tony mitra
09-13-2007, 09:01 PM
I was encouraged, on this forum, to start threads on issues that I find of interest, but not covered already. Okay, so here is my attempt.
What is a podcast? Most folks already know, the word came by joining iPod and broadcast. In short, audio information that originally was awailable through radio or TV stations, are today also being made available to the public around the world, through internet. Anybody having an digital audio player, or am mp3 player, can now use it not only to listen to music, which one usually needs to pay for, but also to news and articles and speeches from various folks. And these are almost all free.
Main stream media, including TV channels at home and the FM radio stations available in my car, are, to me, no more sufficient. Too much in what I consider to be irrelevant trivia, mixed with too much biased coverage or lack of coverage of what is going around in the world – is what I get from the standard media.
But internet, right now, is a wonderful alternative to the corporate controlled general media. True, internet is like the wild west, and in absence of restricting guide rules, good as well as bad information proliferates. It therefore becomes the responsibility of the user to filter through it. I subscribe to podcasts using Apple iTunes and store them on my iPod, and hook it through the Car audio system so I do not need earphones or buds to listen to while driving.
There are other sources too, such as books, news articles from the printed media, and books, both printed and audio books. I shall come to them perhaps on another thread.
Here is a very brief list of podcast channels that I subscribe to, and usually listen to, even if I do not listen to each items of each channel. The most productive time for me is when I am driving to work and driving back home. Instead of listening to the same kind of music day after day, I listen to the latest podcasts.
The Naked Scientist (UK):
It is a podcast on general science. Not rocket science, but nice enough for grown ups to listen to as well. It also covers some of the new developments in the science field, often touching sensitive issues like climate change, or reducing your home carbon footprint, and such.
Anderson Cooper 360 degree:
This is a recently started daily podcast from CNN and spoken in the voice of Anderson Cooper. It is not the best, but that is not Anderson’s faul. CNN only covers what sells in the US. But, he does a reasonably good job of it.
Archaeology Channel:
I am not an archaeologist, but love to hear what folks are digging out of the ground all over the world, that tells us a bit more of what our ancestors did in the past. I love this one.
BBC History Magazine:
A BBC product. Quite well made, though I wish they would expand their field. History is not only story of the victors, and not only about the west after the steam engine was invented. Anyhow, it is still a very good channel for what it does.
CBC Radio: Best of ideas:
A Canadian production. No fixed subject. A bit low key. But I like it because it is so different from everything else you hear in this cacophony that goes for news.
CFR.Org :
Council of Foreign Relations is an US based independent think tank on foreign relations. The podcasts are short, barely five minutes per day and not every day. But I like their analysis. The only negative – they only pick issues that are hot at that moment. So, today, they had one about bottom-up reconciliation in Iraq.
CNBC – Asia Market Week:
I am not an admirer of corporate controlled media, but I still hear this one, among others for one reason. Asia is growing in such a phenomenal rate, with such a gigantic population demography, that is literally threatens to upend the established economic order of the world in the next few decades. For example, if China and India were to sit down some time in the near future and agree to a common Market between just those two countries, the market they would create would be larger than the EU, North America, South America etc put together. Also, for everyone that saves a bit of their money and wants to invest it somewhere, New York Stock Exchange or London Stock Exchange are no more the only options. It pays to know who is doing what in Asia, which includes Global business houses from the US, Europe and Japan as well as fast rising local firms that are sure to be come global very soon. I listen to it, though do not always agree to what they say.
Nature Podcast:
This has less to do with Nature per se, and more to do with cutting edge discoveries and scientific theories. This comes from the publishers of the weekly magazine “Nature”. May Nobel lauriates and scientists publish their first findings on the magazine, and many of these are rather dry and serious and would go above one’s head at times, covering everything from Astrology, nano technology, genetics, nuclear, evolution, medicine and other sciences. But I do get to understand some of them and hence subscribe to the printed magazine. The podcast is an abriviated version of the topics, spoken in easier to understand language, and is totally free.
The Economist (UK):
Against from the publishers of the famous Weekly from London. The name does not do justice to the magazine. It covers everything and not just economy. One of my favorites.
Okay, that’s it for now. I listen to a lot more that the above list, but that should suffice.
What do you think? Have you ever listened to podcasts? What kind ? There are twenty thousand podcasts out there, and growing on a daily basis. It is a phenomena of its own kind. If you have been listening to them, write a list of your favorites here, please.
For those that never heard of it, does this post make you curious to check it out? Its totally free and does not reauire expensive equipment. You do not even need an mp3 player. You can use iTunes software, which itself is free, and keep the podcasts on your computer, and listen to them directly from your computer speakers. You do need a computer and an internet connection though.
Cheers.
What is a podcast? Most folks already know, the word came by joining iPod and broadcast. In short, audio information that originally was awailable through radio or TV stations, are today also being made available to the public around the world, through internet. Anybody having an digital audio player, or am mp3 player, can now use it not only to listen to music, which one usually needs to pay for, but also to news and articles and speeches from various folks. And these are almost all free.
Main stream media, including TV channels at home and the FM radio stations available in my car, are, to me, no more sufficient. Too much in what I consider to be irrelevant trivia, mixed with too much biased coverage or lack of coverage of what is going around in the world – is what I get from the standard media.
But internet, right now, is a wonderful alternative to the corporate controlled general media. True, internet is like the wild west, and in absence of restricting guide rules, good as well as bad information proliferates. It therefore becomes the responsibility of the user to filter through it. I subscribe to podcasts using Apple iTunes and store them on my iPod, and hook it through the Car audio system so I do not need earphones or buds to listen to while driving.
There are other sources too, such as books, news articles from the printed media, and books, both printed and audio books. I shall come to them perhaps on another thread.
Here is a very brief list of podcast channels that I subscribe to, and usually listen to, even if I do not listen to each items of each channel. The most productive time for me is when I am driving to work and driving back home. Instead of listening to the same kind of music day after day, I listen to the latest podcasts.
The Naked Scientist (UK):
It is a podcast on general science. Not rocket science, but nice enough for grown ups to listen to as well. It also covers some of the new developments in the science field, often touching sensitive issues like climate change, or reducing your home carbon footprint, and such.
Anderson Cooper 360 degree:
This is a recently started daily podcast from CNN and spoken in the voice of Anderson Cooper. It is not the best, but that is not Anderson’s faul. CNN only covers what sells in the US. But, he does a reasonably good job of it.
Archaeology Channel:
I am not an archaeologist, but love to hear what folks are digging out of the ground all over the world, that tells us a bit more of what our ancestors did in the past. I love this one.
BBC History Magazine:
A BBC product. Quite well made, though I wish they would expand their field. History is not only story of the victors, and not only about the west after the steam engine was invented. Anyhow, it is still a very good channel for what it does.
CBC Radio: Best of ideas:
A Canadian production. No fixed subject. A bit low key. But I like it because it is so different from everything else you hear in this cacophony that goes for news.
CFR.Org :
Council of Foreign Relations is an US based independent think tank on foreign relations. The podcasts are short, barely five minutes per day and not every day. But I like their analysis. The only negative – they only pick issues that are hot at that moment. So, today, they had one about bottom-up reconciliation in Iraq.
CNBC – Asia Market Week:
I am not an admirer of corporate controlled media, but I still hear this one, among others for one reason. Asia is growing in such a phenomenal rate, with such a gigantic population demography, that is literally threatens to upend the established economic order of the world in the next few decades. For example, if China and India were to sit down some time in the near future and agree to a common Market between just those two countries, the market they would create would be larger than the EU, North America, South America etc put together. Also, for everyone that saves a bit of their money and wants to invest it somewhere, New York Stock Exchange or London Stock Exchange are no more the only options. It pays to know who is doing what in Asia, which includes Global business houses from the US, Europe and Japan as well as fast rising local firms that are sure to be come global very soon. I listen to it, though do not always agree to what they say.
Nature Podcast:
This has less to do with Nature per se, and more to do with cutting edge discoveries and scientific theories. This comes from the publishers of the weekly magazine “Nature”. May Nobel lauriates and scientists publish their first findings on the magazine, and many of these are rather dry and serious and would go above one’s head at times, covering everything from Astrology, nano technology, genetics, nuclear, evolution, medicine and other sciences. But I do get to understand some of them and hence subscribe to the printed magazine. The podcast is an abriviated version of the topics, spoken in easier to understand language, and is totally free.
The Economist (UK):
Against from the publishers of the famous Weekly from London. The name does not do justice to the magazine. It covers everything and not just economy. One of my favorites.
Okay, that’s it for now. I listen to a lot more that the above list, but that should suffice.
What do you think? Have you ever listened to podcasts? What kind ? There are twenty thousand podcasts out there, and growing on a daily basis. It is a phenomena of its own kind. If you have been listening to them, write a list of your favorites here, please.
For those that never heard of it, does this post make you curious to check it out? Its totally free and does not reauire expensive equipment. You do not even need an mp3 player. You can use iTunes software, which itself is free, and keep the podcasts on your computer, and listen to them directly from your computer speakers. You do need a computer and an internet connection though.
Cheers.