My parents often wistfully remark how lucky my college-aged brothers are to still have the opportunity to attend lectures (just as they used to tell me, too). These days, as I encounter so many intriguing ideas that I can never explore deeply enough, I'm beginning to understand their point of view. How great it would be to have that educational experience again (...perhaps with better beer and with wine that doesn't come out of a box, this time).

Well, I can look forward to grad school, but in the meantime, I have been making use of another great resource for hungry minds: SpokenWord.org. It's a search engine/directory of audio and video podcasts from around the web. There is a ton of great content there, including an eye-opening Stanford University talk by Siddharth Kara on how to end modern sex slavery by attacking its economics (I mention this one not to kill the mood, but because it's one that everyone should listen to). You can find excellent content from Stanford's Social Innovation Conversations channel and the TED Conference's TEDTalks series, among many, many others. It's like being back in college—without the 8 A.M. classes. And the tuition.

With about 3,500 members, SpokenWord is still a relatively small community. Frankly, I'm surprised it hasn't taken off yet. But it's growing and there are already over 500,000 programs to browse. Chances are you'll find many a program to help keep you productive even on that morning commute. For starters, check out Think: Social Innovation's collection for a selection of great podcasts.

Like other value-enhancing knowledge management tools, SpokenWord grows in its power to point users to relevant content with each new program rating or comment. So pour a glass of non-box wine, take a look around and, if you find something interesting, rate it—and share it with a friend.