Lately I've been listening to a lot of podcasts. Indeed, listening to podcasts is more natural to me than watching tv. I can move around, do cleaning, walk the dog, and slowly drive Colleen nuts as I wander around laughing at comments she can't hear. That's a nice change of pace from hearing her laughing at things I can't hear. So below are a few of my favorites.
If you are brave, download the blogroll and add all of them to your favorite podcatcher. Personally, I have been using Beyondpod for a while now, although I've also heard good things about Dogcatcher.
For the obsessive-compulsive, these aren't in any particular order. Sorry.
Tech
I'm a geek and I love learning about technology. So a fair amount of my podcast listening involves technology.
This Week in Tech (TWiT)
Usually headed by Leo Laporte of Screensaver's fame, this is a weekly discussion show about recent events in the sphere of technology. Informative, but occasionally the humor dominates the show. To me it's most interesting when guests like Jerry Pournelle offer both a historical analysis of the technology and commentary of the current state of the industry.
FLOSS Weekly
FLOSS as in Free, Libre, and Open Source Software, not dental floss.
I'm a great believer of open source software and this show is an excellent way to find out about both established and brand-new projects. The only issue is that my "want-to-do" list has exploded since starting to listen to this show. FLOSS has even interviewed some Code4Libbers on the open source Evergreen ILS. They have a video cast as well, but I almost always listen to the audio version.
Linux Outlaws
Dan & Fab can be a bit crude and explosive at times. Ok, that's mainly Fab. But both are genuine and engaging as hosts. Their love of open-source and linux comes through clearly. This show covers a lot of tech news besides just Linux and open source stuff. It's a good compliment to TWiT.
Security Now!
Hosted by Steve Gibson and usually Leo Laporte is the co-host. Covers weekly security news, but also delves into a large range of topics that are associated with computer security such as how the Internet works, Identity systems and other such topics. Very useful podcast to listen to, even if you're not a computer expert. After a while, you might just find yourself becoming one.
Tech News Today
This show I'm a little hesitant to recommend just for the fact it is a daily show and runs about an hour. If you're a hardcore geek and want to know a lot of detail about technology, particularly the business side, it's worth at least listening to a few episodes a week.
Music
Rathole Radio
Dan from the above-mentioned Linux Outlaws plays a variety of music in this podcasts, mostly from folks releasing songs with licenses that allow sharing and downloading. There's a lot of cool stuff out there. It's a bit of an eclectic mix though, so some episodes might be absolutely excellent while the next I might end up feeling neutral towards.
PC Podcast
This is a music podcast that I just started listening to, but the best of 2011 episodes were so good I added it to this list. I'm looking forward to catching up on more of them. Again, a mix of music from artists you may never had heard of, but should.
Board Games
The Dice Tower
The Dice Tower is one of the longest-running and most respected podcasts about card & board games. The hosts are Tom Vasel & Eric Summerer, but the show features segments from a variety of contributers that cover topics such as reviews, history of gaming, and the science behind games.
The Little Metal Dog
I've only been listening for a few months, but I consider this one of the best gaming podcasts and something every hardcore game buff should listen to at least once. While most other game podcasts focus on talking about particular games, Michael Fox interviews a huge variety of people involved in the game industry. He has interviews with designers like Peter Olotka, Richard Garfield, Martin Wallce and many others. He doesn't just do interviews with designers but finds other interesting people involved with games such as Rich Sommer of Mad Men fame.
Game On! with Cody & John
An entertaining podcast "for the common gamer" by Cody & John. They cover a variety of types of games and do so quite well. Cody & John are enthusastic and engaging hosts and it gives a very personal feeling to the podcast.
The Spiel
This is hosted by Stephen Conway and David Coleson. This one can run a little long, which might be the only weakness. I tend to sometimes skip over some of the detailed rules explanation, although it can really help me understand a game. By far my favorite part fo the show is when they explain some of the history surrounding a game theme or the history of the game itself.
Ludology
This show features one of my favorite contributers to the Dice Tower, Geoff Engelstein. This show has been a bit hit or miss for me so far. The episodes that feel more like Geoff's segment on the Dice Tower, "GameTek" are really fascinating. One such recent episode, Episode 18, had an interview with a scientist who is sponsoring an AI design competition around simulating learning strategies. However, I end up zoning out during the discussion about terminology in gaming and the more general discussions betwen Geoff and Ryan Sturm.
Just For Fun
Basic Brewing
This is the podcast I've been listening to the longest that is on this list. It revolves around homebrewing and beer. James Spencer is an excellent host. If you are interested in homebrewing, I'd definitely recommend checking out some of the early episodes, particulary some of the ones on sanitation and cleaning. I find myself skipping episode within the past year a little more frequently, but it still a pretty solid show.
Radiolab
This is an actual radio show that gets published as a podcast. It is a bit educational and a bit wacky. Lots of interesting topics and people, although the intro sets Colleen's teeth on edge. The hosts explore a variety of topics to with professional sound editing. It's difficult to convey how the sound editing interacts with the topics, you just need to listen to the show
In Our Time
A BBC podcast that brings in panels of experts to talk on various historical topics and aspects of history. There's a broad range of always interesting topics.
The Splendid Table
Another radio show, a NPR regular that gets re-published for downloads. There's interviews with cookbook authors, reviews of the best road food, and call-in segments asking questions about cooking. It usually manages to make me hungry and inspires me to cook more.
FSL Tonight
If you are a science-fiction or fantasy fan and love puns, wordplay, and silliness, this is a hysterical podcast. It is an actual fantasy sports league where all the members are characters from some of your favorite novels, tv shows, and movies. The Mordor Crows currently loom high over the Canton Jaynes, but who knows what weakness could unmake the dark shadows that pour from Mordor. Perhaps even the All-Seeing eye can be distracted at a crucial time.
Tales from the Liberry"CAST"
I'm a little torn about posting this one. The shows are based from one of my favorite blogs, Tales from the Liberry. The narrator, Juice, is the original writer of the Tales of the Liberry. The podcast is always good for a laugh. (In fact, be careful listening while driving).
There are occasional sound-editing issues. Also, I've been meaning to make this post for a while and recently Juice started a content to give away mugs to people who direct traffic to his site. I'm pretty sure I would have posted this without any such bribery, but feel compelled to mention it. This is one I'd recommend listening to from the beginning.
Final Comments
if it seems like I'm listening to a lot, yeah, I am. I listen to a lot of podcasts at 1.5 or 2 times the normal play speed. It's was pretty easy to get used to, but perhaps that is just my high school experience of debate serving me well. I doubt I'd be able to listen to as many if I didn't speed it up.
So what podcasts are other people listening to?