Friday, February 25, 2011

My Favorite Podcasts

This American LifeImage via Wikipedia
I haven’t listened to traditional radio in months and I’m not looking back for two reasons. Podcasts and Pandora.

If you have a smart phone you can stream music and podcasts practically commercial free and more importantly tailored specifically to your likes. For me personally pod-casts are what I listen to most of the time.

If you are not familiar with the term pod-cast it is basically an audio file that can be downloaded to a portable audio player or computer, usually speech.

Top 10 Podcasts (listed in order of my personal preference)

1. This American Life - Hands down my favorite podcast of all. It comes out sometime Sunday and it the first thing I listen to Monday morning as I jump in my truck to go to work. It covers all different types of topics from economics to random interviews and everything in between.

This American Life is a weekly public radio show broadcast on more than 500 stations to about 1.7 million listeners. It is produced by Chicago Public Media, distributed by Public Radio International, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards. It is also often the most popular podcast in the country, with more than a half million people downloading each week. We're also the co-producers, with NPR News, of the economics podcast and blog Planet Money. And a half dozen stories from the radio show are being developed into films.

2. ESPN: The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons - As far as sports go this is my go to place. Bill Simmons has a way of mixing sports knowledge and analysis, clever prose, pop culture references, his non-sports-related personal life, and for being from the viewpoint of a 
Bill SimmonsImage via Wikipediapassionate sports fan.
William J. "Bill" Simmons III  is a sports columnist, author, and podcaster. He currently writes a 
column forPage 2 on ESPN.com and is a former writer for ESPN The Magazine. Nicknamed The Sports Guy.
Since joining ESPN in 2001, in addition to writing for ESPN.com, he has also hosted his own podcast on ESPN.com titled The B.S. Report, appeared as a special contributor on the television series E:60, and serves as an executive producer of ESPN's documentary project, 30 for 30. He also has written two best-selling books and worked as a writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Simmons also has created numerous internet memes, most notably the Ewing Theory and the Manning Face.
In 2007, he was named the 12th-most influential person in online sports by the Sports Business Journal, the highest position on the list for a non-executive.

3. General Conference Audio - I try and listen to at least one general conference talk a day and since a talk usually last about 10-15 minutes it is a perfect length for either my drive to or from work.

General Conference is a semiannual world conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held in April and October, where members gather in a series of two-hour sessions to listen to instruction from Church leaders.

4. The Moth Podcast - This is a pod-cast of stories told live without notes. I love hearing people stories. I used to just watch cars go by on the freeway and think of all the stories that each person in each car had to tell. Though disclaimer they don’t edit for curse words so you have to be careful.

The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art of storytelling. It was founded in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate the feeling of sultry summer evenings in his native Georgia, when moths were attracted to the light on the porch where he and his friends would gather to spin spellbinding tales. George and his original group of storytellers called themselves "The Moths", and George took the name with him to New York. The organization now runs a number of different storytelling events in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and other American cities, often featuring prominent literary and cultural personalities.

5. this WEEK in TECH - I have to have my tech fix. This is a great panel style show where about 4 tech leaders get together every Sunday and discuss what is going on in tech. I like this show because they talk about many different areas of tech and you can learn a little about a lot in about an hour podcast. Between TWiT and Mashable I stay pretty up to date on all things tech related.

the logo of TWiT NetworkImage via WikipediaThis Week in Tech–casually referred to as TWiT, and formerly known as Revenge of the Screen Savers–is the weekly flagship podcast of the TWiT.tv network. Hosted by Leo Laporte and many othe
r former TechTV employees, it features roundtable discussions and debates surrounding current technology news and reviews, with a particular focus on consumer electronics and the Internet. TWiT headquarters, called TWiT Cottage, is located in Petaluma, California, USA.

6. Freakonomics Radio If you liked the book Freakonomics or Superfreakonomics you will like this pod-cast. It is produced by the writers of said books and they follow basically the same model of the books.

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything is a 2005 non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner. The book has been described as melding pop culture with economics[1], but has also been decried as "amateur sociology".[2] By late 2009, it had sold over 4 million copies worldwide.

7. ESPN: PTI - This simply the audio feed of Pardon the Interuption the daily ESPN sports show. Since we cut cable some times I catch the podcast to stay up on sports. I usually only listen to this if the BS Report cue is empty.

ESPN in the United KingdomImage via WikipediaPardon the Interruption (abbreviated PTI) is a sports television show that airs weekdays on various ESPN TV channels and as a downloadable podcast. It is hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wil
bon, who discuss, and frequently argue over, the top stories of the day in "sports... and other stuff" (as Kornheiser put it in the show's original promo). They had previously done this off-air in The Washington Post newsroom. Either Tony Reali (host of ESPN's Around the Horn) or the uncredited "producer over the loudspeaker" serves as moderator for parts of the show, which is filmed in Washington, D.C.;

8. Stuff You Missed in History Class - This is a new podcast that I have recently found and really like. It has potential to climb my top 10 but for now suffice it to say it has very detailed/interesting information on things in history I know little to nothing about.

Stuff You Missed in History Class is a podcast about important historical events originally hosted by editor Candace Keener. She is joined by co-hosts Josh Clark (older episodes), Jane McGrath (newer episodes), and Katie Lambert (newest episodes). In August 2009, Candace left the show and Katie was joined by editor Sarah Dowdey. The original title of the podcast was Fact or Fiction? History Stuff for the History Buff.

9. 60 Minutes - This simply the audio feed of 60 Minutes the weekly news televeision show. I usually only listen to this one if This American Life and the The Moth cues are empty.

60 Minutes (Australian TV program)Image via Wikipedia60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by long-time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-
centered investigation.
It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life, and has garnered numerous awards over the years, including 78 Emmys(as of 2007). It is considered by many to be the preeminent investigative television program in the United States.

10. Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me! - Last but not least is a pod cast i thoroughly enjoy almost every time I listen to it yet still find myself listening to the above podcasts first when given the chance.

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is an hour-long weekly radio news quiz game show produced by Chicago Public Radio and National Public Radio. It is distributed by NPR in the United States, internationally on NPR Worldwide and on the Internet via podcast, and typically broadcast on weekends by member stations.

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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

I'm a runner! Well, I'm going to be!

In November I want to run a half-marathon.and I'm starting my training today.
Until summer rolls around I can only really run on days that Kyle comes home right after school (too cold in the morning)- so that will be like 3 days a week on average (sometimes more, sometimes less) and hopefully 5 days a week after the musical is over. I'm just going to have to run on those days (and Saturdays) and not beat myself up about it if I can't run more then twice that week. It's not the ideal system, but I feel like I need to start- I WANT to start. I don't want to wait till summer, or for Kyle :)

I've seen a lot of different programs online, and I think I just need to pick one that feels right for me. The block in front of us (with the elementary school and the fair grounds) is a little more then a mile all the way around, so I think I'm start with that.

So if you're driving through that part of Holbrook and you see me kind of looking like this...


Now you know why :)
But don't worry, give me some time and I'll be looking like this!





Wish me luck!