Podcasts

I've recently become a podcast junkie. Some of the ones I've listened to are good, others are not. Here's a look at some of them. They have been rated according to the five-star system, but I have no Alt code for a star, so instead I'm using eighth notes. ♫ = one star ♪ = one half star. As usual (for me, anyway), this list has been put in alphabetical order.

• Awesome Vocabulary: Learn English Vocabulary Words Podcast ♪
  Don't download this podcast. They're normally seven minutes long, with five of these minutes devoted to monotonous, redundant ramblings from the host. Of the "awesome vocabulary" he's introduced, I haven't learned a single new word. My fifth grade sister would know all of them.
  
  
• Cleveland Celtic Podcast ♫♫♫♪
  This is a decent one. The hostess makes a podcast of Irish and Celtic music (both traditional music and music influenced by the culture) roughly an hour long at sporadic intervals. Some of the songs aren't exactly to my liking for various reasons, but I enjoy the vast majority of them. The most recent podcast has marked a change in style that I hope doesn't persist, but it may well do so. According to a survey taken by the hostess, more listeners want more Celtic rock than otherwise. Many of the songs featured on the newest podcast aren't that great. Plus, I truly do like the traditional tunes, and I don't want them to disappear from this podcast.
  
  
• Grist: Environmental Podcast ♫♪
  Since it's almost entirely politics and delivered in a remarkably dull and unenthusiastic voice, I don't like this podcast all that much. I have never managed to actually pay attention to one all the way through, so I have nothing more to say about this podcast.
  
  
• IndieFeed Alternative/Modern Rock Channel ♫♫♫
  This one gives you one song per week from an indie band. I promptly delete at least 50% percent of the episodes I hear, and after listening to each of the remaining songs one or two times more, I get rid of a quarter to a third of those that lasted the first round. In general, the songs aren't that great. Sometimes they're so horrible I can't bear to listen to the whole thing. However, a fair amount of them are decent, and every once in a while I come across a real gem that makes it into my top lists, so I keep IndieFeed.
  
  
• Irish and Celtic Music Podcast ♫♫♫♫♪
  Another excellent Irish podcast. It tends to repeat songs in multiple episodes and the host has an annoying voice. It doesn't help that he sounds a bit tipsy in some of the episodes. Other than that, it's a wonderful podcast.
  
  
• Learn Spanish: Survival Guide to Spanish ♫♫♫♪
  Well, this one teaches Spanish pretty well. I can't say I'm all that excited about it right now. I'd love to learn another language, but right now I don't have time for what I do already, let alone time to add anything else. Plus, Spanish would not be my first choice. However, since I'll be in Colombia for a week this summer, learning a bit of survival Spanish would certainly be useful.
  
  
• Let My People Think (RZIM)
  RZIM stands for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, so you know it's got to be good. Unfortunately, that's all I have to say right now about this podcast. I just discovered it, so I haven't listened to a whole episode yet.
  
  
• Living Planet ♫♫♫♫
  I'm rather fond of Living Planet, brought by Deutschewelle Radio. It covers fascinating environmental topics from all points of view, not just from the standpoint of ardent environmentalists.



• MicrobeWorld Radio ♫♫♫♫
  What's not to love about one-minute snippets of the latest news concerning microbiology? Short and informative, this one makes the microbiologist in me smile and appreciate the beauty and fascination of microscopic life.



• National Geographic Minutes ♫♫♫♫♪
  Varied as the articles in the magazine itself are the topics that these one-minute podcasts address. Anything from spiderwebs to the Berlin Wall to Mona Lisa's voice could be subject matter for this delightful podcast. They are no longer making new episodes, but you can probably still download the old ones if you take interest in them.
  
  
• Natural History Radio: World on the Move ♫♫♫
  This is a radio show powered by BBC. I was not aware of this when I downloaded it, but it's devoted entirely to migratory animals. It's okay, but there are definitely more exciting things on the planet.
  
  
• One Minute How-To ♪
  Don't download this one either. The primary purpose of the podcast is for the guest speaker to advertise their service or product for a few minutes after explaining something that's rarely profound. Plus, the intro music is exceedingly annoying. You may, however find the "How To Talk Like a Pirate" episode interesting, wherein Ol' Chumbucket and Cap'n Slappy explain a few key words to be used on ITLAPD.



• One Minute Irish ♫♫♫
  Similar to my issue with the Spanish podcast, I just don't have time for another language right now. Unlike my issue with the Spanish podcast, Irish would be towards the top of the list of languages I want to learn. These lessons come in shorter doses than the Spanish podcast, which is nice.
  
  
• The Math Factor ♫♫♫♫♫
  I love this one. It's short, entertaining (in a math nerd sort of way), and it makes me think while simultaneously exercising my inner math geek. Every week, a math professor from the University of Arkansas and some other guy introduce a math problem to all listeners and normally give the answer to the previous week's question. I highly recommend this. If you aren't really the math sort, there are also several episodes with logic puzzles that may intrigue you.



• They Might Be Giants Podcast ♫♫♫♫
  There are only three episodes of this one available. The second is just an interview, so I never finished listening to it. The other two are mostly music, and it's well performed nerdy music too.
  
  
• TIME's GreenCast ♫
  Aside from the horrible sound quality compounded by the fact that the interviewees often have thick accents, I have no complaints about the GreenCast. Probably because I can't understand what's being said half the time. What I do hear seems to be rather repetitively redundant over and over again. I doubt I'm missing anything too exciting or valuable now that I've opted out of this one.
  
  
• Treehugger Radio ♫
  To be honest, I chose this one knowing it would be bad, and intending to make fun of it. It was bad, but not even the kind of bad that's fun or amusing to ridicule. It's about people's inspirational life stories involving the environment. I didn't last an entire episode, and I don't plan on going back for more.