Podcast Reviews
What's hot in the world of Podcasts?
My husband has gotten me into listening to podcasts. With the free time we have every day getting shorter and shorter, we are finding that we have to fine-tune what we watch and listen to. TV is great, but it requires that you sit and watch something... hard to do when you have so many other things to be doing in a day. And the radio is good, but then you are stuck hearing commercials and you are at the mercy of the radio stations deciding what you can listen to and when.
Podcasts give you total freedom to listen to what you want, when you want! Some of them have videos included (including HD), and some of them are just audio. I listen to them one of two ways. One way is running them through my Apple TV which runs through my television set. This way I can watch the video if there is one, or I can just turn the audio on and listen to it while I do other things around the house. The other way I listen to them is through my iPod (now an iPhone!). Loading them onto my iPhone allows me to take them any where with me so that I can listen while I’m exercising, waiting for the kids at the orthodontist, or driving in my car.
The fun thing about podcasts is that there is something for everyone out there! If you like to cook, there are TONS of cooking podcasts. My favorites are the stories. They are usually about 50 min and we listen to them in the car or while doing things around the house. There is a podcast for pretty much any subject you can think of (arts, business, comedy, education, games, health, kids and family, music.....). All you have to do is have an iPod, or any mp3 player, go to the Apple iTunes Store and select Podcasts. It will show you all the newest hot picks, or you can chose from the Categories listing to find one you would like. They give you the chance to preview them from there so that you can see if you like the content, then if you like it you can subscribe to it and it will download into your iTunes account. From there you can load them onto your iPod and off you go! Oh, and did I forget to mention that.... THEY ARE FREE! However, they do also have seasons of shows (Top Chef and other shows) that you can purchase per episode or per season to watch. A great way to catch up on episodes or seasons that you missed.
It took me a little while to get used to this way of getting my media, but now I am hooked! I get what I want, when I want it, and I can take it any where. How cool is that?? So in this section I will be sharing with you some of the good podcasts that I have found, and please share with me some that you enjoy so that I can post them up here for the network to see.
Happy Podcasting!
Kids & Family
The Parent Code - (Video) Short, direct and good advice about issues for parents with kids from tots to teens.Stories/Interviews
APM: A Prairie Home Companion’s News from Lake Wobegon - (Audio) If you like Garrison Keillor you will love this. If you have never heard of him, give this one a try. Fun home-style stories. Keillor is a fantastic story-teller.APM: The Story - Good one-hour interviews about so many different topics
FOODIES
NPR: Food Podcast - (Audio) For the FOODIES! Check iTunes for so many food podcasts to choose from.Start Cooking - (Video) Great 1-3 minutes videos with recipes and cooking techniques. Definitely a favorite! You can also check out their website for recipes and videos at http://startcooking.com/
APR:Splendid Kitchen - (Audio) 1 hour talk show hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper about food and other fantastic FOODIE topics and interviews. Also a favorite of mine!
Healthy Cooking - (Video) Great healthy recipes!
Cooks Illustrated -(Video)
Cooking - Chef Paul’s Cookin’ with Passion - (Audio) Good info and easy to listen to in the car.
News & Politics
Real Time with Bill Maher - (Audio/Explicit)NPR: Talk of the Nation - (Audio)
NPR: Story of the Day - (Audio)
60 Minutes - (Audio)
Anderson Cooper 360 - (Video)
The Official Barack Obama Video Podcast - (Video)
President-Elect Obama’s Weekly Radio Address - (Audio)
Tech News
This Week in Tech - (Audio) Great tech talk with Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose and John C. Dvorak.This Week in Tech - (Video)
Diggnation - (Audio/Explicit) Weekly tech/web culture show based on the top digg.com social bookmarking news stories
Health
YOGAmazing -Yoga Lifestyle - (Video)Elsie’s Yoga Class: Live and Unplugged - (Video)
Society & Culture
This American Life - (Audio)Games & Hobbies
NPR: Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me! - (Audio)Gadgets
MAKE Magazine - (Video/Audio)Special Interest
NPR: Car Talk - (Audio) For you car folks. Brother’s Tom and Ray answer car questions with a great sense of humor.Flight of the Conchords - (Video) Snippets from this HBO show. I loved this series!
Oprah.com’s Spirit Channel - (Video)
Literature
Muggleast: The #1 Harry Potter Podcast - (Audio)Imprint: The #1 Twilight Podcast - (Audio)
NPR: Books - (Audio)
TV & Film
The Official LOST Podcast - (Video/Audio)Dog Whisperer - (Video)
The Soup - (Video)
For the Kids
ICarly - (Video) For ICarly fans.Drake and Josh - (Video) Snippets from the Drake and Josh show.
Ask a Ninja - (Video) Funny
Ned’s Declassified - (Video) Snippets from the show.