I am still listening to podcasts
On my iPod Nano (ooo, iPod Nano), in order of most-listened:
This Week in TECH - no, no idea why the last word is in capitals. Useful way of finding out the big stories, and hearing peoples’ viewpoints. Useful way, too, of watching how someone with decent content, as presenter Leo Laporte clearly has here, experiments with it: from taking the show live to audiences (works occasionally, doesn’t work all the time), to videoing the show (think a radio discussion show with cameras, and you understand why it doesn’t work), and to making the show stereo (panned mics make it much easier to hear when people are talking over one another). I am a paid subscriber, that’s how much I like this.
The Geoff Show - a much better podcast than the previous Pete and Geoff breakfast show, because every link doesn’t begin with a timecheck, and Geoff does a preamble before each snoop-log-collection. Brilliant listen: this is my breakfast show currently. (I commute on the tube, in case you wondered.)
The Ricky Gervais Show - pronounced “The Ricky Gervais SHOW. On Guardian Unlimited.” No idea why the production is so excreble, nor why it’s not been produced well, nor why Ricky sounds as if he’s in a large echoey room, nor why it’s not even seen any audio processing to make quiet Karl still audible. Particularly odd, since Karl Pilkington is/was Head of Production at XFM, so undoubtedly knows how to do it properly. But it’s still moderately funny.
Inside the Net - Leo Laporte production with some woman called Amber. Amber sounds like a valley girl (though is Canadian), but is beginning to ask rather better questions of the staggeringly good guests they have on; and Leo does a good job, too, in asking more.
2600 Hacker Quarterly - which contains low quality copies off ‘Off the hook’, and ‘Off the wall’, both from a little New York radio station somewhere (and when I say little, it sounds as if it comes from someone’s spare room). Irritating bits where people try to do a TWiT, and then discover that they don’t know anything about what they’re talking about. Interesting bits when they stop talking about computers and start talking about other things. They read an email of mine (criticising them for criticising Google, so they must recognise talent when they see it.
Security Now - Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson. Sometimes deathly dull (with Steve rabbiting on about highly complicated security stuff). Sometimes very interesting (with Steve rabbiting on about less complicated security stuff). As a result, feeling much happier about running WPA at home instead of WEP, even though my password is as guessable as a little black cat with white feet is cute. (Very.)
Iain Lee - from LBC. The hidden talent of LBC, except he’s on afternoons now, and isn’t very hidden any more. Listen out for the Barry from Watford specials. The last episode that’s downloaded for me contained a man so stupid he genuinely thought that tuba was made out of dolphins.
On the Media from WNYC. Excellent, if rather too NPR-like, programme from the US about the media. Favourite bit: right at the end, when old bloke-host (Bob) and old woman-host (Brooke) read the credits. Bob always places an un-natural pause in “…and this programme was edited…. by Brooke.”. I think it’s an in-joke. They also credit their webmaster every week, which I think is a nice touch.
KCRW’s Minding the Media. Not heard much of this yet to comment, only that the latest episode is a man progressively getting more and more pissed off in a very NPR way.
Pocket Planet Radio, and The Word Nerds. Not yet listened to these; recommended to me as something to listen to. I may hate them. There again, I may not.
And that’s your update.
A view from the future: The “edited by… Brooke” was, indeed, an in-joke.