I’ve run low on podcasts. What is the discriminating Doper downloading these days?
I like anything public-radioey or sciencey. But technology reviews bore me. Productivity/life-hacking stuff is good. What’s the best knitting podcast? Some fiction would not go amiss . . . offbeat fantasy, sci-fi, experimental stuff—have you discovered any diamonds in the rough?
Here’s the NPR podcast directory, though since you say you like public-radioey stuff you’ve probably already seen it. And here’s the NYTimes.com podcast selection, though in my experience most of them are kind of dull. YMMV, of course.
The NOVA/PBS podcast is a good sciency podcast. Dunno how often its updated, but they are short and sweet little science blurbs.
I don’t know if this would interest you, but one of my favorite podcasts is the Life of a Law Student podcasts. Run by a first year law student, they run the gamut of different law topics ranging from Constitutional law to Criminal law and Property law. Rather informative, and he presents them in an interesting and pertinent way.
[QUOTE=Podkayne]
What’s the best knitting podcast? Some fiction would not go amiss . . . offbeat fantasy, sci-fi, experimental stuff—have you discovered any diamonds in the rough?
[/QUOTE]
Cast On, with Brenda Dayne is generally regarded as one of the best knitting podcasts. Brenda has a great voice for podcasting, and an interesting way of talking about knitting. She’s on hiatus right now, I think, but is supposed to be back soon.
For science-fiction stories, I really like Escape Pod. Steve Eley picks some really good stories, and the podcast is well-done. They have two different streams: one contains just the stories that are Good for the Whole Family and the other stream contains those stories PLUS stories with more adult themes.
Spaceship Radio rebroadcasts old SF radio dramas. Sometimes their sound quality is a little funky, but it’s fun to hear the old shows.
Michael R. Menenga and Evo Terra have a couple of good shows:
Dragon Page Cover to Cover focuses on written SF. They have interviews with authors and other features. Their Slice of Sci-Fi podcast focuses on sci-fi in movies and on tv. The hosts are fun to listen to. They also podcast Wingin’ It, which is all about the beer, and can get raunchy occasionally. Be warned.
The Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas* don’t podcast nearly often enough for me. They concentrate on more vintage sf. Their latest show was on Theodore Sturgeon’s book More Than Human. Great geeky fun.
I also like Jack Mangan’s Deadpan Podcast. Not just about sci-fi.
I also subscribe to the Librivox podcast. They just finished reading Pride and Prejudice, and are now on Sarah Orne Jewett’s book The Country of the Pointed Firs. Good stuff.
I have a few more I listen to regularly, but these are the ones I look forward to. Except I had a little disagreement with Brenda Dayne, and haven’t quite felt the same about her since.
Why yes, I listen to lots of podcasts. Why do you ask? 
*IMHO, Best. Name. EVAH.
I used to stitch (counted cross stitch) to this a lot. Now I need a new prescription for bifocals, but Claybourne is fun to listen to anytime. Make sure to start with episode 1 and go up from there.
Many radio stations besides NPR also do podcasts. If there is anything scheduled that you like to listen to, check for on the station’s website to see if there is a podcast available. (I am fluent in French, and I frequently listen to podcasts from RadioFrance.)
Another good source for podcast-compatible material is Audible.com. This website focuses on audiobooks in MP3 format, but the prices are good, and there is a good variety.
Surely you’ve heard Slacker Astronomy, right?
[QUOTE=drewbert]
Surely you’ve heard Slacker Astronomy, right?
[/QUOTE]
Indeed. They read one of my letters on a Chitchat show.
Thanks everyone, for the suggestions!
Archergal, now I wanna know what the tiff with Brenda Dayne was about. Picking vs. throwing? One-needle cast-on vs. two? Intarsia vs. Fair Isle? 
I’ve been listening to Knitcast, with Marie Irshad, and I like it, but she doesn’t post new shows very often these days.
I’m a reader for a poetry podcast. crickets
Yeah, I know.
[QUOTE=jsgoddess]
I’m a reader for a poetry podcast. crickets
Yeah, I know.
[/QUOTE]
That’s neat. How do you get a gig like that?
(I’d love to do something like that myself, but I have a face for radio and a voice for silent movies.)
Australian ABC radio has a huge array of podcasts. Dr Karl’s Great Moments in Science is a particular highlight.
[QUOTE=Trion]
That’s neat. How do you get a gig like that?
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Basically? You volunteer!
The podcast, er, editor? was looking for someone to read poems when their authors wouldn’t or couldn’t, so I volunteered. And after a few shows, I ended up working with another volunteer to put a show together from scratch.
[QUOTE=Podkayne]
Archergal, now I wanna know what the tiff with Brenda Dayne was about. Picking vs. throwing? One-needle cast-on vs. two? Intarsia vs. Fair Isle?
[/QUOTE]
No, nothing like that! On her last hiatus she had Dave of Chubb Creek do a podcast for her. He’s a complete and utter non-knitter. Many people found it hilarious in a sort of meta-podcast way, I guess. I didn’t, and said so. (My comment was “Interesting, for very low values of interesting. Not really my thing.”) Apparently, though, all she wants to hear in comments to her blog is how her podcasts touch peoples’ lives and how much they mean to us. :rolleyes: So nothing exciting really.
Apologies for a second post, but I just pulled up my podcast list and found a couple of others:
If you’re dog-oriented, I like K-9 Cast, with Tara and Walter or Dog-Cast Radio from the UK.
Other crafty podcasts:
Weavecast only comes out about once a month, but it’s pretty interesting, even if, like me, you don’t weave anymore.
Crafty Pod is more of a general crafts-type podcast.
Cory Doctorow has a podcast where he reads from his work. I’ve got a thing for Cory Doctorow 
so I enjoy this one, even if his reading is sometimes kinda rushed.
BTW, I don’t have an iPod, and I used to use Juice to keep up with my podcasts. I found it a little cumbersome to move the files over, but I was managing ok. Then I started using MyPodder with my little SanDisk player. It syncs up everything for me in one fell swoop, and it’s easy to add new podcasts. Me likee. NAYY.
[QUOTE=Archergal]
Cast On, with Brenda Dayne is generally regarded as one of the best knitting podcasts. Brenda has a great voice for podcasting, and an interesting way of talking about knitting. She’s on hiatus right now, I think, but is supposed to be back soon.
[/QUOTE]
Thank you! I’d heard of her just before she went on hiatus but I lost my bookmarks and couldn’t remember the name..
There’s also one called ‘It’s a purl, man’ that’s not too bad. I listen to it from time to time. I don’t have the link handy though.
[QUOTE=Flutterby]
There’s also one called ‘It’s a purl, man’ that’s not too bad. I listen to it from time to time. I don’t have the link handy though.
[/QUOTE]
Guido “Two Skiens” (yes, he spells it wrong).
[QUOTE=Podkayne]
I’ve run low on podcasts. What is the discriminating Doper downloading these days?
I like anything public-radioey or sciencey. But technology reviews bore me. Productivity/life-hacking stuff is good. What’s the best knitting podcast? Some fiction would not go amiss . . . offbeat fantasy, sci-fi, experimental stuff—have you discovered any diamonds in the rough?
[/QUOTE]
I forget what your musical tastes are, but if you like female vocalists here’s my podcast. You can subscribe from there, or assuming the player is up, you can stream the shows at the MySpace page.
At the web site, I provide short snippets of all the songs, so you can spot check the songs and vocals to see if it’s something you might be interested in, before you download the shows (each about an hour long). Some shows get into weirder or more fun music than others. The genres I play range from adult modern rock to Trip Hop to 1930’s blues, though I mainly play “Ecto” music, that which can’t easily be fit into specific genres.
Not talky or sciencey, but it’s there if you want to check it out.
If anyone would like to listen to the podcast I helped put together, it’shere.
I’m Julie.
Warning, it is poetry.
Unless I missed it, I didn’t see anyone mention Ricky Gervais Show.
Or is he old news already?
I’ve been learning French with the French Ecole podcasts.
I also recommend the They Might Be Giants podcast, but of course this sort of thing is not to everyone’s taste.
Quirks and Quarks, although it’s currently on summer hiatus, is a great weekly science news show.