Five Podcasts I'm Listening To Now - Oct. 2011

October 29, 2011 Dennis D. McDonald

By Dennis D. McDonald

I’m partial to history, technology, and the arts. Here are five I’ve been listening to regularly in recent months:

Big Picture Science. This continus to be my favorite science podcast. Literate, funny, well-produced. Hosted by Molly Bentley and Seth Shostak. I’m not sure why they changed the name; maybe it was to distance the brand a bit away from their connection with SETI? Whatever, they cover a lot of ground. And, I love the regular “skeptic check” feature.
This Week in Tech. Leo Laporte’s weekly roundup of tech talk. I bounce back and forth from video to audio and in general prefer audio. The changing cast is great plus regulars like professional curmudgeon John C. Dvorak add perspective.
This Week in Google. Leo, Jeff Jarvis, and Gina Trapani talk about Google and Cloud-related stuff. Tends to be a bit more thoughtful than the usual tech news shows. Leo chooses the topics well. Plus I have a crush on Gina. Only problem is, if you follow tech topics on Google+ you do find some duplication here.
History According to Bob. Bob just keeps rolling on. I’m excited about his Prussia series. Good concise nuggets, clearly discussed. This guy’s a national treasure. Love the month by month history of the U.S. Civil War.
Frame Rate. Another one from Leo Laporte’s media empire. Tom Merritt and Brian Brushwood talk about TV, media, “cutting the cord,” and whatever. Where they get the time to watch TV series I don’t know. They seem to understand the underlying economcs of TV and advertising and keep hitting on the theme that media companies inevitably will have to make it easier for people to buy media via whatever channel they prefer, not just via hated cable companies.