Podcasts!

What a concept! What a specifically urban commuter, tailored-to-me concept! And yes, I am well aware this is neither a new or groundbreaking subject, but bear with me for a sec, cause I just got into the whole thing a few weeks ago.

It started with the Bill Simmons podcast when that whole thing started. Say what you will about the fella, but he still writes the only sports column I regularly read and reference in conversation. Sure there might be a few more eye-rolls these days than in the past, but for a guy pushing 40, he still feels remarkably relevant and fun. So he starts doing these podcasts cause he's doing another book and doesn't have time to write as much, and they're pretty interesting! Good guests, smart conversation with people who not only have something to say, but people who he usually knows and has a great back and forth with. It's a really entertaining listen, and once he started doing it weekly, I FINALLY went into the iPod podcast center and hooked up an automatic update thingy.

From there, I figured I aught to start getting into others. I have about a 20 minute commute door-to-door, and while i can get a few songs in if I wanted, there are plenty of podcasts that I can get a whole story told to me in that time. So now I have a few things going. There's weekly Simmons and daily Pardon the Interruption (which is annoying because it's always yesterday's news,) Then I hooked up with the Joystiq podcast, which is these three dorks (one of which sounds like the Electronics Boutique store manager in Phillipsburg, NJ.) talking about video game news that I BARELY have an interest in. Then there's the smart stuff. NPR's Fresh Air podcast is remarkably dry and oftentimes unlistenable, but sometimes there's a good guest on that makes it interesting. The Slate Daily Podcast, which is usually a narrator reading a column out loud that's already available on line, but it's short and usually good. Then there's the gem, This American Life, which judging from my iTunes, I am 338 episodes behind. I can't say enough about how great this show is, and I'm the last person with the Internet to talk about it so I won't embarrass myself any longer.

So that's all. Welcome back from 2004, or whenever this all got started. I don't have a video ipod so I'm not getting into those yet. Hopefully there will be a new iPod in a month or so that will be worth the upgrade. For now tho, I'm happy with the radio stuff. Like I said...ideally there'd be a 20 minute daily show that i could get into and listen on the way to work every day. I'm sure there's something out there. Any suggestions?

Comments

[jerry]

NPR's Wait Wait Dont Tell Me
This Week in Tech
IGN's Gamescoop and AFK
Daily Giz Wiz is weird but very entertaining.

[daniel]

kcrw the treatment
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/tt

kcrw the business
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/tb

npr story of the day

nyt david pogue

ted talks
http://www.ted.com/

[bumpershine]

I am a podcastaholic. NPR has a boatload of good podcasts as does the CBC, APM and PRI.

I made a list of the good music ones here.
http://www.bumpershine.com/2007/05/09/what-music-podcasts-do-you-listen-to.html

[Essther]

Not a comment really, just a suggestion:

firejoemorgan.com

It's basically a few baseball fans, with way too much time on their hands, ripping apart Joe Morgan and other sportswriters and analysts.

Makes for a good read.

Love your blog.

[chris]

sports guy!!!

[chrisgrant]

Since I don't think Ludwig's South African accent could ever be mistaken for the voice of an EB employee (which I understand to be a pejorative in this instance), I'll presume you meant either Justin or myself.

And, since I'm a New Jersey native (versus Justin's West Virginia drawl), I'm guessing you meant me. As much as I'd like to take umbrage with your characterization, we've found a great deal of success by being passionate and curious about gaming news which, depending on your own level of curiosity and interest in the space, may or may not be a good match for you. Regardless, thanks for giving us a shot – always like getting listener's feedback.

[Jeff]

Hi Chris!

First, I think it's Justin who reminds me of that guy. Didn't necessarily mean it as an insult, just an observation from going to the mall for games in my college days and talking to the guy there. Considering that he's one of the few people I've encountered who was as knowledgeable and hardcore about gaming as you guys are, it rang a bell with me.

Second, I still listen and, for the most part, enjoy your podcasts a bunch. A lot of the stuff goes over my head or is beyond my level of interest, but considering I don't have any gamer friends who give a shit about any of this at all, it's nice to hear people having a conversation about it.

That's all. It took a few listens, but I like your approach. Keep up the good work.