Podcasts are great. In case you don't know what they are, they are essentially free mp3 audio recordings of radio shows that you can download to your iTunes (either manually or through automated subscription) and listen to on demand (at an hour that suits you, in segments, or all at once) either directly through your computer or through an iPod or similar device that plays mp3s.
This means that my mom no longer needs to queue up the clunky, family-room radio player to record Prairie Home Companion every Sunday at 10:00 am onto cassette tapes that she would then lug around with her to share with her friends. She can just subscribe to it on iTunes and carry around hours and hours of the show on her mp3 player. And if she wants to share it with her friends in UT she can simply send them a link, like this:
http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/podcasts/xml/prairie_home_companion/news_from_lake_wobegon.xml. Also, you can just open up iTunes, go the iTunes store, and search for whatever podcast you want and you should be able to track it down in no time.
Now, to say that podcasts are simply on-demand radio shows would be selling them short. Since the advent of the podcast and in step with the proliferation of mp3s creative individuals and universities have also jumped onto the scene and are setting out to publicize their content or ideas to anyone that will be their audience. This means that the total content can be overwhelming but to the extent that you can sift through it you might just find a treasure that perfectly suits you. Regarding the university content, in theory, you can now essentially audit a class anywhere in the world assuming you find a partcipating university and a subject matter that interests you.
With all that in mind, here are some podcasts I regularly listen to and recommend:
Sound Opinions - A weekly radio show hosted by Jim & Greg, two geeky rock and pop music critics from Chicago. They typically spend a few minutes discussing music news (e.g. artists in jail, deaths, records and concert sales, federal rulings on things like Napster) and then they have a 30-minute feature with either a special guest (past guests have included Thom Yorke, Trent Reznor, Arcade Fire, etc.) or a dissection of a theme (e.g. the advent of disco music, an exploration of Pink Floyd's The Wall) and then review new music which is always an enjoyable listen even if you don't care much for the music.
Filmspotting - Another weekly radio show from the same studio as Sound Opinions. This is pretty much the same show as Sound Opinions but dealing with film instead of music. The two hosts are Adam and Matty and I find them to be very likeable--guys that just love watching movies but that are also trained in the art and can offer intelligent opinions and critiques. I heard what they had to say about my movie, Avatar, and it hurt but I completely respect their opinion... and I still like Avatar by the way.
Fresh Air (NPR) - This is a more serious radio show which was recently recommended to me. Its format is refreshingly simple: find interesting people and sit them down for an hour-long interview. Terry Gross is typically the interviewer and she operates with great comfort and tact so as to get her subjects to relax and come out of their shells a bit. The episodes I've really enjoyed so far have been interviews with Bob Woodward, friends and family of John Lennon, Jon Stewart, Jason Schwartzman, and Justin Timberlake.
ESPN: The B.S. Report - A podcast hosted by Bill Simmons (Sports Guy) dedicated mostly to sports but heavily interlaid with Bill Simmons theories and analogies. He also brings on guests who are only slightly connected to sports (e.g. Tre Parker from South Park) and he often has shows entirely dedicated to TV shows, happenings in the media, movies, and other stuff like that. I enjoy listening to him call his friend JackO and just chew the fat on Yankees/Red Sox talk, but this is definitely not for everyone.
The Ricky Gervais Show - The greatest podcast of all time. It was actually awarded the Guinness World Record for the most downloaded podcast. This show is actually 100% about the mind of Karl Pilkington. Ricky Gervais is a comedian and British personality (best known as the creator and star of The Office BBC) and Stephen Merchant is his co-creator. These two gentlemen are actually pretty intelligent, scientific-minded guys and, given their sense of humor and quest for anything funny, they prove to be the perfect counterpart to simple-minded, bald-headed, shaven monkey, complete idiot, Karl Pilkington. Karl is the rare individual who teeters between idiot and genius. Ricky and Stephen pretty much just ask him questions and probe him with intellectual subject matter and laugh hysterically as he deconstructs or simplifies or just outright misses the mark on whatever it is they're talking about. This podcast had three strong seasons and is actually no longer available, except as audiobook. If you're interested in a free, mp3 version just let me know and I can send it to you.
- A weekly NPR radio show that consists of inspirational/interesting stories that take place in America and are typically based on a theme and staged in 3 acts. This show is hit or miss (erring on miss) but sometimes I really enjoy it. It is hosted by Ira Glass.
WNYC's Radiolab - Similar to This American Life but less inspirational, and more interesting/scientific. One out of every 10 episodes is really good. I enjoyed one that was about gun control and another one about how cities are living organisms and how their citizens all adapt to the city's footspeed and physicists claim that by knowing a city's footspeed you can extrapolate countless characteristics from that city (e.g. libraries per capita, expected AIDS outbreaks in a given year, etc.). Also, their technique for editing is really cool; it makes the show fly by and it keeps your ear interested.
Econ Talk - It's a very good show hosted by this really bright, really level-headed academia guy, Russ Roberts. He brings on various economists and discusses their theories. I wish I were more disciplined to listen to this show regularly but I only check in every so often.
LDS General Conference - A great way to relisten to general conference talk by talk.
