On the way means during a journey, along the route somewhere: I'll call you on the way home. Its second meaning is “coming, arriving soon”: The pizza is on the way. The similar in the way means something quite different: blocking someone's path.
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on my/the way + to + place; on my way home; be on the way (= coming); be in the way (= blocking); get in the way of + noun
- I'll pick up some bread on my way home from work.
- Don't worry, the taxi is on the way and should be here in five minutes.
- We stopped for lunch in a small village on the way to the coast.
What changed
First versionI usually listen to podcasts by the way to work.
RevisionI usually listen to podcasts on the way to work.
By the way looks as if it should be about a route, since way can mean a road. In fact it means “incidentally” and introduces a new topic in conversation. To say something happens during a journey, use on the way to + place. The rest of the sentence is correct.
One letter changes the meaning. On the way says that someone is travelling or already coming to you: Help is on the way. In the way means standing where you block something: Sorry, am I in the way? Figuratively, get in the way of means to stop something from happening: Don't let fear get in the way of your plans.
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Could you move your bike, please? It's ___, and nobody can open the front door.
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in the way — The bike is blocking the door, so it's in the way. On the way would mean the bike is somewhere along a route or coming towards you, but here the problem is that it blocks the door.
Describe your usual journey to work or to your place of study. Say where you are going and what you do on the way, using on the way to.
On the way to the office, I usually stop at a small café and read the news on my phone.
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