Media I Consume

Podcasts to Which I Regularly Listen

alt.NPR: What Would Rob Do? - Rob Sachs discusses dealing with odd situations. Under 10 minutes, irregular release schedule.
Astronomy Cast - 30 minutes pretty well on the button and covers specific topics in astronomy. I think it’s more accurately a physics podcast but it’s both clear and conversational. The host is quite good at coming up with good questions as well as good metaphors and examples for tricky stuff.
Buzz Out Loud from CNET -45 minute-ish daily covering technology. Much more fluid than most podcasts with funny and well-done commentary.
Cranky Geeks - Weekly 45 minute show also available in video form where hosts and guests discuss technology and comment on tech culture. A lot more predictive than most shows and discussion is often lively.
FLOSS Weekly - Topics in Free/Libre Open Source Software. I thought it’d be a lot more technical but it is delightfully listenable. The heads of some pretty big FLOSS projects are reviewed in this semi-monthly 1.25+ hour show.
Futures in BioTech - Dense hour plus shows on topics in biotechnology. I have no idea what they’re talking about 1/2 the time. some background in biology/genetics help greatly. Host speaks softly in a deep voice and can be hard to make out without loud speakers.
MaximumPC No BS - Weekly podcast from MaximumPC magazine. The producer has recently changed but episodes are still high quality over the hour plus show.
Point of Inquiry - Weekly podcast hosted by the engaging DJ Grothe out of the Center For Inquiry. Focuses on topics of skeptical review of religion, pseudoscience and public outreach for skeptical inquiry.
Potential Energy - New (Aug. 08) podcast from Pixelcorps.tv network (TWiP, TWiM) covering renewable and alternative energy sources. Hosted by Kirsten Sanford. If you get annoyed by her dumb voices on This Week in Science there’s no evidence of it here. 40 minutes or so per episode.
net@nite - Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte talk about memes and other web happenings. Hourish near-weekly shows usually have an interview with some big-wig in web culture.
NPR: Intelligence Squared - Irregularly produced Debate netcast done in Stanford-style debate. Two or three rounds of discourse followed by limited cross-examination and questions from the audience. 45 minutes to 2 hours per episode.
NPR: It’s All Politics - Lacking on bold predictions but heavy on analysis and context. Hosts are thorough and sometimes even funny. Weekly show of under 1/2 hour.
NPR: Science Friday - Show is issued by topic rather than show so the 1 hour weekly is broken up into two or three segments on topics. Topical and exigent with call ins. I hate call ins, but everything else is good enough to balance it out.
NPR: Wait Wait…. Don’t Tell Me - Funniest show on NPR with smart folks talking about current events. Weekly hour show is a good review of the previous week and I like it much more than “What Do You Know?”
On the Media - Fascinating coverage of news media rather than the news itself. 1 hour weekly has high production values and also shows you how the sausage is made which is welcome from the pure polish you get elsewhere.
PC Gamer Podcast - PC Gamer Magazine’s weekly program on PC games. Duh.
Reasonable Doubts Podcast - A skeptical look at fundamentalism and excess of religion as viewed by former religious students and textual scholars lasting about 1.25 hours. Funny.
Science Talk - Scientific American and AAAS show on current science. Lots of event coverage and good interviews in each hour show.
Security Bites from CNET - Computer and internet security with a bent towards news and theoretical concerns in the Security Community. Less hands-on than Security Now.
Security Now! -Award-winning 75 minute-ish weekly on computer security. Host is a bit arrogant at times but he knows what he’s talking about. Every other show covers reader questions and the mailbag portion is much better than most shows.
Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena - Short, to the point show with themed episodes on skeptic topics. Well done, a bit funny and extensive show notes. Varying time and issuance.
Sorting Out Science -Informational 1/2 hour shows on science topics. Incredibly thorough for a podcast and almost reference-worthy.
- Undropped
tech5 - Daily sub 10-minute program by John C. Dvorak on technology news.
TEDTalks - Video cast of TED talks. TED is the Technology Entertainment Design conference where smart people talk. Nuff said.
The Amazing Show starring James Randi - Stories and anecdotes from James Randi on his work as a debunker and magician. Stories involve some pretty impressive figures from Isaac Asimov to Alice Cooper.
The Economist -Weekly dossier of what’s happened and what’s expected in each week. Done with the Council of Foreign Relations.
The Skeptics’ Guide 5 x 5- Brief, classroom-ready skeptical content from the creators of Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe.
The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe- Best skeptic news program out there. Each weekly show is over an hour and usually has a pretty good interview.
This Week in Media - 75 minute shows on digital media. Good guests and smooth presentation as well as reasonable pacing.
This Week in Science - Upbeat coverage of science news. Some pretty good interviews considering it’s done by college students. Hour shows issued weekly, except when school’s out.
This Week in Tech - Namesake of TWiT network and great technology show that clocks in usually around an hour. Nice spread of tech-people and regular panelists are sharp.
This Week in Law - Infrequent show hosted by Denise Howell on technology and privacy law. Shows are regularly over an hour and released when topics are newsworthy. Light on legalese and easy to follow.
Windows Weekly - Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte cover topics specifically for Windows users. Servers, consumer and mobile platforms are covered as well as new and upcoming products. Released a little less than once a week in hourish episodes.
WNYC’s Radio Lab - Irregularly released shows between 10 minutes and two hours on big topics like Morality and Time. While these topics are a bit touchy/feely compared to harder science fair it assumes little knowledge and is easy to get hooked by.

Podcasts I Now Avoid

43 Folders - I keep telling myself I’ll catch up but this productivity podcast focused on the 43 folders method can I have about 30 episodes to cover. If you have no interest in GTD methods, skip this. Never got around to it.
404 from CNET - a critical metric I use of the skill of a podcast is how many stupid giggles there are per minute as well as how long bad jokes role. This podcast has an unreasonably high level of both.
American Public Media: Marketplace - Daily on economics news. A lot of non-traditional economic topics and much more global than most economic commentary. Pretty well 30 minutes on the button.
- Dropped , don’t have time.
BoingBoingBoing - Boingboing.net’s news and interview podcast. They’ve stopped issuing them with any frequency but these 45-75 minute episodes are quite nice.
- Dropped, doesn’t look this’ll ever be updated.
BoingBoing: Get Illuminated -This BoingBoing podcast focuses on books and print artists. Each 45 - 90 minute show focuses on a single author or artist and Mark’s admiration for the interviewee is almost palpable. I’ve bought about 1/2 the books they’ve discussed if that’s any sign.
- Dropped, doesn’t look this’ll ever be updated.
Coolness Roundup - Weekly show brought to you by chronic gadget reviewers. Focuses on non-computer tech like home theatre systems and such. Opinionated hosts can be annoying if you disagree with them but the hour-long sessions are usually nice.
- Dropped during the summer. May not take back as their gadget budget is astounding and I don’t use most of the technologies discussed.
Cory Doctorow’s craphound.com - Aggregation of Cory Doctorow’s appearances in other media as well as work’s he’s narrated. Infrequent and varied length.
Game Theory - Gary Witta and guests discuss Inside Baseball of the games industry. Usually put out about every week depending on availability and lasts a little under an hour. Discontinued.
Get-It-Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips - 15 minute, semi-monthly podcast on productivity and life improvement. The hosting is a bit campy but the recommendations are solid.
Leo Laporte - The Tech Guy - Leo Laport’s semi-weekly radio show. This is the stripped aircast and each 2 hour episode is broken up into segments on caller questions, interviews, discussion and current technology news. I skip a lot of the call-in portion but the rest is wonderful.
- Dropped. After I got the hang of it, I dropped this as the most entry level thing I listen to.

PRI’s The World: Technology - Coverage of tech usage world-wide. 45 minute-ish shows are weekly and not terribly technical.
- Dropped to save time.
QuackCast - Coverage of SCAMS, supplimentary, complimentary and alternative medicine. Horribly biased, but that’s okay. Being biased towards fact is fine in my book. Varying length and issuing schedule.
- Dropped. No new episodes
Skepticality - Poorly paced, saccharine hosting.
Skeptiko - A bit too many softballs.
PhilosophyCast
Unwired - Product reviews by Wil Harris. Issued a little more than weekly and generally short.
- Dropped. Products reviewed never really affected me.
WIRED Science Video - Collaboration between PBS and Wired Magazine. Entertaining coverage of science topics. Periodic airing with varied episode times. Dropped video podcasts.

Blogs I Periodically Check

Malcolm Gladwell - Social scientist best known for his books Blink and The Tipping Point both of which I enjoyed immensely and read again about twice a year.
NeuroLogica - Maintained by Steven Novella, a powerful figure in the skeptical community who attacks pseudoscience with crushing scientific rigor. Every time I think of venturing a fallacious argument I fear him pouncing from behind the furniture.
Robert Reich - He was the secretary of labor during the Clinton years and while I sometimes agree with his vantage point he links well and offers powerful insight.
PZ Myers - Considered one of the best science blogs by community consensus. Covers fight against anti-science movement as well.

Periodicals