Yep, works for me. That's why I've fallen asleep listening to podcasts almost every night for the past 3 years or so. I can't run much of an internal monologue when someone else is talking.. and I've learned tons about various topics (I tend to listen to an entire podcast's back catalogue then move on to another one).
Keeping your mind busy in the background is the easiest way to fall asleep, otherwise it obstructs itself.
Personally, I just either, listen to a podcast or start thinking of big landscapes and as my mind constructs trees and objects it gets busy and let's my subconscious do the work.