I'm Getting Into Podcasts

I've always really, really loved TEDTalks and This American Life podcasts. I automatically download and watch podcasts from each through iTunes. Lately I've been getting bored with Pandora because I feel like it's not much more diversified than FM radio, which I stopped listening to when I stopped driving (oh how I love living in cities that have amazing public transportation). I'm still waiting for Grooveshark to come to the iPhone, thought I doubt that will be a drastic improvement over Pandora or Last.fm. As such, I decided I need a little more entertainment in my requirement for continuous stimulation. I turned to iTunes to help me solve this dilemma, and I decided to test out a few podcasts, much to my satisfaction. Here's a quick review of the ones thus far I have tried on for size.

The Nerdist
I can't sing enough praise about Chris Hardwick and his just-launched podcast. I spent a chunk of my weekend being a walking tourist through SF, and I threw on this podcast to keep me going as I wandered the streets. I'm lucky I didn't get arrested and committed for being insane because I was literally laughing aloud through the marina as I listened to his musings with Adam Corolla and Adam Savage (let's be real, there are people in SF who are WAY crazier than just random giggling passers-by). I've listened to several episodes now, and they're all equally brilliant.

The Conversation
Thinking back, this may have been the catalyst to my let's-try-out-podcasts kick. Gruber posted a link to an episode last week in which he discusses the possible legal ramifications to the whole iPhone N90 lost/bought/leaked fiasco. I was intrigued by the conversations that were had, and I subsequently subscribed to and began listening to Dan Benjamin's pointed exchanges.

The Pipeline
Also by Dan Benjamin (as I found out about 30 seconds ago when I grabbed the iTunes link), this was recommended to me by iTunes, and I am smitten. SMITTEN. The first episode I listened to was with Jason Snell, EIC of Macworld. Let's see: a dude who is all about publishing and Apple? SOLD. I've tuned in for a few other episodes and while not everyone who visits the podcast is necessarily tech-related, they're all intriguing and informative.

I also downloaded several episodes of Dan Benjamin and John Gruber's The Talk Show and a an attention-grabbing title, Stuff You Missed in History Class, but I have yet to listen to either. I suspect that I will have plenty of time to check them out this week during my commutes to/from work. You should do the same!

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