earbuds for work/listening to podcasts/shows

Soundcore Liberty 4. If you don't need them now, they'll go on sale for 30% off in the next 4-6 weeks in all probability. I own 3 pairs (gym, home, spare.)

Consider, and this is important, that the squishy buffer you speak of keeps outside sound out, which means you need less volume of the podcast put into your ear canal. The Soundcore stuff comes with 4? sizes of the squishy bits, and has an app which helps you determine which is the most effective without being uncomfortable. We gettin' old.

The winner:

JBL Tune Flex - True Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds (Black), Small

Funny story. Met with my buddy who manages one of the Best Buy's down here and he showed me where the JBLs were. I picked these because they had that AirPod style build and I preferred that, even though these come with the fittings to have noise cancelling ear tips. I thought they were the $40 pair that I picked up, but they ended up costing $70. I looked online at Amazon to see reviews since I somewhat impulse bought these when looking for other things, and saw Amazon priced them at $50. Went back the next morning and got my $20 back after a post purchase price match. I'm glad I did it before they went back up in price over the weekend because they're $70 on Amazon and all other retailers now.