> listen to all of them.

I get that advice regarding podcasts all the time. All the podcasts, from anywhere, tens of thousands of hours long in totality

I don't really get how someone can feasibly ask other humans to spend hundreds or thousands of hours doing something outside of personal skill building with a straight face.

To me, when I hear that kind of suggestion, it comes off as the same kind of thing as "Oh, you're religious? Have you read all of the worlds' scripture?" -- of course I haven't, those kind of decisions require a prioritization of life's time in order to accomplish; it's not really feasible to expect that in other people.

The premise behind mass-produced trite television like weekly variety/sketch-shows/tonight-shows is that a bystander can 'catch as catch can' and jump into the activity and enjoy it with others with little to no experience in doing so. It helps to alleviate alienation in those that lack the willpower or ability to be an insider with the crowd and watch the show in entirety.

I feel like the 500+ episodic podcasts, with their in-jokes and nuance, kind of forget that responsibility in favor of audience niches and fan dedication -- which is fine, but trend left me at the shore.

back to OP : what to do on a long drive? Listen to some non-distracting music, stop at interesting local places to eat good food and share good company, visit, enjoy the scenery and whatever company you might have, and be safe -- you'll have plenty of time for productivity whenever else; don't hyper-optimize.