Podcasts that I Have Known

When I can, I listen to a lot of public radio. Unfortunately, there's no radio up here of any kind and you can't stream radio over the Internet because our connection is not sufficiently robust for that kind of thing. So I've turned to podcasts. Podcasts started out as a sort of "audio blog" about 12 years ago. In 2000, a program was written so that you could automatically download podcasts when new episodes came out. In the same year, the idea of a "podcatcher" (automatically downloading a bunch of podcasts that you are subscribed to) was developed. Apple's iTunes incorporated podcatching into its software in 2004. That's when podcasting took off. Fast forward to today and I've got the means to stay sane and feel somewhat connected to the rest of the world.

Here are the ones I listen to:

1. This American Life - This is an NPR show that is the most popular podcast in the country most weeks. There's not much more I can tell you about this one because you probably know it already.

2. Stuff You Should Know - This is from How Stuff Works. On the weeks when This American Life isn't the most popular podcast, this one is. The two hosts present 20-30 minute episodes with titles like, "How Do Lobotomies Work?" and "What Exactly is Facism?". Good times.

3. Radio Lab - Another NPR radio show. This is the best thing on radio in my opinion. Radio Lab is a science podcast brought to you by a science writer (Robert Krulwich) and a musician (Jad Abumrad). These guys take advantage of all of the possibilities of radio. Radio Lab is an hour long and they only do 10 or so shows per season because the shows are made with so much attention to detail. However, if you subscribe to the podcast you can hear shorter episodes that they produce in order to hold you over between regular episodes.

4. The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe - This is a podcast produced by the New England Skeptical Society. This, like Stuff You Should Know, strikes a really nice balance between being well-produced (though not with the production values of This American Life or Radio Lab) while also feeling homemade. The SGU is an hour long show about science and skepticism with the mission of fighting pseudo-science and the belief in the paranormal as well as educating the public about science. Pretty nerdy but I like it a lot.

5. Planet Money - This is produced by This American Life. It's usually about 20 minutes and comes out twice a week. These guys make the housing crisis, the economic downturn and other complicated economic issues clear and interesting.

6. Science Friday - Another NPR show that airs Fridays. A general science show that fans of science already know about, I'm sure.

7. Are We Alone? - It just keeps getting nerdier. This is produced by the SETI Institute. Rather than being a bunch of nutty UFO believers, these are scientists and skeptics who produce a show that has much less to do with ETs than you might otherwise think. It's mostly just a general science podcast. The hosts are totally willing to be completely foolish to help make the show interesting.

8. Cory Doctorow's Podcast - Doctorow is an author and digital rights activist. In his podcast he mostly reads stories and novels he's currently writing. I like his writing a lot and listening to him read his own stuff is pretty great.

9. Wire Tap - This is a radio show from the CBC hosted by Jonathan Goldstein. Goldstein is a regular on This American Life. The show features people that Goldstein says are his family and friends. Sometimes it seems like they're actually those people just being natural and sometimes it seems like they're actors working from a script. Strange and funny.

10. The Moth - The Moth is a non-profit organization that conducts live story-telling events. Each podcast is one story told live in front of an audience with no notes. They are sometimes hilarious, sometimes terrifying and sometimes sad. Each one is only 15 minutes long or so.

There are many more podcasts I listen to each week but these are my favorites. I'd love to hear about any others that I should be listening to. Of course, when we get back to Portland I'll probably go back to listening to the radio and cut down on the podcasts.