My Favorite Podcasts (April 2009)

April 12, 2009 Dennis D. McDonald

Here are my current podcast favorites:

Are We Alone? Consistently smart and entertaining ruminations on the meaning of and search for intelligence, here and elsewhere. Lots of fun de-bunking of anti-science, too.
History According to Bob. 10- 15-minute chunks of details about specific topics. Loved Bob’s month by month account of the American Civil War and the series on the Russo-Japanese War.
In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg. Melvyn chats with academic experts on various topics. His “Brave New World” show was great. My favorite so far: the discussion of The Alexandria Library and its role in ancient learning and culture.
Center for American Progress Events. The ascendant and influential DC-area think tank regularly schedules important topical events.
ITIF Tech Policy Podcast. Another influential DC think tank, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation engages about broadband, Internet, energy grid, and other topics.

From my past lists, I’m still very very fond of:

All About Books. Two guys review a couple of books each podcast. No frills. Definite Nebraska/Midwest US flavor (I’m from Ohio).
Naxos Classical Music Spotlight Podcast. Often I’ll go directly from listening to one of these sessions to downloading Naxos album tracks via my eMusic subscription.
BBC History Magazine. I love history. This magazine is fun and the programs, two per month, coincide with new monthly issues (which are available at Borders.)