‘I like listening to humans talk’: Meet the podcast fans who can’t stand silence

Technological advances are making it easier to bring background noise with us wherever we go. For some, writes Tatum Hunter, it can be a vital tool for managing their lives

Some need the sound of human company all day long (Getty/iStock)

Kyra Pellant doesn’t like silence. So she banished it from her life.

The 29-year-old, who lives in Los Angeles, wakes up at 6am, pops in her AirPods, and starts listening to podcasts. She listens to shows about wellness or true crime while she commutes and works her day job as a marketer. Then she heads to her second gig as a workout instructor, podcasts playing all the while. She listens while she cooks and winds down for the night, and finally she falls asleep – with a podcast playing.

Pellant says the voices help her to focus. They also fill a social need – ever since the pandemic, she’s spent less time with people. And working multiple jobs leaves little time for hanging out with friends.