Blog, video and podcast recommendations from the Old Mill District staff

Life right now is a bit … different.

As we’re all struggling to find a new normal, we’ve put together a list of websites, podcasts, and stay-at-home activities our crew here in the Old Mill District has found helpful while we’re spending the majority of our time indoors.

Have a great resource you want to share? Please, send it our way and we’ll do various versions of this “How to survive the quarantine” blog post.

Radio Garden: Ever wonder what music the kids these days are listing to in Reykjavik? The Canary Islands? Radio Garden let’s you zoom around the globe and find radio stations from every corner of the world. We’ve been jamming with Radio Silencia out of Barcelona as of late.

The Internet Archive: The rabbit hole of all rabbit holes, this non-profit has been archiving the Internet since 1996. Want to see what one of ESPN’s first website’s looked like in 1998? Here you go. Or The Bulletin in 2004? We also hunted down our original “The Old Mill District at River Bend” webpage from 1997. In total, the Internet Archive houses 330 billion – yes billion – web pages.

The site’s much more than a nostalgic thrill ride back to the ancient times of AOL and Netscape. The Internet Archive pays special attention to books and currently has more than 20 million books and texts scanned, downloaded and available for free checkout.

This Old House YouTube channel: Now’s the time to finally install that grass driveway and This Old  House is here to help. Landscaping, home repair, DIY installs – these guys and gals break down home improvement projects as good as anybody, with the folksy charm of your favorite Midwestern uncle.

Streaming workout classes: Orangetheory, CycleBar, Free Spirit, and Bend Hot Yoga are all offering classes online to help you stay happy and healthy, both physically and mentally.

Podcast mania: We’ve always been fans of “How I Built This,” “This American Life” and “The Rewatchables,” but we’ve upped our podcast game since we’ve been spending more time in the house. “Origins” looks at successful organizations and analyzes how they were created, that’s made them successful and the challenges they face in the future. The brainchild of journalist James Andrew Miller, Origins’ devotes entire seasons to the HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” ESPN, Saturday Night Live, Alabama football under Nick Saban, and the phenomenon that was “Sex and the City.” The New York Times’ “The Daily,” a deeper look of one of the paper’s story from each day; “The Big Picture,” which features smart conversations about the movie industry; and “Througline,” NPR’s newer history podcast that looks at the past to help understand current issues.

Rocking out with Austin City Limits: We’re getting our music fix thanks to Austin City Limits making more than 30 ACL performances available for free. Gary Clark, Jr., Kacey Musgraves, Brand Carlile, John Prine, and Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires are some of our favorite sets we’ve caught so far.