Casting the Pods

My walk to school each morning and back each afternoon is between 10 and 15 minutes, depending on whether I'm ambling or only moseying. If circumstances dictate, I can get there more quickly. Unfortunately, it's time for me to start thinking about such things as walking to work, as I head back Monday. The break which seemed so long not so long ago is suddenly over--in another couple days, it will be long gone. 

To occupy my walks, I've started listening to podcasts on my iPod. If you're not familiar with them, they're a sort of on-demand radio show, made by just about anybody and everybody. Most of the podcasts I've seen seem to be done by people who just have a passion for something and devote their time to it, with no income beyond donations. Some of the podcasts I've been listening to have provided blogging fodder, while others have simply been interesting. And there's the occasional dud, but so it goes. I'm still looking for more, but I've found a few that have held my interest (all of these, incidentally, can be found for free both through their websites and through iTunes).

Point of Inquiry This was the first podcast I discovered--the podcast and radio show for the Center for Inquiry. It comes from a secular humanist perspective on any number of topics, from comparative religion to politics and popular culture. Not all the shows are equally interesting to me, but I usually enjoy them wel enough.

The Dragon Page This is a podcast devoted to science fiction and fantasy, almost exclusively focused on books, but also dealing with new media like eBooks and the like. They have interviews with some of the major writers in the field as well as people I've never heard of, but they tend to be pretty interesting too and give me books that I'd like to read eventually. Usually, they do two shows a week, one focused on book reviews and the like, while the other typically includes an interview. 

KunstlerCast This is a weekly program featuring short interviews with the social critic and writer James Howard Kunstler (The Geography of Nowhere, The Long Emergency). By its own admission, it's about "the tragic comedy of suburban sprawl." The nice thing is that the episodes are around 15 minutes, which is just about right for me to walk home and walk the dog. On the downside, it's only enough for a one-way trip and only comes out once a week.

C-Realm Podcast The subtitle of this is "The C stands for Consciousness." I gather it started as largely focused on psychedelics, but the focus has mostly shifted (which is good, since I have zero interest in that topic) to issues of the relocalization of communities and agriculture. It's tuned in to issues of Peak Oil and the other challenges facing us in the coming decades. Lots of interesting guests, though there are some episodes that hold no interest for me.

Living Green: Effortless Ecology for Everyday People I'm still not completely sold on this recent find. I suspect I'm not really the target audience. The description touts its "deep and intimate conversations with guests who share their emotional experiences of ecological awakening as well as the "pain points" that keep them moving toward a more sustainable lifestyle." In short, it's a little too warm, fuzzy, and new-agey for me at times, but at the same time each of the last several episodes has held my interest enough that I'm still listening, so I guess that says something. It's not the podcast I would do, but it's pretty good. 

From that last podcast, I came across this guy who does a podcast called Green Living Ideas, and I'm planning to check it out. I've also listened to one episodes of Explorations in Permaculture, and I'm planning to check out some more episodes, but I'm not really committed to it yet.

I've also got a couple of audiobooks lined up to listen to, but those are tough. A podcast, I can finish up in a day or two between walks to and from school, walking the dog, and just continuing to listen even after I get home, but an audiobook would mean days and days (probably weeks) of listening in little pieces, which makes it tough to bring it all together and really appreciate it.

Do any of you listen to podcasts? Audiobooks? Let me know all about your experiences.

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