top-right) on the iOS Music Player until it turns into a blue 2x.   Similar features are available on other products.
• Desktop:  Use VLC or a media player which makes it easy to speed things up.  The [ and ] hotkeys are at your disposal and can be varied during playback.
• Web:  Use a video downloader:
• youtube-dl is a command line downloader with support for more sites than just youtube.  It's also in the debian/ubuntu repos under the same name, though it might be out of date.  If so, grab the github version.
• A site or product like the "Keep Vid" bookmarklet to get direct links to Youtube videos and the like, (right click the banner and choose Bookmark).  There are many alternatives here and they change frequently.   
• Download videos your hard disk and watch them at 1.5x or more with VLC.  Don't worry, it can start playing the incomplete/temp file right away.

Another side-effect is you'll notice is everyone sounds more intelligent at high speed. ;)

What are your tips to improve the information signal to noise ratio?