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The Vine: July 29, 2011

Submitted by on July 29, 2011 – 10:41 AM68 Comments

Sars,

I need recommendations for podcasts. I’ve started a new job recently, and it is boring beyond belief. That’s fine. It’s temporary. That being said, I need listening material. It needs to be light enough to not require 100% attention. 

Right now, I’ve got the following on my iPod: “Baseball Today,” “This American Life,” “Pop Culture Happy Hour.”  In the past, I’ve subscribed to “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” but like “This American Life,” it’s not a daily, so it’s only one hour of the week!  As you can tell, I’m an NPR junkie.  I’m also a pretty serious baseball fan (but not many other sports).  My reading/music/television tastes are eclectic, and I’ll try almost anything once.

Anyhow, I trust you and the readers can recommend things I might try.  I have considered the audiobook, but fear that it requires more concentration than I can give it.  It’s a fine line between providing me with sufficient entertainment to keep the dull work bearable and completely absorbing and distracting such that either I don’t focus on my work, or I can’t focus on the show because I’m trying to work.

Bored

Dear Bored,

Your listening profile sounds enough like mine that I’ll recommend you also try Joe Posnanski’s Sports Poscast (he has Mike Schur, a.k.a. Ken Tremendous, on constantly); Extra Hot Great, of course; and WNYC’s Leonard Lopate Show (not every segment works, but he’s got about four a day at a half-hour-ish each, so if you don’t care about a given topic, you can skip it). All available on iTunes and all free.

Readers? Let’s find Bored something to listen to. Please limit yourself to three (3) suggestions. Thanks!

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68 Comments »

  • Kelly says:

    I am also a podcast junkie, so I’ll give you a few that have a large back catalog of episodes (and fairly lengthy episodes) that might give you some good fodder.

    Judge John Hodgman – You just have to. If I describe it, it will sound dumb, but if you’re TAL person you know that Hodgman is delightful.

    Mike and Tom Eat Snacks – Michael Ian Black and Tom Cavanagh are hilarious (and Sars, given your love of snack analysis– snackalysis?– I feel like you should be listening to this one too).

    RadioLab/Freakonomics – Lump them together because they don’t publish that often, but they’re the geekiest of NPR fodder and of course super interesting.

  • Linda says:

    Hey there! If you like cooking, the Splendid Table podcast is really fun! They cover a wide variety of food and eating related topics and Lynn, the host, is really charming.

  • MJ says:

    I LOVE NPR’s Planet Money!! It only comes out twice a week, but I’ve been working my way through their back catalog on my long commute this summer. It’s free on iTunes. There’s a short news item at the beginning of every episode and then a longer, usually fascinating and beautifully reported and produced economics story. I also like the Slate family of podcasts, particularly the Culture and Political Gabfests, but sometimes they get a little too liberal echo chamber-y.

  • Sarah L says:

    Dinner Party Download: This is a quite short weekly podcast (only about 15-20 minutes) but go ahead and get all of the back catalog from the last couple years. It will greatly increase your arsenal of dumb but hilarious jokes.
    You Look Nice Today: Tragically, these three incredibly funny guys seem to have stopped doing their podcast (the last one was in June of 2010). But sweet Lord, is it ever worth cycling back through all of the old ones. Absurd, silly, fun fun fun.
    I second Extra Hot Great – since I am determined to get Joe Reid the elusive “Busy Hug”.

  • Janice says:

    My two cents/three podcast suggestions–all free, all on iTunes, 30 minutes or so in duration, and generally about weekly in frequency:

    Judge John Hodgman: Trivial everyday disputes dispatched with wit by the PC from the Mac commercials.

    The Moth: Extemporaneous storytelling, all over the map. Ideal for the NPR fan.

    Mitch Benn’s Podcast: Original humor and parody songs, often sweary and otherwise not FCC clean–however, quite funny in a nerdy way. From a BBC broadcaster/voice talent–the stuff he couldn’t play on his own show.

  • Karen says:

    I can’t get enough of the Nerdist podcast. They usually interview someone I’m interested in and even when I don’t know of the guest I’m usually still riveted. They post at least 2x/week, sometimes more if they’ve done bonus eps. 1 is an interview with a cool nerd and 1 is “hostful” meaning the hosts chat with each other. There’s also a back-catalog of over 100 eps to catch up on, which should keep you busy. Happy listening!

  • HLM says:

    Savage Love: Apart from the occasional poor audio quality when someone leaves a message, very listenable. Also, hey! You are not as strange as many of the callers!

    How Stuff Works: This is a combination of various ‘casts, including series focused on history, science, and random knowledge. It tends to be a relatively shallow exploration of most topics, so if you’re, say, a French history expert, feel free to skip those episodes, but the broadcasters work a low-key charm, and you might learn something.

    I second all the suggestions of The Moth, particularly when Sossaman is featured. He’s been on TAL and is a remarkable storyteller.

  • Andrea says:

    Seconding the Moth; you might also enjoy The Tobolowsky Files, in which character actor Stephen Tobolowsky (from Groundhog Day, Glee, Heroes, etc) tells stories about his life. There are 40-some episodes available, so start from the beginning and just keep listening!

  • Christina says:

    One of my favorites is The Breakdown from The Nation magazine. It’s a weekly podcast that focuses on a specific current topic like the deficit, the gold standard, or Syria. In 10-20 minutes you get a good and interesting ‘break down’ of the topic.
    And don’t miss Extra Hot Great.

  • Liz B. says:

    If you like NPR, try The Moth. Only three short eps a week, but the stories are often amazing.

  • Tom says:

    I’ve been enjoying “WTF With Marc Maron,” where he does a one-on-one conversation with a comedian each week. You get some really interesting stuff out of famous funny people.

    If you like NYC history, try “The Bowery Boys” podcast.

    Oh, and I’m a huge comic book/Star Wars geek and there is a “family” of podcasts called “Two True Freaks” that are worth checking out if you like that.

  • penguinlady says:

    I have to recommend BBC Radio for decent work-day listening material. They have full productions and then little short programs that range from hilarious to bizarre. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4extra/programmes/a-z

  • Lily says:

    Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap, done by the artist and writer Ursula Vernon and her boyfriend Kevin Sonney. Similar to Mike and Tom Eat Snacks, but with the super cheap add-water-and-microwave type of food. Only a weekly show, but pretty consistently funny.

  • Jamie says:

    1. BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4 extra. They have lots of plays and books broken into series (Book at Bedtime, Classic Serial), history series like History of the World in 100 Objects (all from the British Museum), old radio episodes of Dr Who and The Twilight Zone, comedy series (especially the News Quiz), crime dramas (VI Warshawski read by Kathleen Turner!) and from time to time the original radio-based Who’s Line is it Anyway? The only thing I don’t like is that nothing is archived, so what’s available now is what’s available now, period. However, they do rerun things quite a bit.

    2. Pandora has a couple of comedy stations now, which are nice for aural wallpaper from time to time.

  • Salieri2 says:

    I must nth The Moth; it is fantastic.

  • Jane says:

    Thirding the BBC stuff. I’ll add that some of it, like the News Quiz, is actually available as a podcast via iTunes, but I think even there they don’t really archive the old stuff. I’ll give a particular recommendation to the Monday night comedy like I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue and The Unbelievable Truth.

  • Shani says:

    Definitely:

    How Stuff Works at howstuffworks.com, and perhaps also Stuff You Missed In History Class and Stuff Mom Never Told You at same.

  • Elyse says:

    Another vote for The Moth, Radiolab, and Planet Money. Also try the Fresh Air podcast; it’s daily, and 45 minutes long, so you are all set.

  • ct says:

    Free and from iTunes, CBC’s Wiretap is my favorite podcast. So hilarious!

  • Rachel says:

    My recommendations:

    Extra Hot Great

    Slate Daily Podcast – If you subscribe to the Slate daily feed on iTunes, you’ll get Hang Up and Listen (sports), the Culture Gabfest, and the Political Gabfest weekly. It also includes a biweekly Double X Gabfest about women’s issues. I really enjoy all of them, and it’ll give you something new almost every day.

    NPR’s Planet Money – I hated Econ 101 in college so I was a little worried about an economics podcast, but I really enjoy Planet Money. It’s very educational (in a good, non-boring way!) and entertaining.

  • KTB says:

    He’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve found Adam Carolla’s podcasts to be really good, and quite entertaining. He’s not nearly the misogynistic douche that he played on TV.

    I also second or third The Moth, and Planet Money.

  • Joanna says:

    Hard to believe nobody’s mentioned the Coverville podcast. Covers of music. Sometimes he’ll cover one artist, other times it’s a hodge-podge of artists/tunes, a bit of trivia (contributed by listeners…and not usually cover-related) now and then, and very occasional special themes.

  • Jay says:

    I second ‘How Stuff Works.’ More specifically I would recommend the ‘Stuff You Should Know’ podcast. It’s released weekly but there’s a huge archive of good topics. The hosts (Josh and Chuck) are funny and engaging and the topics are very eclectic. Most ‘casts are between 20 and 40 mins. It’s my daily companion on my 30 min daily commute.

  • Alena says:

    My favourite podcast is Stop Podcasting Yourself, a comedy podcast out of Vancouver. Too funny. Also, Jordan, Jesse, Go!

    Another good podcast is TBTL: Too Beautiful to Live with Luke Burbank. It’s daily, and used to be a radio show in Seattle.

  • Leigh says:

    They’ve already been mentioned, but I wanted to strongly second both Dinner Party Download and The Moth. I used to download them to listen to at the gym–needed something more engaging than music to distract me from the fact that I was exercising, but not too hard to concentrate on at 6:00 am. I think both would be perfect for you–and there’s LOTS of backlog episodes to keep you busy.

  • Lucy says:

    The Bugle. Audio newspaper for a visual world. Also weekly, but, a lot of fun. With John Oliver from the Daily Show.

  • Nina A says:

    If you lioke to read any kind of sf or fantasy, check out Cover-to-Cover which does interviews and reviews with authors in the field.
    Also, Squeecast-which is some sff authors and an archivist talking about things they really like.
    My last rec is going to be Notes from Coode Street which is run by the sf editor Jonathan Strahan, and covers a range of literary topics.

  • Nanc in Ashland says:

    Adding my thumbs up for the BBC radio. If your local library is a member of something like Library2Go you can check out all sorts of audio books. I like listening to favorites I’ve read before. Don’t have to concentrate as hard because I know the story but still helps the boring part of work. A good option for free music is last.fm. You get a 30-second ad every 10 songs or so but what I like is you can create different play lists/radio stations or just (like me) have one giant station with everything you like. Since it’s in the cloud you can log in from any computer anywhere.

  • Ben says:

    I heartily agree with Savage Love, Radiolab, Wait Wait and PCHH. One podcast that absolutely must be mentioned is Car Talk – Tom and Ray are hilarious. Mechanical knowledge is certainly not needed to enjoy it.

    Little Atoms is a British science/philosophy podcast which is fairly interesting also, and Nature puts out a quick science news podcast that can be good. Both are free.

  • Angie says:

    For people who like The Moth, I suggest Risk! It’s pretty fun, and usually an hour of stories that could easily be Moth stories. If you like Comedy, I can recommend both Comedy Bang Bang and the Jimmy Dore Show!

  • LisaD says:

    I totally second The Tobolowsky Files!! He is an excellent storyteller, and I can easily listen to him for hours.

  • Kat from Jersey says:

    Wil Wheaton’s “Radio Free Burrito” podcasts are awesome. He’s the actor/writer/gamer/blogger who played the hated Wesley Crusher on Star Trek – The Next Generation. He’s warm, witty, and hilarious, and also plays some unusual music. I’m not a gamer or really a sci-fi geek, but I love him and would definitely recommend his podcasts.

  • Stanley says:

    I have nothing helpful to add, but you all have managed to practically crash my system, since I find it necessary to download a million new podcasts. Apparently my Luddite tendencies had overcome my desire to listen to cool stuff, but no more!

  • Lis says:

    Kevin Smith (who admittedly may not be for everyone) has recently started a podcast network, over at S.I.R and while again I realize that some people can not stand Smith himself he’s got a host of other shows including “Mohr Stories” which is Jay Mohr’s podcast, and I love him (I also love Kevin Smith so I may be biased). Jay and Silent Bob get old is a great one that chronicles Jason Mews’ struggle with heroin addiction, it’s a riveting story. There’s also “Smovie Makers” where Kevin Smith interviews directors, and like I said, a TON of other subjects most of which do not include Kevin Smith. It’s actually also available free streaming live all the time. He’s basically started his own internet radio station that is full of new content every day.

    Joe Rogan’s podcast is also great. That’s at JoeRogan He is a bit of a pot head (ok that’s an understatement) and tends towards the strange theories every so often, but you can kind of see who his guests are and decide if you’re into that specific show.

    I’m also seconding WTF with Marc Maron, he’s hilarious and if you like comedy at all his podcast is super interesting.

    I should also note that ALL of these shows are not shy about language or subject matter so headphones may be required.

  • LauraG says:

    Lots of great suggestions. Also maybe you’d like Too Beautiful to Live – Luke Burbank is a frequent guest on Wait, Wait and it’s DAILY. Plus you can download episodes from when it was a daily three hour radio show, so there is tons of backlog. It’s entertaining and kind of like hanging out with your friends for an hour a day.

    I’d also recommend the Sporkful, a podcast for “eaters”. And if you’re not easily offended, Kevin Smith’s podcast Smodcast can be entertaining, especially the earlier ones before they got super commercial.

  • Yoshi says:

    These are all very funny weeklies with lots of archived episodes. And lots of swearing. All available free through iTunes or their own websites.

    1) ‘Uhh Yeah Dude’: Seth Romatelli and Jonathan Larroquette talk ridiculously and hilariously about ridiculous and hilarious things.

    2) ‘TOFOP’: Wil Anderson and Charlie Pickering talk ridiculously and hilariously about ridiculous and hilarious things, but with Australian accents.

    3) ‘Answer Me This!’: Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann answer ridiculous and hilarious questions about anything you can imagine, this time with English accents. (BTW, Helen is the sister of Andy Zaltzman, one of the two hosts of ‘The Bugle’, another awesome podcast recommended above by Lucy.)

  • Georgia says:

    A big yes for the Tobolowsky files. He’s a helluva storyteller (besides having great stories to tell). Slightly off topic, but does anyone think the Grammys will/should have an award for best podcast?

  • Tracy says:

    For music, NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast is really great. And KEXP’s Music That Matters.

  • Bessa says:

    I have to third (or is it fourth?) the Planet Money love. I’ve been listening to them from almost the beginning, and I have to say that these reporter make very large issues–and issues beyond just economics–very accessible. They’re enjoyable listens, and I truly feel that I am a more informed person as a whole thanks to this one podcast. If you’re a regular TAL listener you’ll recognize some of their bigger stories, since the team behind Planet Money also did the bulk of the reporting on the “Bad Bank” and “Giant Pool of Money” episodes.

    And thanks for asking this question–now I’ve got a lot more podcasts to add to my weekly rotation!

  • Amy C. says:

    I second TBTL. I’ve been listening to it everyday for going on 3 years now, and I’m not remotely bored of it yet.

  • Kari says:

    It’s so funny – I am not a comedy nerd at all but I love listening to their podcasts – that’s why I’m also recommending Nerdist (that’s my favorite) and WTF with Marc Maron. Another one I enjoy is Doug Loves Movies – more comedy people with a movie game like name that movie.

    Thanks for asking the question, Bored. I have a new load of podcasts to listen to starting from the beginning. Yay!

  • Kithica says:

    In addition to the BBC, you could check out podcasts from the CBC, which is Canada’s national public radio/television broadcaster.

    My favourite is The Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean. It’s weekly and includes music and stories from across Canada. His voice isn’t for everyone, but it’s some of my favourite road trip listening.

  • Lily says:

    I’d recommend Podcastle at http://podcastle.org/, they do fantastic fiction.

  • Louisa says:

    I LOVE three podcasts, and listening to their backlogs has kept me entertained during housework for months.

    The Pod F. Tompkast- Comedian Paul F. Tompkins’ podcast, with him rambling (if you’ve heard his comedy, you know how amazing that is), talking on the phone to friend and fellow comedian Jen Kirkman, playing sketches from his live sketch comedy shows, and a serialized radio play where Paul pretends to be people like Ice T and Andrew Lloyd Weber. The first “season” of 12 episodes just ended.

    Stop Podcasting Yourself- As mentioned upstream, two semi-professional comedians from Vancouver who just seem like really nice, funny guys whose conversation you want to hear. They usually have a guest, but some of my favorite ones just have the two of them. Each show is about an hour and a half, and they have 176 episodes so far, all on iTunes. If a friend asked me your question in person, I’d grab her by the shoulders and insist she download it.

    My Brother, My Brother, and Me- Three brothers answer questions sent to them, as well as the horrible ones people ask on Yahoo Answers. Hilariously terrible advice.

    All of these could be a problem if you need to hide your laughter at work though. Sometimes when I’m cleaning I have to lean against a wall so I don’t pass out.

  • Louisa says:

    Oh! I forgot to say that all my recommendations do a pretty good job of avoiding something I HATE: hosts not knowing what they’re talking about.

    I have the blessing/curse of a trivia-storing brain, and when I’m listening to radio DJs or podcasts where people are saying-

    “What was that Gerard Depardieu movie? Where he pretended to date his daughter? Vacation, or something? Yeah, that’s it.”

    All I can think is “IT WAS ‘MY FATHER THE HERO’ YOU ASSHOLES.” And then I have to stop listening. Because no one corrects them, and I’m crazy, so I can’t handle it.

  • clobbered says:

    Even if you are not a big filmgoer, check out Mark Kermode’s movie reviews. However since you want them for work, don’t listen to them in anything customer-facing, because you might very well burst out laughing hysterically.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/kermode

  • Stephie says:

    Frank and Erik Internet Famous is the best.

  • Bored says:

    Wow, so many good suggestions! Thanks so much Nation. Fortunately for me, I don’t deal with customers, but I do work with other people who already look at me when I crack up laughing at something on the radio or in a podcast. Quizzical looks, followed by me attempting to explain things and mostly, it gets lost in translation.

    @Linda – A friend suggested The Splendid Table, which I heard periodically on NPR while commuting at my last job, but this time, I can’t listen to it without getting hungry! I’m not sure how to deal with this, aside from possibly setting it aside for lunchtime listening?

    Some of these are shows I listen to and enjoy on NPR and never even thought to podcast, so thank you all so so much. Work is so dull in the absence of entertainment, and this really helps. The variety is key!

  • Lulu says:

    Seconds for:

    Radio Lab – Sooooo interesting. Complex topics made accessible by really smart and likeable hosts. Like This American Life, will turn you into one of those people who is always saying, “I heard something interesting the other day on…”

    Fresh Air – Daily, 45-minute podcast of in-depth interviews with guests ranging from politicians to celebrities to experts in various academic fields. Terry Gross is the best interviewer ever.

    Savage Love – At first I felt strange listening to so many swears and descriptions of sex acts at work, but this is one of the most eminently listenable and absorbing podcasts out there. I’ve listened to each episode several times.

    How Stuff Works podcasts – Less polished than your TALs and Radio Labs, but still informative and entertaining. You will learn a lot. I tend to mainline these when I’ve run out of everything else.

    BBC Radio Four programming – especially the word game shows like “Just A Minute” (you can also find Just A Minute episodes archived somewhere, often announced at the yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/just-a-minute/) and anything else Sue Perkins is in. I also like “Act Your Age,” where different generations of comedians compete to be funniest, and “Genius,” where a panel riffs on “genius” ideas submitted by the public. I’m also a fan of “Sarah Millican’s Support Group,” a parody advice show with the very charmingly-accented comedienne host. But basically you can look under the Comedy tab and everything will be great.

    I also like:

    Selected Shorts – Classic and new short stories, read out loud on PRI. Usually 1-3 stories per podcast. I’ve heard Edgar Allen Poe and Miranda July, read by such excellent B-level celebrities as Jane Curtin and Rene Auberjonois. Really entertaining if you like being read to; and like How Stuff Works, can fill in gaps in your cultural knowledge.

    Citation Needed – This is new, and there are only a couple episodes, but it’s a new favorite with me – comedy podcast with skits based on bad Wikipedia prose. It’s hilarious.

  • Bam says:

    Read it and Weep (“A good podcast about bad books, movies, and tv shows”) is pretty consistently funny.

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