the podcast post

since the adam carolla radio show went off the air, i've been somewhat of a podcast junkie.. i can't get enough, i'm always open for suggestions. i currently subscribe to 27 free podcasts. i'll tell you about my favorites.

The adam carolla podcast
update frequency: 1 time daily, m-f
length: 1 hour on average
subject: everything and anything...
language: crude at times, definitely curse words.
listener interaction: takes skype calls occasionally, reads emailed questions sometimes

this show is pretty great, i look forward to finding out who his guest was each night. but it doesn't even matter who the guest is, almost every show you learn some interesting fact from adams past. i love hearing stories from his younger days... he has many recognizable guests, and gets them all to talk candidly, and often swear.. i like swearing.

recent guests:
David Allen Grier
Pauly Shore
James Gunn (used to be married to Jenna "pam" Fischer)

Time to get Buckwild
update frequency: sporadic.. couple times a month at best
length: ~30 minutes
subject: usually reality tv, mostly VH1 shows.
language: cursing.
listener interaction: takes phone calls mostly

this is a just for fun podcast. becky buckwild talks her ghetto speak and takes calls.. she plays a song (usually 'lil wayne) to open the show, and then once again in the middle. lately she has had frank the entertainer also call in.


The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons
update frequency: every 2- 3 days
length: 45 min - 1 hour
subject: sports with a inclination towards boston sports, and pop culture
language: totally safe. ESPN edits the show when necessary. no cursing.
listener interaction: none

bill simmons has been stepping up his podcast frequency as of late. and with that comes more of what i love, more pop culture. he watches the real world, road rules challenges, and survivor. he has a running series of phone calls with college buddy JackO. those are hands down my favorite. JackO is a yankees fan, so they hash out red sox yankees issues. bill also has many hollywood friends that make appearances. sports is always the underlying current in these podcasts. Of course bill simmons used to write for the jimmy kimmel show, so he frequently has jimmy or adam on the show.

recent guests:
mark cuban - talk about the media, mark's blog, the state of the economy and more
JackO - resurgent yankees, big papi's struggles and the captain Derek Jeter
Dave Jacoby - LOST season finale rehash/survivor talk


gdgt weekly
update frequency: once a week
length: 45 min - 1 hour
subject: technology focused on gadgets
language: completely clean
listener interaction: none

this podcast is mainly about new technologies, from cell phones/pdas to gaming systems to digital cameras/video players and everything in between. one of the things i like most about this podcast, is the podcast is divided up into mini chapters with different artwork for each chapter. these guys are intelligent but not geeky..

recent topics:
Zune HD
Palm Pre
verizon and Sprints personal mobile routers


Hey, We're Back!
update frequency: once a month
length: under 10 minutes
subject: comedy-ish
language: clean
listener interaction: none

this is a short comical podcast by jonathan katz (dr. katz professional therapist). It's usually stories, sometimes taken from his live shows, and he usually has guest voices in his stories, sometimes his old dr. katz colleagues, laura silverman and jon benjamin.


I Love Movies
update frequency: sporadically, couple of times a month
length: 45 minutes
subject: comedy and movie guessing
language: off color. cursing
listener interaction: none

this is a taped show that doug benson does before Comedy Deathray Shows in L.A. he usually has 3 guests and they almost always guess movies from cast lists out of the "Leonard Maltin Movie Guide".

recent guests:
the sklar brothers, graham elwood and jon hamm
patton oswald, rob huebel and joe rogan
dana gould and natasha leggero


Loveline
update frequency: once daily, m-f
length: 10 minutes
subject: sex advice
language: explicit, but no cursing
listener interaction: mostly calls

this is the first 10 minutes of the nightly sex advice show that dr drew pinsky has been hosting for 26 years. they only give away the first 10 minutes. they offer the whole show for a monthly fee. they almost always have hollywood guests, frequently musicians. up until recently stryker was a co-host, but he was let go and now dr drew is having guest hosts. adam carolla recently stepped in for a week long guest hosting, ahh, the good old days. loveline with drew and adam is really as good as it gets, but other guests that i enjoy listening to are jeff probst, seth macfarlane, i really like listening to engineer Anderson too.

recent guests:
olivia munn (co-host of Attack of the Show)
jeff probst
daisy de la hoya
andy milonakis


The Moth Podcast
update frequency: every monday
length: 10 min - 20 min
subject: story telling
language: varies
listener interaction: none

this is a recording of unscripted story telling usually recorded in NYC.. the story tellers and story subjects are different each podcast. i like to believe they are true stories. they are very compelling and often humorous

recent guests:
dave mowers - smoking on the job gone horribly wrong
jerry Stahl - quitting heroin
ed gavagan - surviving a brutal gang attack in NYC


NPR: Fresh Air Podcast
update frequency: once daily, m-f
length: 45 min
subject: varies
language: clean
listener interaction: none

this podcast is hosted by Terry Gross. she is an excellent interviewer. her guests are from all different walks of life. this is a must listen to.

recent topics:
Dating with Dad: A reluctant son's "Assisted Loving", movie reviews, UP and Drag Me to Hell
Summer Travel Outlook, Old food, Old land and American Idol, a retrospective
When Tiger met Rocco, journeyman golfer who took on Tiger, cannes film festival


NPR: Pop Culture Podcast
update frequency: mondays
length: ~20 min
subject: the weeks pop culture pieces all in one place
language: clean
listener interaction: none

this is a repeat of just the pop culture pieces from the various NPR shows throughout the week.

recent topics:
terminator salvation
illuminati, pet villains strike again in 'Demons'
Star Trek, boldly reapproached


The Official LOST Podcast
update frequency: Once weekly, during the broadcast season.
length: 5 min with cast members, 20 min with damon & carlton
subject: LOST tv show
language: clean
listener interaction: listener email questions

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse rehash and prehash almost every episode during the season. they also take emailed in questions. this is a great podcast as they sometimes shed much needed light on LOST episodes. what is more interesting though is the behind the scenes, filming, story line creating information that they talk about. it's kind of like listening to the director commentary from a dvd, only on episodes as they are happening.


PRI: The Sound of Young America
update frequency: every 3 days on average
length: ~30 min
subject: interviews with people in entertainment business
language: clean
listener interaction: none

this is an interview show broadcast out of the L.A. apartment of Jesse Thorn. he is 28 and lands interviews with many recognizable hollywood figures. his interviews are interesting and for the most part he asks good questions. his voice makes him sound older than he really is.

recent guests:
Nick Kroll (from Cavemen)
Rian Johnson (director of Brothers Bloom)
Trailor Park Boys


Savage Love Podcast
update frequency: once a week
length: ~ 40 min
subject: sex advice
language: crude
listener interaction: all calls

this is a podcast i learned about by listening to This American Life's rebroadcast of their LIVE event back in April. Dan Savage is a regular contributor to This American Life, and has been writing a relationship advice column for years. that column spilled over into a weekly podcast where he plays voicemails people left and answers their questions. occasionally he calls the person back to discuss their issue. The language can be pretty vulgar.. and dan doesn't put things lightly. i enjoy his frankness.


Stuff You Missed in History Class
update frequency: twice a week
length: 15-20 min
subject: history
language: clean
listener interaction: none

this is a very informational podcast. these two girls research a different topic a couple times a week. they are usually hit or miss, but i like to think that what they are saying is subconsciously soaking into my brain.

recent topics:
presidential perks
what really happened at Kent State?
How Easter Island Works
Will the World Really End in 2012?


Stuff You Should Know
update frequency: twice a week
length: ~ 20 min
subject: random things
language: clean
listener interaction: some listener mail

this podcast is not unlike stuff you missed in history class. only not so history focused. it is hosted by two guys who are much easier to listen to than the two women that host the history podcast. i think i really like this one because these are some of the questions i often wonder to myself...

recent topics:
do animals have a sixth sense?
how lobotomies work
are there dead bodies on mount everest?
how going over niagra falls works


TechStuff
update frequency: twice a week
length: ~ 25 min
subject: technology
language: clean
listener interaction: some listener mail

very similar to the other "how stuff works" podcasts i listen to, but this one is focused on technology. honestly, after listening to the other technology focused podcasts i listen to, this one is a little unnecessary.. but i've yet to unsubscribe, so there must be a subconscious reason i keep downloading it.

recent topics:
why do other countries get cool tech before the US?
are computers more eco friendly than paper?
how do CB radios work?
how mobile apps stores work
what is cloud gaming?


This American Life
update frequency: once a week
length: 1 hour
subject: first person stories
language: clean
listener interaction: none

this is a newer podcast that i finally found. Ira Glass hosts this weekly show that usually has 3 parts. three different points of view around a certain topic or theme, usually. they are very compelling and very well told.

if you actually read all the way through this post, let me know that all my work on this post didn't go to waste. ;)