According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average commute time in this country is – or was — 26.1 minutes. Today, however with the COVID-19 pandemic infecting our lives, commutes for millions of Americans are zero.

For podcast fans who have lost their commute and now are at home for all or most of the day with family members, listening to an entire episode of The Daily in the morning and Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal in the evening may be next to impossible.

But how about podcasts short enough to be consumed while you’re doing your morning exercises or just hiding out from the kids or your partner who slurps coffee way too loud?

Thankfully, there are many solid options to choose from and today we’ll review 10 of those myriad choices.

Short podcasts, by their very nature, avoid deep political discussions or topics that wallow in ambiguity, deep-seated dissent or cantankerous controversy. Typically, these podcasts are informative with a nifty life hack to start your day or a “I had no idea” fact or a “I better start doing that” awakening.

For those who need a podcast “pick me up” during their commute, while they shelter in place or self-isolate or take long walks to get away from those four walls, here are 10 solid short podcast choices:

Curiosity Daily

The award-winning Curiosity Daily podcast is relentlessly upbeat and can back up its marketing claims about making you smarter. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll get a unique mix of research-based life hacks, the latest science and technology news, and more. Curiosity Daily has a panoramic view with no topics out of bounds. For example, one day, it covers “The Zoomies” when your cat darts across the room for no apparent reason to why vision is important to babies in the womb. They even produce more behavior-based mini-stories such as a recent episode about “How to avoid not giving up after a mistake.”

Discovery’s Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer blend well as a hosting team with a cheery enthusiasm that can help you drain that drowsiness from last night’s sleep or lack thereof. Gough was on air on Chicago’s WGN Radio and hosted the GonnaGeek Podcast, while Hamer is a well-credentialed science writer with a startling blend of other activities – saxophonist, world-class marathon runner and cat person.

Short Wave

Short Wave is a National Public Radio (NPR) podcast that gives us a sneak peek behind the science headlines — all in about 10 minutes, every weekday. It’s science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor.

Host Maddie Sofia is an actual scientist with a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of Rochester Medical Center, which is ideal background for a host during the pandemic.

Before hosting Short Wave, Sofia hosted the NPR video show Maddie About Science and also co-developed the worldwide NPR Scicommers program, which supports scientists interested in building their communication skills.

Short Wave can do a sub -10-minute deep dive because Sofia is so fluent in science and communicating key concepts. Recent episodes include a tale of swarming locusts in Africa and how scientists in Tempe, AZ are using a low-carb diet to minimize crop damage.

Or a truly troubling episode about a condition called silicosis, and it’s been known about for decades. So why is it now emerging in new numbers among workers who cut kitchen counter tops? NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce explains in such a way you’ll say a prayer that you kept your old Formica counter tops.

Nutrition Diva

The Nutrition Diva is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips (QDT) network of podcasts, including 15 other short shows about topics that range from parenting to budgeting your money. To its credit, QDT has been one of the most successful organizations at monetizing digital content – podcasts, videos, e-books, websites — and The Nutrition Diva happens to rank consistently in the top ten of the iTunes health podcast ratings.

Host Monica Reinagel and the podcast have completed an eye-popping 558 episodes, which is an achievement for longevity in the podcast world.
Reinagel is a board-certified, licensed nutritionist, well-known and professionally trained chef. Her “sane and scientific” approach and “foodie-friendly” advice is regularly featured on the  Today Show,CBS News, Morning Edition, and in the nation’s leading newspapers, magazines, and websites.

Her most recent episode about the Best and Worst Diets of 2020 with Jill Weisenberger is just one example of a nutrition podcast stuffed with common-sense advice and sprinkled with a healthy dose of skepticism about overheated health claims. And she’s not afraid to question conventional wisdom with episodes questioning the health claims of sugary sports drinks and protein bars.

Up First

For those news junkies, NPR’s Up First is the perfect summary of the day’s three top news stories. The podcast is available weekdays by 6 a.m. ET, with hosts Rachel Martin, Noel King, David Greene and Steve Inskeep and even on Saturdays by 8 a.m. ET, with hosts Lulu Garcia-Navarro and Scott Simon for those workaholics.

The podcast gives you just enough news so you’re prepared when you get to work to speak semi-intelligibly on topics such as the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, the Coronavirus emanating from China and the new Star Trek Picard show debuting on CBS All-Access streaming service.

For those turned off by NPR’s tote bags, low-flame reporting style and its clumsy attempts to be balanced, fear not. The podcast is short enough to avoid all those NPR trimmings.

60 Second Science

Scientific American magazine has actually been in the podcast space since the early pre-Apple days. It’s 60-Second Science podcast is perfect for those who want an informative “quick-hitter” without science-y blah-blah. This podcast manages to surprise listeners in a minute by connecting the dots on disparate pieces of information. Witness a recent episode about how traffic cameras are related to the New York Yankees suffering fewer injuries in the upcoming baseball season.

How a story about our holiday gift wrapping proclivities where we will apparently be buying more decorative boxes and bags than wrapping paper in the future. Then to tie the bow, they discuss a newly popular trend of wrapping gifts in fabric – which is actually a Japanese tradition.

Kind World

If you want to wake up in the morning and get prepared to face the world, there’s no better way to feel better about dipping your toe in the societal undertow than to listen to WBUR’s Kind World.

The Boston NPR affiliate bills the podcast as one that “tells stories of the profound effect that one act can have on our lives.”

For example, one episode dealt with how when writer Nancy Davis Kho decided to spend an entire year writing “thank-you” letters and was shocked just how transformative it would be.

Or another episode called ‘”The Power Of Niceness’” where Ruthy Brown answered Laura DiGeronimo’s cry for help on Facebook, agreeing to clear her driveway piled high with snow. Neither woman expected the simple but significant act of kindness to change Laura’s life dramatically for the better.

This is a podcast that will clearly make you feel better about the world, especially at a time when the world seems like a Friday The 13th film than Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.

Optimal Health Daily

Do you want your day to start with a small plate of health advice? If so, Optimal Health Daily is for you. Before you eat that blueberry muffin that will offer bad carbs, evil saturated fat and calories too numerous to accurately count, this podcast can offer well-researched information on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Host Justin Malik launched Optimal Living Daily in December 2015 focusing on health and fitness. Malik self identifies as an entrepreneur and lifelong learner who quit his corporate job in 2013 to “pursue something more meaningful.”

This weekday podcast offers sound health and fitness advice and information and Malik’s narrative voice is clear, articulate and appropriately reassuring. For example, a recent episode explained GERD – or indigestion – the causes and possible treatments. Another episode featured movement strength coach Kate Galliet who discussed strategies for otherwise healthy people with twitchy backs.

Grammar Girl

Grammar Girl is another long-running short form podcast from the Quick and Dirty Tips (QDT) network of podcasts. In the podcast universe, Grammar Girl is practically immortal, recently celebrating its 750th episode. Host Mignon Fogarty is an inductee in the Podcasting Hall of Fame, and the show is a five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. She has appeared as a guest expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show and The Today Show.

You do not have to be a grammar and syntax nerd to enjoy the podcast. Fogarty is a whiz at researching fascinating tidbits of knowledge about word derivations and misapplied usage. For example, in one episode Fogarty introduces us to words at the intersection of relationships such as “phubbing” (snubbing someone while they’re talking to you by staring at your phone) or Tinderella (an attractive woman on Tinder who someone has accidentally swiped left on.)

Want to know how you use farther instead of further? Is irregardless actually a word? Is badly a word?

A listen once a week can make people at work say, “Wow, Rob really does sound intelligent.”

The Indicator

The Indicator is from the people who produce Planet Money and it has that same smart yet playful tone that can provide you “a quick hit of insight into work, business, the economy, and everything else. helps you make sense of what’s happening today.”

Although it’s on every afternoon for 10 minutes, it is still the perfect podcast to save for the morning before the commute, because when you listen while brushing your teeth or trying to jam your contacts in your bloodshot eyes, you will be loaded with insights just as you meet co-workers over breakroom coffee and yesterday’s bagels. Recent episodes include a talk with Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus about the 5.7 billion robocalls Americans are bombarded with every year and what the FCC is doing to combat the problem.

Another episode looked at why single women are losing out in both buying and selling compared to their male counterparts.

This Day in History Class

From the people who gave us the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast comes This Day in History Class. Each day, about six minutes long, the podcast brings you something significant that day in history. For example, in the January 18th episode, Jim Thorpe’s Olympic medals were restored on that day in 1983.

On the January 17th episode, the first C section was performed on that day in 1794.

The information is a daily ”I didn’t know that” and the episodes are short and fun to listen to and, more important, they enable you to say over coffee in the break room, “Do you know when the first C section was performed?

Consider that, for an investment of five or six minutes of listening, you can either wow or annoy your co-workers and try to belittle your know-it-all boss on a regular basis.

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So as you slide out of bed and grumpily prepare for another day of the world, you have a wide choice of podcasts to make your day just a bit brighter, more informative and less stressful – all in less than 10 minutes.

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