podcasts

Several rides ago, Robert N, a sometime Hill Slug, and I got to talking about exercise, and I mentioned I take the curse off by listening to podcasts. In an email, he asked what I listen to, and I responded, and I just realized it makes a blog post. So, with some minor edits, herewith, starting with my weekly routine. In each case, the show title is a link to the web page; where possible, I've included the link for your RSS reader below it.

Mondays: 99% Invisible, a show about design done by an architect:

http://feeds.99percentinvisible.org/99percentinvisible

... and Planet Money, a show from NPR about finances (for not-finance-people, whihc includes me):

http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510289/planet-money#

Tuesdays: Geekspeak, a show about science and tech, done by a rotating cast of young programmers in California:

http://geekspeak.org/episodes/rss.xml

Wednesdays: Right now I'm doing Mystery Show (of which there are only a few episodes at this writing). A woman solves "mysteries" having to do with such things as, "Where did that business suddenly disappear to?" and "What could that vanity plate mean?":

http://feeds.gimletmedia.com/mysteryshow

My other Wednesday choice right now is 7th Avenue Project. A modern Renaissance Man, Robert Pollie, talks to artists, scientists, authors, and various other kinds of movers and shakers. I'm embarrassed that Pollie can sound so smart in so many disciplines.

http://audio1.cruzio.com/kusp/pod/rpollie.xml

Thursdays:  This American Life (I'm sure you've heard of it).

(This American Life only has the .mp3 of the most recent show for download. You can stream earlier shows, but you can't save them. Not to be denied, I've been getting and saving them most weeks for years; I probably have seven or eight years on my hard drives.)

Fridays: From the CBC, DNTO (Definitely Not The Opera; it's now an interview-and-story show. Each week, the host, Sook Yin Lee, takes on a topic and has people opine and hold forth; some are experts and some not.)

http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/includes/dnto.xml

Others:

From Maximum Fun, Judge John Hodgman. John Hodgman (as you probably know) was the "PC" in the old "I'm a PC, and I'm a Mac" commercials. He has a breadth of knowledge and a droll wit, and he and "bailiff" Jesse Thorne weigh in on topics that listeners send in, asking for "adjudications". Topics have included whether to send the kids to nerd camp or regular summer camp, how much to tell about a movie before it becomes a spoiler (and how old a movie has to be before you can say what you want without it being considered a spoiler), and other such topics of earth-shattering import.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/judgejohnhodgman

(Maximum Fun has a number of other shows I haven't pursued for lack of time; the site is definitely worth a look.)

NPR Ask Me Another: If I weren't afraid of sounding dull, I'd call this a hip quiz show, but I know nobody says "hip" anymore (except me). I don't know most of the quiz questions (many are pop culture and too recent for me), but the attitude and presentation are fun.

http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510299/ask-me-another#

When all else fails, I have episodes of Car Talk I haven't listened to, from when both the car guys were still alive (Tom Magliozzi died in 2014).

http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510208/car-talk#

 Have you heard anything else cool?