I have always been a big fan of Podcasts. The idea that I could get something free, legal and unique from the internet just seems novel to me so I have done all I can to support the medium short of giving them money because well, I started listening to them when I was in college and then I graduated into the recession... Anyway! Podcasts are awesome!
When I first started listening to Podcasts I didn't like the "talking" ones. I didn't want people to tell me about stuff or try to be radio djs, I just wanted them to play me cool music I had never heard before. The things I listened to were a very odd combination of classical styled Celtic music and Industrial dance music. Yes, I know. My brain has always been this broken. The Podcasts were a great way for me to find music I was discovering I liked but had no idea how to get unless I was in a club or someone played something for me.
But then, two years ago something terrible happened. Through some act of black magic, iTunes ate my entire library and very shortly after the screen on my iPod broke. I was left with cds and the radio. This is when I started liking NPR. My ex-boyfriend Jonathan (of Dr. Horrible fame) listened to a lot of talk radio and I didn't really understand why at the time. This reasoning was that music format stations have a finite number of songs they play (especially classic rock stations) and after a certain point, you have heard all of them. Talk radio gave you variety in your listening possibilities and while the content may not always be educational, in the very least it would always be new and different.
I felt very weird the day I made my local NPR station (KHSU!) a preset on my car radio. Somehow that made me feel older than getting excited about pots and pans or my sudden desire to learn to bake pies. Somehow actively wanting to listen to NPR made me feel old. Luckily, I got over this fairly quickly when they started having authors and actors I liked on as guests and I started discovering weird new music thanks to them. Talk radio was no longer a dirty word. I had made my peace with being talked at by intelligent people... in the very least, entertaining people.
When I finally got the job I have now (after more than a year of hunting, one good part-time job and two awful jobs) I was overjoyed that I would be allowed to listen to music and things while I worked because the job I have is mostly solitary. But even with 800 songs in rotation, I found myself getting bored pretty quickly and this is when I became reunited with the wonderful world of Podcasts. I had heard about a Podcast where a guy gets really nerdy guests on and asks these nerd heroes all the things that I wished I could ask them so I sought that out. Actually, I kind of just typed "nerd" and "geek" into the search bar on iTunes and started clicking things at random.
It turns out I'm really picky about what Podcasts I'll listen to. Not only does the host have to be entertaining and somewhat intelligent but the sound quality has to be good. I need it to sound like the person putting out the cast is doing more than talking into a standard computer microphone for an hour and then hitting "upload." Effort! I need to hear the effort!
It turns out that pretty much all but three of the Podcasts I ended up listening to are all from Nerdist Industries. They seem to have the highest quality audio and seem to care most about their finished project.
Let's fast forward to about the beginning of December when I start pestering my darling, Chris to fix my iPod like he said he would when it initially broke. (I got a new iPod and it was filled with my dad's hair metal and my mom's music for her kindergarten class.) He made faces at me like he always did and I assumed it wouldn't happen. "Podcasts! I want Podcasts for the road! You have no idea how much easier they will make the drive!" I don't think he believed me.
Surprise of surprises! The night we left for our tour of Southern California (seven Christmases in five days!) Chris and I had our own Christmas. There were lots of really nerdy gifts exchanged but the cherry on the top of my cake was that Chris had restored all of my music onto my new laptop and had then put it all on my iPod! And there were Podcasts!!! I just about died.
The Podcasts were a lifesaver. I ended up getting really sick on that trip and was unable to talk. So for 1480 miles, Chris Hardwick and a wide array of guests entertained us and made us smile so much our faces started to hurt a bit. He was hooked. Suddenly, any trip that was more than an hour required a Podcast. Chris started getting sad when I would listen to new episodes without him (even though I started listening to them to stay sane at work!) and Chris preached the good word Podcast to anyone who was (un)fortunate enough to be stuck in the car with us.
Yes, they are a great thing. I have gotten reports of two-day Zelda and Nerdist marathons after a brief encounter with the Nerdist podcast featuring Penn Gillette. I feel like a pusher in the best way possible. I want to get everyone hooked on these Podcasts because I don't want to be the only person at work with headphones on giggling like a crazy person in an almost silent office!
Here are some Podcasts I recommend:
- Nerdist
- The Todd Glass Show
- The Thrilling Adventure Hour
- Geek Friday (Though they haven't updated since Thanksgiving which worries me.)
- Irish and Celtic Music Podcast
- The Questionauts
- Big Pop Fun with Tom Wilson
- Mike and Tom Eat Snacks
- Geek Moms (Yes, even if you aren't a mom)
- The Nerdy Show
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