I just chose to listen to Shinzen because his audio book is well suited for this. Daniel's talks are a lot more cerebral (for me), with Shinzen's audio book, I find myself trending towards this a little easier. I know this is somewhat a dumb question because I already answered my own question, but Im fishing for tips and tricks. And maybe others may find this helpful. The thing is I find myself attracted much more towards constantly piping audio in my ears and do a lot less actual still sitting these days. Sometimes I listen to comedy podcasts, but those I just sort of tune out, veg out or be entertained. Like I'm jogging and suddenly I get the itch to either meditate and or listen to shinzen. Sometimes I'll turn the audio off for a stretch and just do open awareness, 3cs, and watch myself auto jog. Or I turn Shinzen on and try to do the same. It's harder with the audio, and sometimes my ears dull and tune out. Or they "auto listen". I put this in "non-dual", im not sure if its correctly placed, but I do sort of try to let things just happen, and emulate the 11th ñana. I'd put it in the EQ category if it existed. I welcome any thoughts comments tips. Or answer the initial question in your own words, and why. Thanks.

(Edited title from Shinzen to Podcasts in general)

Sorry I'm all over the place. It makes more sense to ask, "How does one meditate, under these circumstaces". Shinzen himself says its possible to meditate in increasingly complex, social situatuon and otherwise, as you keep practicing. 

Sometimes after watching a nature documentary I feel like I have been meditating for an hour. So I think it's possible. If the speaker is calming it would help. It's similar to music. Music could be the focus of meditation but it would be easier for some types of music than others and you would want to pay attention to the sound not analyze its structure.

Thanks this makes total sense. That's why shinzen helps I believe, he's pretty slow and soothing. I noticed rock music was a completely different experience, it works best so far with Shinzen.

You might enjoy brainwave entrainment, like binaural beats or isochronic tones. Don't know if that would be classified as meditation, but they sure can alter brain and mental states powerfully.

It's funny, I was just thinking about this today. I think there's a bit of a U curve aspect to it in terms of how useful it is as a technique...

When I first started, I really struggled to just sit and meditate because I just got bored. But I was perfectly happy lying down for an hour with a comedy podcast as a way of relaxing. I started to notice that after half an hour or so, muscles that I wasn't even aware were tensed would relax. So meditating with podcasts helped me find my way into the meditative state.

To take it to the next level I did eventually have to drop that crutch and get used to quiet sitting.

Recently, though, I've been experimenting with having podcasts and often TV during meditation again, inspired by Shinzen. Don't get me wrong, I still carve out time daily for quiet meditation, but it's a fun technique to play with on a weekend. I find it's much more conducive to shamatha than vipassana.

Notice that you are noticing the podcast. Set a timer to buzz every X seconds to remind you to notice again. If you can't yet stay meta, don't try, stay with nothing practice.
good luck,
​​​​​​​~D

I occasionally experience the feeling of having meditated for an hour after watching a nature video. In light of this, I believe it is feasible. It will help if the speaker is composed. It resembles music. There are some forms of music that are easier to focus on while meditation than others, and you should focus on the sound rather than the song's structure.

A personal preference, podcast listening while meditating may be effective for some people. However, it's crucial to take into account the podcast's content and its effects on your meditation routine. The podcast's tranquil, uplifting, or mindfulness-focused themes may improve your meditation experience by adding more instructions or pleasant background noises.