My Favorite Podcasts
Since I got my ipod touch, I’ve been listening to and watching all kinds of podcasts, both the video and audio varieties. Pretty much all of these are available in multiple formats, and can be played on any computer, ipod, portable media player, etc. They are easily listened to or watched just directly from their own webpages on your computer screen, or a media center, or whatever else you might have. You can subscribe with itunes, or any other podcatcher you might like, and they’re all free. (ad-supported, but they don’t seem to go overboard with ads.)
There’s so many out there that I’ve not come close to trying all of them, but I’ve checked out many of the big names, and here’s my favorites.
Leo Laporte’s TWiT network is pretty much the big leader in audio podcasting. The shows usually have very good sound quality, and great content.
This is the big one in the podcasting world (or netcasts, as Leo calls them.) It has won all kinds of awards, and for good reason. If you are interested in tech, this is one you should check out. Hosted by Leo Laporte, formerly of “The Screen Savers”, and has several varying guest co-hosts. Always discussing the latest interesting news in the tech world. If you were a fan of The Screen Savers, you should definitely give it a listen. If you have no idea what The Screen Savers was, still give it a listen.
This is Leo Laporte’s mainstream radio show, that he records and makes available afterwards for those of us who can’t listen on the radio.
It’s pretty good, though dumbed down a bit (and I don’t mean that to come across as insulting at all) to be more user-friendly to the average mainstream radio listener. Still definately worth listening to. I catch this one when I have time, it’s two 2-hour episodes every week, so some weeks I just don’t have enough time to listen to it plus everything else I listen to.
More from the TWiT network, this time a podcast focused on security, usually Windows security. I’ve been listening to this one for about a month now, and it’s very well done. They discuss security issues, security software, etc. and make it into something an average somewhat technical person can understand without boring them to death. They just did an entire episode a few weeks back on one of my very favorite programs, TrueCrypt, which is great that they’re helping spread the word about encryption software and how useful and important it is.
You can basically deduce from the name that this one is about Windows news. Leo and Paul Thurrott from winsupersite discuss the latest in the Windows and Microsoft world. I’ve listened to this one for 2 weeks now. The jury is still out.
There’s various other podcasts that Leo has on the twit network to check out. Megan Morrone does “Jumping Monkeys”, a show on parenting in the digital age, there’s something called net@night that looks like it might be interesting, podcasts for Macintosh fans, one about law, etc… just go take a look to decide if anything looks interesting to you.
Just as TWiT.tv gave audio podcasting a huge jump start, Revision3 has done the same thing for video. The content here is really good. They have no FCC to fear like television broadcasters to, and everyone seems to really enjoy what they do. Shows range from technology, to pop culture, to two guys sitting on a couch drinking beer and talking about their web page. (ok, it’s not just any webpage, but still.)
This is probably the closest thing to old-style techtv that there is at the moment. The description from the Tekzilla webpage reads: “Join the Tekzilla crew and make your tech work better for you. Or you can go live in the woods with an axe. Every Friday, Patrick Norton delivers product reviews, computer help, tech tips on everything from iPods to camcorders, HD to the Internet, plus do it yourself projects.”
A very good show, Tekzilla and Diggnation are pretty much tied for my top video podcast.
Ok, I said that this was tied with Tekzilla for my top pick, but I must admit that even though they’re both released on Fridays, Diggnation is the show I wait for all week.
There’s not that much to it either, basically Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht sit on a couch with their laptops, drink beer, and talk about the stories that were most dugg through the week. They don’t follow much of a script or censor themselves, and it is extremely laid back.
I know that description makes it sound dull, but it’s anything but. They really make it work well. If you ever visit digg.com, you should be watching this show. (Diggnation contains what many people would consider “explicit” language, so if you’re offended, or would be playing it within earshot of people who would be offended by such expression of free speech, consider skipping diggnation.)
More from Revision 3 and Patrick Norton (in addition to quite often David Randolph). This is a tough show to describe. They just basically build stuff, hack stuff, etc. (I know, that’s not much help)
For example, last week they made a potato cannon, the week before, they showed how to hack a guitar hero controller to cheat and play the game automatically and get perfect scores every time. They’ve covered making a firewall out of an old PC, building a full-size MAME case, etc. Topics are extremely random, it seems to be just whatever they feel like building or talking about that week, but quite entertaining and interesting.
Martin Sergent and his cohort “Gator” talk to people who have made a name for themselves on the internet. Such as people who post youtube videos that have gotten very popular, etc. They describe it as talking to “the world’s most popular, compelling and outrageous characters.”
The same that applied to Diggnation about taking offense to certain language and discussions applies doubly here. If you are, or are listening around anyone who is easily offended by words, or listen at work, don’t bother looking any further.
If you like Internet Superstar, also check out “Web Drifter“. It’s not updated as regularly, but is just as crazy. Martin visits the more outrageous (crazy) web site operators out there. From people who believe aliens have implanted stuff in them, to a guy that claims he can live on nothing but air, to a lady who claims to be a witch. It’s still Martin Sergent, so the warning about language applies here too.
This one is in it’s infancy. There’s been 2 episodes so far, so I’m far from deciding whether or not it’s going to stay on my subscription list.
However so far it’s been pretty good. It’s hosted by Sarah Lane and Jessica Corbin, and seems to be pretty centered on female guests as well as female hosts, but they’re pretty quick to point out that they’re not gunning for a female target audience.
The blurb on the webpage says that the show is “the intersection of modern culture, technology, science and making stuff that actually works. On a typical show you’ll get your fill of DIY projects and life-hacks from weekend projects, time-saving internet tips, innovation, science experiments and even wacky sports.”
Sounds good… DIY projects and life-hacks, fun fun fun.
Alex Albrecht, Dan Trachtenberg, and Jeff Cannata discuss new popular media, such as movies, video games, television, comic books, etc.
This one’s ok, not my favorite, but good enough that I keep them on my ipod for when I’ve watched everything else and need something to watch.
A weekly review of the most dugg videos on digg.com. Hosted by Jessica Corbin.
The Digg Reel is ok, a bit short, and doesn’t have the same allure as diggnation because of the single host just reading from a script. But worth grabbing just for the weekly summary of videos if nothing else.
PixelPerfect is a podcast dedicated to digital art. Bert Monroy shows lots of tips and tricks with Photoshop and Illustrator.
Misc Other Stuff
One of the best video podcasts I’ve found.
Victoria Belmont does a fantastic job of covering…whatever it is that she covers.
It’s completely random, some tech stuff, some non-tech, some gaming news, today’s was about a hot sauce store. You never know exactly what’s going to be next, but it’s always something interesting.
Morgan Webb, formerly of Tech TV, and currently X-Play, gives a daily roundup of tech news. Not bad, I don’t catch it every day, but it’s worth subscribing to to watch when you’re feeling like a very quick update of the day’s news.