The past three weeks I’ve been banished to the basement of the building where I work to sort paper. Thousands and thousands of pages of paper. We are being audited by Apple Inc. (because I work at an Authorized Service Center). It’s understandable, but the paper sorting is kind of hell.
But thanks to the magic of iTunes, and free programming that is Podcasts, I’ve turned what was mind-numbing hell into rather educational and entertaining time.
One thing I did was sign up for a free account at audible.com and redeemed my one free audiobook for a season of This American Life, which gave me 26 hours of storytelling. I love that. But here are my other favorites, in no particular order:
- Creative Screenwriting Magazine – This podcast was actually very helpful, and not filled with softball questions or pointless information. So far I’ve only listened to the interview with Danny Boyle regarding Slumdog Millionaire but I have also downloaded the interview with Charlie Kaufman for Synechedoche, New York.
- The Moth Podcast – A live storytelling podcast that pulls from regular live events in New York and LA. Nearly every story will make you laugh and quite a few are pretty touching. The storytellers range from former Brooklyn cops to Published authors.
- Folkways – A public broadcast TV show rereleased online as a Video Podcast, this show focuses on folk music and folk traditions. Each half-hour episode hones in on a topic. I watched the episode on the banjo yesterday, and learned about the history of the banjo, the different playing styles, and the major players of each style. It was very well put together for a public access show.
- APM: Word for Word – This podcast features “the best of recent speeches” and I was excited to find it because the speakers are good, and the topics are quite interesting. I listened to Paul Roberts speaking on the state of the world food supply yesterday (he’s the author of The End of Food) and another gentleman give a history of the CIA titled “A Legacy of Ashes.”
- Stuff You Should Know – How Stuff Works.com brings this podcast every week, and they do a good job of packing factual information into a radio morning show format. Two hosts bounce back and forth to explain topics that range from “How Important is Sleep?” to “How does the Bailout Work?” I would start with the latter and also “How do mortgage-backed securities work” if you are interested in understanding our current economic troubles more.
- New Yorker: Fiction – Fan of short stories? This podcast is excellent for you. Every month the New Yorker invites a fiction author to choose a short story from the magazine’s archives to read aloud. Then the fiction editor and author will discuss the story. I don’t usually care much for the discussion, but it’s a great way to hear some classic short stories read aloud. Available so far, Tobias Wolffe’s Bullet in the Brain, Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, and many more.
That’s all for now. I can’t remember if I’ve found any others of note, and right now my iPod is playing the new Kanye while my wife gets ready (my choice of music, not hers). If I find other good ones, I’ll be sure to post them here!
A life of Mundanity 