Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A Break

I'm in the mood for something different.

How about a list of podcasts I love and would recommend, those I'd pay for if they weren't free?

Radio Lab - I admit it; there are some geeky podcasts on my ipod but I think this is one science podcast everyone would love. Give it a chance. They are near works of art in their audio production, and their content always seems to reveal something new about what it means to be human. They are about to start a new season, but go through the archives and the check out the episode on sleep, or memory, or moral judgment; I've not really heard one I didn't enjoy.

All Songs Considered - Podcasts aside, I love my music; I love to be surprised by new music. To that end, All Songs Considered is a great way to be exposed to something new.

This American Life - of course.

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me - of course.

Philosophy Bites - A nice short but thought provoking podcast, showcasing a variety of modern philosophers. It's just the perfect length for my son to fall asleep while I wait in his bedroom, somehow keeping monsters away. I used to read works of philosophy; now I have no time and so I appreciate this little podcast to oil those gears.

Skeptic's Guide to the Universe - Again, I used to spend much time involved in the skeptic movement also, but then the kids came and they made gay rights much more important, and where did the time go, right? But I still love to get my news about developments in the realm of homeopathy, faith healing, and perpetual motion machines, and these guys (and girl) put on a great weekly podcast that can be both funny and informative.

Nature Podcast -Interesting news and interviews from the latest research showing up in the journal Nature. It may be a little jargon-ey, but it's a great peek at what may be on the horizon.

The Naked Scientist - Neither as sexy nor as repulsive as the name might imply. It's more pop-science than the Nature podcast but it's a good way for anyone to get easily digestible news on some of the latest research.

This Week in Tech - A great source for new tech news. On top of that, they all praised Google and Apple for opposing Prop 8 in their last episode. I'm now a loyaler fan.

Of course there are others I love but probably wouldn't pay for, like Radio West (for a lot of issues specific to Utah delivered by the dreamy Doug Fabrizio :-)), and Selected Shorts (near an hour of short stories read by actors; great for road trips).

So what's missing? Can anyone give us some great podcast recommendations?

5 comments:

MoHoHawaii said...

I'm a fan of Savage Love.

Scot said...

I'll give it a listen, thanks. I love his contributions to This American Life.

Ophidimancer said...

Yeah, I like Dan Savage, too. Heh, I was going to say, Scot, that you have educational hobbies.

I mostly surf internet boards and talk about games and fiction, though I do get into debates about gay rights, too.

Unknown said...

I just saw a picture of you and your family:
http://www.gaysandthegospel.org/video/

Anyways... I love podcasts. I know Sunstone has a pretty good one, although I haven't checked it in quite some time.

Scot said...

"Heh, I was going to say, Scot, that you have educational hobbies."

Have I revealed too much of my nerdy side? :-)

Give some of them a chance, and I bet some will appeal to a wider audience; specifically try radio lab.

Evan: "I just saw a picture of you and your family:"

Huh... Odd that.