Friday, November 20, 2009

Podcasts I'm following currently

I thought I'd list the audio podcasts I'm following currently, in case anyone is interested to have some good audio to listen to. My selections are basically comprised of Linux-related shows and Public Radio shows.

  1. FLOSS Weekly

    I only recently started listening to this podcast. One of the hosts is Randal Schwartz, who is a legendary writer of Perl programming books. Each episode of this show is an interview with a FLOSS project or organization. It's a good way to get to know the people behind various free software projects, which is pretty cool.

  2. Le Show

    This is a political satire show hosted by Harry Shearer of Simpsons fame. You know his voice most notably as that of Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. He discusses the events of the previous week with a cutting wit and sarcasm. He also employs his talent for voice impersonations(sometimes put to music) to mock and criticize politicians. The show has interludes of music hand-picked by Mr. Shearer.

  3. Linux Outlaws

    A guy from Germany and a guy from England talk about the latest in Linux. They cover the latest software releases and news events, with a special segment covering Microsoft. They're very funny, entertaining guys with reasonable views on controversial topics.

  4. Planet Money

    A discussion of financial news and relevant topics by a few NPR journalists. Their goal is to present complex financial topics in language that anyone can understand. I certainly can. They delve deeper into topics that usually are covered by standard slogans and sound bites in the mainstream press.

  5. Media Matters

    A University of Illinois professor of journalism and media activist named Bob McChesney interviews well-regarded people to discuss media and politics.  He is very liberal. Not MSNBC liberal. Truly liberal. This is a local show on our public radio station WILL, but it's evidently very well-known as a podcast, as I've heard it mentioned by someone who had never been to Champaign-Urbana. Very potent and intellectual dialogue.

  6. Radio Lab

    A most excellent radio show that discusses a particular scientific topic for a given episode in a highly entertaining way. Topics include: Parasites, Choice, Stochasticity, After Life, Laughter, etc.  There's a complete list on the site. The audio editing done on this show is second-to-none, and it makes all the difference. The topics come alive in a magical way as scientists are interviewed about great experiments they've done, fascinating observations, and debunking common myths.

  7. Ubuntu UK Podcast

    As I'm an avid Ubuntu user, it would make sense to listen to a podcast about it. The Ubuntu UK podcast is hosted by the Ubuntu UK LoCo Team, including Alan Pope, who is a fairly well-known guy in the Ubuntu community.

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