This is actually a serious question, and yes, it was meant to be here in the political section. I try to be as well informed as I reasonably can. I read major news stories from various aggregated news sources (not whole papers anymore, although I'm considering doing some more of that now that I have more free time). I usually listen to at least an hour per day of news from NPR, BBC World/Mundo, NBC (usually the Nightly News) and others. I also read academic papers, court documents and all sorts of non-fiction books, just for fun. However, I'm regularly gobsmacked by just how much I don't know compared to others on this board. How is it that some of you can reference policy from 30 years ago, speak at length of political figures I've never heard of as if they were household names, and write veritable tomes about middle eastern policy? Unless I start reading reading 10 books per week on every contemporary issue under the sun, I have no idea how to keep up.
This is a crowd of people who obsess over higher education. I'm sure that obsessive personality trait applies to other interests. They might be able to talk about political history or Middle East policy, but they might not know as much about advancements in medicine, sociological theories, diesel mechanics, etc. I don't know how to change a tire.
I think Penn Foster and Ashworth have programs, but you probably have to practice on your own vehicle. YouTube University is wonderful. I used it to remove an old dishwasher and install a new one.
I've been meaning to mention the interesting business model of the Truck Marketing Institute, which offers Precision Truck Training distance learning courses to train sales staff at commercial truck dealerships in how to spec and sell trucks. Tuition is partly financed by vendors in the industry. If a student working at a Freightliner, Peterbilt, or Western Star dealer completes an applicable course, the truck manufacturer will reimburse between 50% and 100% of their tuition cost, depending on the manufacturer and depending on the student's test average. The Truck Marketing Institute has been operating since 1964, and used to be DETC accredited, resigning its accreditation in 2010.
For current affairs, I am really enjoying Apple News. It has a monthly fee but has access to lots of top notch sources. I also usually watch the 30 minute CBS Evening News. I'm ancient and so remember things from long ago. For just researching things I Google and use Wikipedia. I like sanantone's post for simple explanation. I also like Lerner's thought and point out that I'm retired and spend much more time on current affairs now than I did before retirement. For entertainment I'll watch an hour or so of MSNBC most evenings or CNN (although I read many more CNN articles using Apple News than live CNN).
In every learning experience I design, I ask, "What do I want the participants to know, do, and/or feel?" This is the culmination of learning depicted below: Data. Put into context, it becomes Information. Used, it becomes Knowledge. Stored in a repeatable, accessible way it becomes Philosophy and/or Practice. The older I get, the more I don't know.
Independent media and journalists, books, research papers, interviews with subject matter experts, etc. Most MSM networks go for sensationalization or conservatism rather than objectivity. NPR tends to be more objective, but I find them pretty out of touch.
NPR joined the sane-washing of extremist politics. It's hard to listen to their political segments now. I'm so glad that CNN and MSNBC's ratings are crashing, especially CNN's because they rely on their ratings going up whenever a certain person is in the news.