Gaming

It's not clear to me that I could ever listen to podcasts while playing most of my library, but I'll do my best to list some with which I might try:

• Euro Truck Simulator 2 (and, by corollary, American Truck Simulator). If you can listen to podcasts in your car, this is basically a similar experience :)
• Super Hexagon. This is not a game about making conscious decisions, it's too fast for that. You'd have to turn off the music, and determine whether you can retain stuff you're listening to at the same time.
• Race The Sun. This is somewhere in the middle of the above two.
• Solace Crafting. This is a relatively bare-bones sandbox RPG with harvesting, crafting, and building elements, that doesn't require all that much decision making, and can be played at any pace.
• Minecraft (the Java edition). You've probably heard of it! I recommend the Java edition due to the rich modding ecosystem; you can usually find a flavor of content that suits any purpose.
• Cities: Skylines (and, by corollary, SimCity 4). These are both world-class genre-defining city builders, which can be played at your own pace, don't require a whole lot of active involvement, and pair well with background listening of your choice.

Vampire Survivors.

Powerwash Simulator is perfect for this.

Stardew Valley is a really chill and fun game. You can talk to the towns people but don't have to and the dialogue is all very short if you do.

I use Shattered Pixel Dungeon for this. Nice and simple open source game without any bullshit. It's a roguelike.

Many roguelites could fall into this category, and are generally cheap to boot (i.e. vampire survivors).

https://classic-mahjong.com/ is free, entirely browser based, has no ads or other nonsense, and has the pleasant waterfall cascading effect when you clear all the tiles.

Stardew valley is pretty good

I’ve actually gotten back into Guild Wars 2 for the first time since its release over a decade ago, and I’m really enjoying all the new content they added. It SEEMS complicated with all the MMO-style currencies but you can honestly ignore most of them and go at your own pace because there’s so much to do but none of it is required to have fun. It’s even more casual if I’m using a low intensity character build, aka just left click in combat to win

Power wash simulator will be your best friend. No spoken dialogue, no important cutscenes, just you and a power wash gun. The only thing you'll miss out on listening to podcasts is the admittedly very soothing sound of PSSSSHHHHHHHHHH from the washer itself.

Try Dorfromantik. It's a hexagonal puzzle game where you build a map using different tiles and connecting like with like. Very relaxing, doesn't require sounds or full attention.

My father really likes Mini Motorways. You could try something like that

He's a big fan of sim cities and zoo tychoon and stuff too

Minecraft creative mode can be very relaxing but time consuming, it takes a while to build a big project but looks awesome when completed, you can go for a small hobbit home too and give in some detail, it takes your mind off of things sometimes, especially when doing the math to even builds out.

If you're into simulation games I highly recommend American Truck Simulator.

It requires little to no thought. Pick a truck, find a job, and hit the road. Perfect for zoning out to some music or a podcast.

Mine is currently Civilization 6 and I don’t think I have anything else that could possibly fit; I occasionally have to step back and decide what to do next as it still is a strategy game, but since turns can take awhile (especially in late game since the AIs have to take their turns), having something else to pass the time helps. The dialogue is pretty inconsequential, and turning the game’s sound off won’t really change anything. I usually have music/podcasts going while I play.

(Worth noting it does have lots of DLC, but it doesn’t make winning easier and is entirely skippable.)

The answer to your question is Factorio

The first game that popped into mind for this title was Dave the Diver. It is a lovely game where you fish in the morning, then serve up the fish at the sushi restaurant you work for in the evenings. I recommend you check out a video on it! It's technically early access, but the full game is set to release on the 28th.

I just gave Cassette Beasts a shot and was instantly hooked. Fun PokeClone that is one of the best I've played and gets some stuff better than even Pokemon does. Also on gamepass if you've got that

FTL is fun and hard.

Also mindustry

Someone already mentionned Dorfromantik. I'm doubling this. I also have a recommandation. It's not exactly what you asked for. But maybe give Superflight a shot. It's been one of my go to "I'm listenning to something but needs something to keep busy" game for me for years now.

EDIT: *Oh no! Someone already mentionned this game as well! Oh well. Doubling that too. *

Dorfromantik is a very chill puzzle game that runs great on Steam Deck if that’s your thing, a favourite of mine while the TV is going in the background.

If you’re into factory games I 1000% recommend Shapez, which is a shape-building game that doesn’t have the notion of grinding or currency or running out of resources. It’s immensely satisfying when you get the perfect mechanism together and you’re churning out shapes. Definitely one for mouse and keyboard though.

If you stick to the lower, less intense hazard difficulty levels, I find Deep Rock Galactic to be an excellent game to chill to. Can’t go wrong with badass Space Dwarven miners on a hostile alien insectoid planet. I only play with randoms via co-op, and it’s been nothing but a pleasant experience each time.

Vampire Survivors. Run in circles killing enemies until you die. Buy upgrades. Repeat.

Oldschool Runescape. The perfect game for watching something on the side. Just get into a rhythm and grind away

If you are into roguelikes noita is really easy to pickup and put down with tons of spells and modifiers and a huge map to explore.

Bloons TD 6. It puts out what you put into it. There’s definitely some skill required but you can largely avoid most of that stuff. Once you have a semi working strategy, you can kinda cruise into new levels for a while no problem. It’s my favorite game to playb while listening to stuff.

Monster train is my go to right now. If you like the deck building genre such as Slay the Spire etc. You can put as much brain in as you want and it's still pretty fun.

Eufloria is that game for me.

Skyrim. You CAN pay attention to what's going on but you don't have to, just look at the pretty landscapes while listening to your podcast and follow the questmarkers.

I really enjoy basebuilders for relaxing. It's often just the right mix between just enjoying watching how stuff works, or solving problems at my own pace (being able to slow down, speed up or pause whenever needed). If you're interested in this genre I can recommend Timberborn, Against the Storm, Factorio - ascending by complexity.

Not exactly an easy game, but Don't Starve has quite a lot of downtime that makes it great for listening to podcasts.

Terraria may be fun for you. It's actiony but very explore oriented and at your own pace.

Goat simulator is a blast.

Warframe is good for this. Lots of ways to tune your level of engagement through build choices. Most content rarely requires your full attention and story is only progressed in specific story missions that you usually play only once.

A Short Hike has dialog and a shorter play time but you can just ignore that and soar around the island. It's got an isometric view with a pixel art style. I really enjoy it. I play it when I'm hung over.

• Nobody mentioned Kerbal Space Program yet? While it's no longer indie, it was during most of the development. It's the space game. While it's not claiming to be a perfectly accurate simulation, it captures the essence of orbital mechanics pretty well. The xkcd comic about it is on point.
• Cultist Simulator. It is a card game that lives from the cards' flavour text. The core gameplay is simple, but the mood the game creates is extremely captivating. You only get served small bits of information at once, and you have to connet the dots yourself (or get spoilers online...). Also, it's not an easy game, and unless you are really lucky you will not succeed in your first few playthroughs.
• Unreal World. This is roguelike survival game set in a fantasy version of ancient Finland.

Diablo games are easy to play while listening/watching other things. Diablo 4 does have a story, but you don't need to watch it if you don't want to. And after it's beaten, the story will never bother you again. Diablo 2 Remaster is also great if you're feeling a bit more old school.