Podcasts

[JustJon]

With O&A off radio, I need something to fill my auditory needs and I've turned to podcasts (ok, during their two week vacation too).

I marathoned the Ricky Gervais first 2 seasons in a day

listened to diggnation and TWiT for the first time today and liked them both alot.

don stugots, ct and jivin, and sleeves have kept me enthralled over the past few weeks.


What are some other podcasts people dig out there?

[klaus_kinski_Jr]

Well The Best Show on WFMU* might help you out. Its in the vein of Ron and Fez.




*yes thats the actual name of the show. Its on the itunes podcast setup just search for WFMU

[Dan 'Hampton]

Anything from BBC. Fighting Talk is a good one.

[Don Stugots]

Kevin Smith's Smod cast is pretty good as is Food Is Not Love.

[JustJon]

I listened to the Totally Rad show this morning. It's Alex Albrecht from diggnation and two other guys and thought it was just ok. I think Alex is better with Kevin Rose.

[Don Stugots]

jon, what was the one you told me about Friday night and where was it? i want to check it out tonight while at work.

[JustJon]

diggnation

www.diggnation.com

[JPMNICK]

i started listening to some cigar podcasts recently where they discuss cigars and other things. some suck, some are ok. one that is not bad is

http://www.dogwatchsocialclub.com/

[Pootertoot]

You've already found TWIT and Diggnation, both of which are great.

I listen to/watch a LOT of podcasts (55 after a quick count) so here's my roundup of what I consider the best:

Top 3:

1) Radiolab (http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/) - it's an NPR show produced on WNYC and its new season just started this past Friday (it airs every friday at 3 pm on 93.9 here in NY). It's the best popular science program being produced in any format today. The only downside is the woefully short seasons (only 5 one hour shows a year) but they're so incredibly entertaining and informative that you'll find yourself going back to them over and over again. If you just check out one show from this whole list, make it this one.

2) Filmspotting (http://www.filmspotting.net) - Hands down the best film podcast out there. Reviews of current releases and while they don't shy away from a Spiderman 3, they'll generally go for an indie flick over something like Ghostrider or Van Wilder 2. They balance these out with marathons (http://filmspotting.net/marathons.htm) of genres/directors that they're either poorly versed in or have notable gaps in. I owe my newfound love of Westerns to them and they just this week began their Film Noir marathon, so get your netflix queues in order.

3) SModcast (http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/?p=4249) - Already mentioned by Stugots, I second it. When Sheepy brought it to my attention I was initially offput by the idea of having to listen to Scott Mosier's monotonous voice for an hour, but he's actually quite funny and more than holds his own with Kevin Smith. The two ramble on about pretty much anything and more often than not it's pretty hilarious. I'd recommend starting with SModcast #9 (http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/podpress_trac/web/4049/0/SModcast-09.mp3), wherein the rape of Smith's miniature dachschund by his Yellow Lab is chronicled.

The Rest:

Science
1) Hmmm...Krulwich on Science (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5500502) - Radiolab Light, it's Robert Krulwich, lead science reporter for NPR, exploring subjects in a way that'll remind you a lot of Good Eats.
2) PopSci Podcasts (http://www.popsci.com/popsci/whatsnew/2a97225814a2b010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html) - Jonathan Coulton hosts this monthly podcast (from the moon) that delves a little deeper into an interesting story from the most recent issue of Popular Science. Coulton is most definitely a lay person and so his interplay with his subjects keeps the show from being as dry and technical as something like In Our Time. Plus, these clock in under 10 minutes.
3) TERRA: The Nature of Our World (http://www.lifeonterra.com/) - mini-documentaries on nature and biology. Want to see an ode to Darwin's final treatise on worms and their importance to all life? A search for endophytes secreted away in remote corners of the jungle that may hold the cure to our most dreadful diseases? This is the place to go.

History
1) In Our Time (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/) - a roundtable discussion from BBC Radio 4 that takes an esoteric subject, presents it to a panel of 3-4 scholars plus the moderator, and gives you every piece of information you could ever want to know about it plus tons you didn't know you wanted to know. Topics range from science (Gravitational Waves is the latest episode) to history, philosophy, religion, literature, and beyond.
2) History According to Bob (http://www.summahistorica.com/) - Pop History that generally clocks in at around 10 minutes an episode and rarely gets above 20, with topics ranging from Mayan Crime and Punishment to the Trial and Execution of Marie Antoinette (and plenty of non-death related events)
3) 12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of the Byzantine Empire (http://www.anders.com/lectures/lars_brownworth/12_byzantine_rulers/) - exactly what it sounds like, but a lot more interesting.
4) Talking History (http://talkinghistory.oah.org/) - now extinct, but worth checking out because of its extensive archives. Half an hour episodes dedicated to a single subject, the host almost always has an expert that's just written a book on the subject, so you'll often find yourself with new reading material when you're done.

Comedy
1) I Love Movies (http://handheldcomedy.com/index.php?task=ms&id=8) - a movie podcast hosted by Doug Benson, who you may know from Best Week Ever, the Marijuanalogues or the column this podcast is named for on bobanddavid.com. Guests include David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Zack Galifianakis, Maria Bamford and so on and so forth. It starts as talk about movies and generally ends up there, but the middle isn't always so well defined. Hilarious and worth checking out even though they recently stopped making them.
2) Little Gray Books (http://www.littlegraybooks.com/) - another extinct one, but worth checking out if you want to know what John Hodgman and Jonathan Coulton were doing before they got famous.
3) The Paul Goebel Show (http://handheldcomedy.com/index.php?task=ms&id=10&referred=TRUE) - remember Beat the Geeks? He was the TV geek, the only true geek on that gameshow. You can guess what he talks about.

Video Games
1) The Weekly Geek (http://www.weeklygeekshow.com/) - primarily about video games but covering pretty much every aspect of geekery and almost always featuring a (gasp) woman! One of the few non-technical game podcasts along with One Life Left that manages to be funny without relying heavily on the word "cunt".
2) One Life Left (http://www.onelifeleft.com/) - a British gaming podcast that's actually broadcast on FM radio over there. It's quite funny and has a crap ton of revolving features, presenters and skits in addition to its two hosts. Everything is funnier if its British.
3) 1UP.com Retronauts (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3156908) - Are you nerdy enough for this one? Roundtable discussion of retro video games, do you have the nerd cred to listen to over an hour dedicated to the Commodore 64? The Castlevania Series? A history of video game music? If you're feeling extra geeky, take a look at the accompanying video podcast Retronauts Bonus Stage (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3156997) where offshoot discussions from the week's topic are given full video treatment. Does Metroidvania actually exist? Tune in to find out.
4) 1UP.com Broken Pixels (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3158497) - a video podcast, think of it as MST3K for awful video games. Seanbaby and a couple of 1UP editors are forced to play games like Night Trap and Bible Adventures. Hilarity Ensues.
5) alt.NPR Press Start (http://www.pressstartpodcast.com/)- Speaking of nerd cred, combine that with your liberal cred and listen to a show that's NPR but made by off-air talent. Another roundtable discussion but on more contemporary and less nerd-intensive subjects.
6) Downloadble Content, The Penny Arcade Podcast (http://www.penny-arcade.com/padlc.xml) - the guys who make Penny Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic) turn on the mic while they come up with an idea for that day's comic. If you're a fan of Penny Arcade, you're already sold. If you aren't, it's probably not for you.

Food & Drink
1) The Minimalist w/ Mark Bittman (http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_chl=e7da5f461d77234dd3adbf2c6f51fe61020f9741) - a video podcast from one of the food columnists at the times, it takes some delicious restaurant meal and makes it possible to cook at home. Bittman is funny and personable and makes it worth watching even if you don't plan on cooking peanut brittle (I did. It was worth it.)
2) Tiki Bar TV (http://tikibartv.com/tikibar_display.php?pver=qh&vid=30) - a video podcast about drinking and drinking culture. The latest podcast has a great guest appearance from Kevin Rose.

Music
1) They Might Be Giants Podcast (http://www.tmbg.com/pod.html) - Dial-a-song, with more than one song, hosted by Flans doing a funny voice.
2) Coverville (http://www.coverville.com/) - all cover songs, all the time, generally dedicated to an artist or a theme.

[JayT]

well -


to start of with, I have 3 shows -

http://www.jaytonline.com
http://www.realmenwearpink.net
and
http://www.dontdropthesoap.org

I also listen to http://www.archerradio.com
http://www.yeastradio.com
http://www.dawnanddrew.com
http://www.thisamericanlife.com
http://www.geekbrief.tv

and tons of others.

[EffMeBoobs]

I forgot one...

The Sound of Young America (http://www.maximumfun.org/) is an NPR podcast with guests like Jackson Publick of Venture Brothers, Patton Oswalt, the Onion AV Club guys, writers for Conan, etc. Worth a listen.

[JustJon]

The Systm came back recently too. Very interesting stuff and very DIY

[JustJon]

3) SModcast (http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/?p=4249) - Already mentioned by Stugots, I second it. When Sheepy brought it to my attention I was initially offput by the idea of having to listen to Scott Mosier's monotonous voice for an hour, but he's actually quite funny and more than holds his own with Kevin Smith. The two ramble on about pretty much anything and more often than not it's pretty hilarious. I'd recommend starting with SModcast #9 (http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/podpress_trac/web/4049/0/SModcast-09.mp3), wherein the rape of Smith's miniature dachschund by his Yellow Lab is chronicled.


You really have issues. Podcast #8 was far more interesting because it was about the creative process.

[Don Stugots]

what i like about the SModcast is that here is Kevin Smith giving you an open window into his life. He talks about his childhood, smoking in an non smoking hotel, creative process all with a casualness of a guy you would meet in a bar.

regina is still hooked on the FOOD IS NOT LOVE podcast but i could take it or leave it.