I hardly listen to the radio anymore, because I listen to audiobooks and podcasts instead. My car has a cassette player in it so I use one of those cassette adapters to connect my iPhone to the car’s stereo system.
I use a $1.99 iOS app called Downcast to subscribe to and listen to my podcasts. (Before that I was using an app called Pocket Casts, but it seems to have a bug in it that prevents me from pausing a podcast and playing it again later. Other people rave about Pocket Casts, however, so don’t rule it out if you’re in the market for a podcast player).
Here are the podcasts I enjoy the most:
Bullseye with Jesse Thorn. Jesse used to have a podcast called The Sound of Young America. Bullseye is similar, in that Jesse interviews musicians, comedians, directors, and other interesting folks in the realm of popular culture. Jesse only interviews people that he admires and knows about, so his questions elicit interesting responses from his guests.
The Ihnatko Almanac. Described as “a weekly discussion that mostly focuses on the Clickable Arts: the movies, music, books, comics, articles, and other bits of entertainment and news that Andy and Dan [Benjamin] have been reaching through a mouse click recently.” That’s true, but the real joy of this podcast is listening to Andy Ihnatko’s lively and insightful near-rants about why some things are good and why other things stink. Cohost Dan Benjamin does a great job winding Andy up and letting him rip!
The Joe Rogan Experience. I don’t know much about Joe Rogan. I understand he is a standup comic, a mixed martial arts fighter, and a reality TV show host. None of those things interest me greatly, but Joe’s guests are often unusual people and Joe does a great job of getting into their minds. He has interviewed 4-Hour Chef author Tim Ferris, biohacker Dave Asprey, software mogul and fugitive John McAfee, convicted steroid distributor Victor Conte, ethnopharmacologist Dennis McKenna, and many others. He’s up to episode #304. Sometimes the episodes run 3 hours long.
Latest in Paleo I’ve been following a modified Paleo style regimen for a couple of years. I avoid gluten grains, sugar, and industrial seed oils. I eat vegetables, butter, olive oil, coconut oil, fish, grass fed beef, eggs, and some sweet potatoes. About the same time I started doing Paleo, Angelo Coppola began producing his Latest in Paleo podcast. This well-made show examines current news stories regarding health, diet, and fitness. It’s one of my favorite podcasts, and I listen to it as soon as it shows up on my player.
Stay tuned for My Favorite Podcasts of 2012, Part Two! Also, feel free to write about your favorite podcasts in the comments section.
