For me podcasts are time killers and I avoid them. As you said - podcasts over-promise and under-deliver. I used to listen while driving and now I find more joy in music. I must say I do prefer TedTalks and even those I pick them carefully cause those are also worth watching. What I can tell you in relation to feeling disconnected and out of reality, start reading news - pick 1-2 trusted sources and read news for 10-15 minutes in the morning - skim through headlines and intros. In general you get most of the info from there if the sources are good. Your focus and productivity will improve if you avoid podcasts.