Further recommendations: podcasts
It's Wednesday, which means lunch with lifecollage (Kermit flail-y arms, yaaaay!). The topic of podcasts came up up. I listen to several. People other than lifecollage may find knowing about these podcasts to be a good and helpful thing. Also, if you listen to any, you can tell me what you like and why. So, the list with descriptions under the cut because ye gods this got long:
Geek a Week
Len Peralta's year-long project in the style of Jonathan Coulton's Thing a Week, but his is with playing cards featuring nerds. Len interviews leading geeks, generally in the pop-culture/entertainment side of things, and he will frequently record the interview. There's some obvious ones like Wil Wheaton and Jonathan Coulton, but he also got Weird Al this week, and with any justice in the world, he will land Stan Lee. Check out the link above for blog, the list of geeks featured thus far, and of course, the cards that are the whole reason for the project.
Memories of the Future
Wil Wheaton reads excerpts from the book of the same name. Basically he commentates for TNG (season 1) episodes. Very funny even for someone like me who's only watched some TNG. This is a limited duration, since there are only 13 or so chapters.
The Moth
These are usually 10-30 minute stories, "real stories recorded live, without notes." You never know what you're going to get from week to week. I often wish I could hear the entire evening's worth of stories since there's always some sort of theme, but the podcast is only one story long. I particularly like to have these on hand when I don't want to get too engrossed with a long recording.
The Nerdist
This is Chris Hardwick's podcast. Chris is one half of the musical duo, Hard and Phirm (Mike Phirman being the other half- also Wil Wheaton's college roommate- fun fact). He interviews people he thinks are interesting. They're usually an hour long - or 2 if it's a live show. He's a bit more out there than Peralta is with Geek a Week. You know, he actually has landed Stan Lee, Ozzy Osborn, Rob Zombie, and oh-- THE MUPPETS. ahem. Sorry. Didn't mean to yell. I was listening to the Craig Ferguson live show while shuttling books between floors today and was incapable of not laughing out loud. My first exposure to Chris was not great: he was cracking wise about rednecks and it just came off as insanely mean. After further listening to his interviews I am acclimated to the stand up. Headphones are absolutely required if you think you'll be overheard by young ones, the easily offended, or those in a position of authority.
NPR: 7am news summary
I don't actually love it. It's never more than 5 minutes long, so it's the condensed version of all the bad stuff that's going on in the world. If you have a better option let me know. I picked it up (and really almost all of them) via itunes, so no link for this one. Just go search on the itunes music store.
NPR: Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
Peter Sagal and Carl Kassel get together with 3 panelists --Mo Rocca, Tom Bodett, Charlie Pierce, Paula Poundstone, Amy Dickenson, Roy Blount, Jr., Roxanne Roberts, Kyrie O'Connor - (and more) are the usual panelists, plus they sometimes get some fun guest panelists. There's a set routine of games that are played pulling from that week's news. Unless it's a clip show, there's usually some neat famous person who's invited on to play "Not My Job." If you like The Daily Show, you'll like this, too. (Not quite the replacement for the daily news summary listed above, though)
Paul and Storm Talk About Some Stuff For 5-10 Minutes On Average
They actually talk for anywhere from 40-60 minutes. Each topic discussed might be 5-10 minutes. Paul and Storm have become internet-famous by opening for Jonathan Coulton for years. However, they've really started to come into their on in the past 2 years or so. I think part of it is because of this podcast, and very much so because of W00tstock. (You know, that totally awesome nerd-fest that'll be here in Boston on Halloween? Yeah, that.) I started listening to the podcast before I really saw much of them live or knew much of their music, so don't let not knowing about that keep you from it.
Radio Free Burrito
Wil Wheaton's more free-form podcast, which is extremely sporatic. The more he's getting acting and W00tstock gigs, the less likely he is going to have time for random chatting to his fans. My absolute favorite episode is #22, which features the MC Frontalot song, Your Friend Wil featuring Mike Doughty (of Soul Coughing) and a story from one of Wil's books about the genesis of his love of D&D. He'll frequently read a bit that he's had on his blog or in a book, but it's pretty much up to him. I like that he includes random retro radio commercials and songs so it feels more like old school radio. I'm glad the guy's got so much work these days, but DUDE. I miss that lull that let him do podcasts.
Save Love
This is Dan Savage's advice column. It's a refreshing alternative to the agony aunt columns that are ruled over by Dear Abby. He spends the first few minutes ranting about something to do with sexual politics, then plays calls from people who need advice. He's queer as the day is long, poly and kink friendly, and snarky as hell. Another show where headphones are 100% required.
This American Life
Ira Glass hosts the NPR show, 1 hour long, about-- well, anything and everything. It's been on for years. Sometimes they can be extremely depressing, but overall a fascinating view of the world. My favorite in recent months was the one titled Frienemies. The one about the busy rest stop was also very memorable.
Honorable mentions but not in current rotation:
Car Talk- NPR's car advice show with Click and Clack
SModcast- (Kevin Smith/Scott Mosier vehicle)
Acapodcast- a capella music all the time
Reduced Shakespeare Company- you know, the comedy group. They have a podcast, too
JC Hutchins- 7th Son, audio book- read by the author. It came out some years ago, but I was reminded of how excellent it was
Scott Sigler- another author, like Hutchins who reads his books in serial form in free podcasts. Both got book deals because of it-- eventually. I've not yet listened to Sigler, but I'm thinking about adding it.
OK. that took a lot longer to get written out than I expected. But worth it. Did I mention that I work alone in an office and have 2 hours of daily commute? With that in mind, I also have some sort of backlog which I don't feel compelled to finish. You will also see that one show often feeds into another.
ETA: why can't I write this prolifically for the work blog?! (rhetorical)
Geek a Week
Len Peralta's year-long project in the style of Jonathan Coulton's Thing a Week, but his is with playing cards featuring nerds. Len interviews leading geeks, generally in the pop-culture/entertainment side of things, and he will frequently record the interview. There's some obvious ones like Wil Wheaton and Jonathan Coulton, but he also got Weird Al this week, and with any justice in the world, he will land Stan Lee. Check out the link above for blog, the list of geeks featured thus far, and of course, the cards that are the whole reason for the project.
Memories of the Future
Wil Wheaton reads excerpts from the book of the same name. Basically he commentates for TNG (season 1) episodes. Very funny even for someone like me who's only watched some TNG. This is a limited duration, since there are only 13 or so chapters.
The Moth
These are usually 10-30 minute stories, "real stories recorded live, without notes." You never know what you're going to get from week to week. I often wish I could hear the entire evening's worth of stories since there's always some sort of theme, but the podcast is only one story long. I particularly like to have these on hand when I don't want to get too engrossed with a long recording.
The Nerdist
This is Chris Hardwick's podcast. Chris is one half of the musical duo, Hard and Phirm (Mike Phirman being the other half- also Wil Wheaton's college roommate- fun fact). He interviews people he thinks are interesting. They're usually an hour long - or 2 if it's a live show. He's a bit more out there than Peralta is with Geek a Week. You know, he actually has landed Stan Lee, Ozzy Osborn, Rob Zombie, and oh-- THE MUPPETS. ahem. Sorry. Didn't mean to yell. I was listening to the Craig Ferguson live show while shuttling books between floors today and was incapable of not laughing out loud. My first exposure to Chris was not great: he was cracking wise about rednecks and it just came off as insanely mean. After further listening to his interviews I am acclimated to the stand up. Headphones are absolutely required if you think you'll be overheard by young ones, the easily offended, or those in a position of authority.
NPR: 7am news summary
I don't actually love it. It's never more than 5 minutes long, so it's the condensed version of all the bad stuff that's going on in the world. If you have a better option let me know. I picked it up (and really almost all of them) via itunes, so no link for this one. Just go search on the itunes music store.
NPR: Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
Peter Sagal and Carl Kassel get together with 3 panelists --Mo Rocca, Tom Bodett, Charlie Pierce, Paula Poundstone, Amy Dickenson, Roy Blount, Jr., Roxanne Roberts, Kyrie O'Connor - (and more) are the usual panelists, plus they sometimes get some fun guest panelists. There's a set routine of games that are played pulling from that week's news. Unless it's a clip show, there's usually some neat famous person who's invited on to play "Not My Job." If you like The Daily Show, you'll like this, too. (Not quite the replacement for the daily news summary listed above, though)
Paul and Storm Talk About Some Stuff For 5-10 Minutes On Average
They actually talk for anywhere from 40-60 minutes. Each topic discussed might be 5-10 minutes. Paul and Storm have become internet-famous by opening for Jonathan Coulton for years. However, they've really started to come into their on in the past 2 years or so. I think part of it is because of this podcast, and very much so because of W00tstock. (You know, that totally awesome nerd-fest that'll be here in Boston on Halloween? Yeah, that.) I started listening to the podcast before I really saw much of them live or knew much of their music, so don't let not knowing about that keep you from it.
Radio Free Burrito
Wil Wheaton's more free-form podcast, which is extremely sporatic. The more he's getting acting and W00tstock gigs, the less likely he is going to have time for random chatting to his fans. My absolute favorite episode is #22, which features the MC Frontalot song, Your Friend Wil featuring Mike Doughty (of Soul Coughing) and a story from one of Wil's books about the genesis of his love of D&D. He'll frequently read a bit that he's had on his blog or in a book, but it's pretty much up to him. I like that he includes random retro radio commercials and songs so it feels more like old school radio. I'm glad the guy's got so much work these days, but DUDE. I miss that lull that let him do podcasts.
Save Love
This is Dan Savage's advice column. It's a refreshing alternative to the agony aunt columns that are ruled over by Dear Abby. He spends the first few minutes ranting about something to do with sexual politics, then plays calls from people who need advice. He's queer as the day is long, poly and kink friendly, and snarky as hell. Another show where headphones are 100% required.
This American Life
Ira Glass hosts the NPR show, 1 hour long, about-- well, anything and everything. It's been on for years. Sometimes they can be extremely depressing, but overall a fascinating view of the world. My favorite in recent months was the one titled Frienemies. The one about the busy rest stop was also very memorable.
Honorable mentions but not in current rotation:
Car Talk- NPR's car advice show with Click and Clack
SModcast- (Kevin Smith/Scott Mosier vehicle)
Acapodcast- a capella music all the time
Reduced Shakespeare Company- you know, the comedy group. They have a podcast, too
JC Hutchins- 7th Son, audio book- read by the author. It came out some years ago, but I was reminded of how excellent it was
Scott Sigler- another author, like Hutchins who reads his books in serial form in free podcasts. Both got book deals because of it-- eventually. I've not yet listened to Sigler, but I'm thinking about adding it.
OK. that took a lot longer to get written out than I expected. But worth it. Did I mention that I work alone in an office and have 2 hours of daily commute? With that in mind, I also have some sort of backlog which I don't feel compelled to finish. You will also see that one show often feeds into another.
ETA: why can't I write this prolifically for the work blog?! (rhetorical)