# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157 "2026-01-29T18:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 161
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3201 "2026-09-24T17:45:40Z")
I listen to WERS here in the Boston area every week or two, when the non-streaming-albums mood strikes me. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3202 "2026-09-24T17:45:41Z")
I have several radios in my house, but i haven’t used them much since getting an aluminum roof. The signal sucks. I like to listen to the radio when I’m driving alone. It makes me feel less like I’m cut off from the world. On my last car, i set a could of AM News stations to buttons. But i never listened to them. I didn’t bother with this car. I do have 3 local FM stations and two that i can get if I’m driving west out of range of those. All FM. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3203 "2026-09-24T17:49:55Z")
I should also note that I regularly listen to our NPR station, but on my Alexa. I do listen to “radio” all day, but it’s mostly SiriusXM (streaming at home, satellite signal or streaming in my car), or a couple of specific stations that I stream over Alexa. I wind up driving a lot, and I nearly always have music on in the car. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3204 "2026-09-24T17:51:23Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’ll often listen to WBBM’s AM feed in my car (as it has a longer range than their FM signal), so I can get a feel for what’s going on with the traffic before I cross the state line. Wow, listening to radio reports seems like a very archaic and inefficient way to get traffic information in 2026. Why don’t you look at Google Maps, which gives you a much more detailed and up-to-the-minute picture of traffic conditions? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3205 "2026-09-24T17:51:58Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I should also note that I regularly listen to our NPR station, but on my Alexa. Well, I’ll be damned. I just asked Alexa to play our local NPR station, and it happened. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3206 "2026-09-24T17:52:24Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Wow, listening to radio reports seems like a very archaic and inefficient way to get traffic information in 2026. Why don’t you look at Google Maps, which gives you a much more detailed and up-to-the-minute picture of traffic conditions? I do that, too. I always am using a mapping app when I drive. I still want to know _what_ to expect, not just what time I’ll get there. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3207 "2026-09-24T17:53:27Z")
It occurs to me that my local radio stations don’t give regular traffic reports any more, presumably because everyone gets that from their mapping app. I often drive with Google maps when i know the way well, just to see what the traffic situation is. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3208 "2026-09-24T17:54:28Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > _what_ to expect If you scroll out and look for the red sections of the roadway, it often shows icons for “accident” or “road repairs”. That’s not super accurate, but “where the traffic will start to clog up” is usually pretty accurate. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3209 "2026-09-24T17:59:00Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > If you scroll out and look for the red sections of the roadway, it often shows icons for “accident” or “road repairs”. That’s not super accurate, but “where the traffic will start to clog up” is usually pretty accurate. Oh, I do know this, and I do this, as well. I’ve been listening to traffic reports on BBM for 30-odd years, and it’s still useful information to _me_, in adjunct to the mapping app. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3210 "2026-09-24T18:08:01Z")
I use apple maps, because it’s the easiest to find given how my phone screen is set up. I don’t perceive much difference when I use google maps. Plus, fuck google maps (Lake Ontario issue). ETA: Apple maps is also mislabeling Lake Ontario. So, no difference there. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3211 "2026-09-24T18:19:46Z")
The last time I listened to AM/FM radio was December 16, 2005. I know that because it was Howard Stern’s last show on terrestrial radio. I have listened to satellite radio but I have never paid for it - only trial periods when I’ve gotten a new car. I mostly use Apple Maps because it is the least painful option. I will not willingly use anything owned by Google, including Waze. I have tried my in car system but it is too clunky to manage while listening to music or podcasts on CarPlay. I would pay for TomTom if I needed navigation assistance often enough, but mostly I drive known routes. I recently tried the MapQuest navigation app (yes, MapQuest still exists, and they didn’t rename Lake Ontario) but there is no way to turn off voice guidance and that’s a dealbreaker for me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3212 "2026-09-24T19:46:58Z")
> [@Thumper668](#): > > I’ve always understood the boxer to be a metaphor for the poor boy, instead of the poor boy literally becoming the boxer. So metaphorically the same person? That’s how I voted anyway. That seems to be the case, and the poor boy is kinda Paul Simon. The Boxer is a metaphor. We used to tune into NPR at home. I listen to FM in my car, and sometimes to a CD- but in my car, the only way to move from FM to CD is to go through AM, so yeah, I occasionally catch a bit, and once it is interesting so i listened for a few minutes. My wife gets Sirius. For traffic I use Sigalert. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3213 "2026-09-24T19:53:51Z")
Middle school is grades 6-8. I attended a junior high which was grades 7-9 ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3214 "2026-09-24T19:56:48Z")
I listen to NPR on an actual radio literally every day, both at home while getting ready in the morning, and in my car during the drive to work. The last time I listened to AM radio in a car (not technically “my” car; it was a rental, but I’m counting that for purposes of the poll) was when I was traveling for work, around 2008 I think it was. The local NPR station in that area was actually broadcast on AM. I remember having to go online to search for it, because I can usually find the local NPR station in a new locale just by searching around the low end of the FM dial, but in that case I couldn’t find it. I’m pretty sure I ended up going to NPR’s website when I got to the office (I didn’t have a smartphone back then), and used their search function to find the local station, which is how I learned it was AM. I’m pretty sure that was the last time I listened to AM radio, period. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3215 "2026-09-24T20:02:43Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > For traffic I use Sigalert. I’d totally forgotten about Sigalert. I recall using it for a while, but I don’t remember why I stopped. mmm ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3216 "2026-09-24T21:21:33Z")
I listen to traffic reports on the radio when my phone is in my pocket so I can’t see the screen. Which is usually the case, unless I’m specifically planning to use the map for navigation. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3217 "2026-09-24T21:32:23Z")
I almost always use my phone for navigation. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3218 "2026-09-24T22:04:01Z")
I only use the phone for navigation if I’m going someplace unfamiliar. Which isn’t that common. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3219 "2026-09-24T22:39:19Z")
I usually use phone navigation even if I’m familiar with the route, in case there is an accident on my usual route that the phone can direct me to avoid. I don’t use it for very short trips or trips for which there is only one reasonable route. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3220 "2026-09-24T22:58:10Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I usually use phone navigation even if I’m familiar with the route, in case there is an accident on my usual route that the phone can direct me to avoid. Same with me. I regularly make trips out to the far western suburbs of Chicago (about a half-hour west of me), as well as back up to Green Bay; I know the preferred routes like the back of my hand, but it’s good to have the app let me know if I should take a different route due to traffic, accidents, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=160) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=162)