Best Podcasts

Over this summer, I have derived a great deal of enjoyment from listening to podcasts. Watching gulls feed, or as is often the case, watching them not feed, gets very dull very fast without something to occupy your mind. I listened to a number of audiobooks over the summer, but the majority of my time at work was spent listening to podcasts. Here is the list of my favorites in no particular order:

This American Life - You've probably heard This American Life before. It comes out once a week and is always great. Ira Glass is a very talented story teller. If you are both a human being and have any interest in podcasts, this one should be on your list.

Fresh Air - Fresh Air is good if you need to fill a lot of time. They come out frequently and are consistently entertaining. Terry Gross is also very good at her job.

Planet Money - I remember when Nathan first introduced me to Planet Money. As someone who loathed their Microeconomics course in college, I was not excited at all by the concept. It is, however, a very enjoyable podcast. They talk about current economic issues, and they do it in a light and fun manner. It is short and comes out maybe twice a week, so it is good if you don't have a whole lot of time for podcasts.

BBC Global News Podcast - Highlights from the BBC World Service, this is a 30 minute podcast that comes out, I believe, 5-7 times per week. Good for keeping up on global affairs.

The Rachel Maddow Show - I had never watched the Rachel Maddow show before (well, I still haven't really), but I have enjoyed listening to her podcast every day. She does a good job of presenting news that will be interesting to liberal folks like myself and serving as a counterpoint to the more conservative news programs. Definitely worth a listen, or perhaps a watch, if you are a liberal leaning individual.

How to Do Everything - The title for this podcast is deceptive. It doesn't actually teach you anything. It is a fairly short podcast and consists primarily of listeners sending in questions, which the hosts then ask celebrities or experts in the appropriate field. It wouldn't be all that great, except that the hosts make it very funny. It is an enjoyable time-killing podcast.

Judge John Hodgman - Judge John Hodgman is a delightful comedy podcast. If you are not familiar, John Hodgman is a comedian. He is known for being the PC in those awful Mac commercials and for being a frequent correspondent on The Daily Show. This podcast is a fake courtroom a la Judge Judy, but deals with much sillier issues. There was a recent episode in which the dispute was over whether or not a man would be allowed to continue air conducting whenever he listened to classical music. His wife was a graduate student studying music, and she didn't like it. Anyways, it is hosted by a professional comedian, features silly disputes such as the above mentioned, and is definitely worth a listen.

David Attenborough's Life Stories - Brief, ten to fifteen minute segments narrated by David Attenborough about interesting creatures around the world. Sometimes when I look at the subject of the podcast I think I will be bored, but he is such a talented individual and has such a fantastic narrating voice, that I am always entertained and intrigued.

Darth Hater - This one is only for those of you out there interested in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Darthhater.com is a fansite, and they have a once or twice weekly podcast in which they discuss information about the game. It's actually not a particularly good podcast, but the portion of my day in which I can listen to things is much larger than the portion in which I can read things, so this is how I have been getting my SWTOR news.

Well, that's the end of my list of favorite podcasts from this summer. Hopefully you'll find something interesting on this list. If you have any podcast suggestions, I would love to hear them.