Restart Radio: The Future of Personal Listening

Ugo is joined by Restarter Ben Skidmore to discuss Apple’s controversial ‘Airpods’: do they live up to all the hype? Ugo and Ben take a look at some of the advantages and drawbacks of these new wireless ear-buds, and wireless listening more generally. The wireless explosion could be the end of broken cables; but the cost and difficulty of fixing these new devices could also be a repairperson’s worst nightmare. You may not be willing to part with your favourite headphones, and you don’t have to: we go over some tips for reducing wear and tear and increasing the lifespan of our personal listening equipment, and some tips for DIY repair. If you want the wireless experience, there’s a dongle available that connects directly to your own headphones, and then wirelessly to your device. Ugo also shares a love-story about his own favourite noise-cancelling headphones, which were fixed in Nairobi for him five years ago with a simple toothpick. When the earpads began to deteriorate, it looked like the end: but this story has a happy ending. Check out our feature image to see what you can do with some new fabric and a needle and thread!

Om Podcasten

A bi-monthly podcast from The Restart Project, where we explore fixing triumphs, heartbreaks, and the policy and culture that affects community repair. We go into real depth about good and bad design, obstacles to repair of electronics, emotional aspects of ownership, environmentally irresponsible business models, and the “end of life” of our gadgets. This podcast is for you if you'd like to fix your relationship with electronics. Let’s rethink, restart.