A Few of My Favorite Podcasts

It's been a while. Yet again. I've toyed with the idea of starting some regular blog features, in an effort to get myself writing again on a regular basis. Since late March, I have been working full time in the legal field, and I come home at the end of the day with little desire to create fresh prose. It's not that I don't have ideas or opinions to voice, or stories to tell; it's just that I am so busy with many other things.

For example: I was given a new responsibility at church a few months back. It occupies a lot of time, even during the week. Plus, it involves making phone calls and scheduling meetings, which is often hectic. Many of the people I need to contact are difficult to track down, so many calls and emails are often needed. Needless to say, any church position that includes the word "secretary" is not something one should aspire to.

I also switched work projects back in the beginning of September. Instead of working near the White House, I am now in a nifty little office over on the border of Foggy Bottom and Georgetown. I get a bit of a walk heading there from the metro stop, but I now exit two metro stops sooner than before, so my net commute in the morning stays about the same. Which, sadly, is still too long for my tastes. But the pay is slightly more, and the hours are slightly less. It's a win-win scenario, I guess. My new office doesn't have a free Diet Coke dispenser like my last office. I now have to pay 25 cents per can. But they do have a vending machine with bags of potato chips, which are also 25 cents. If you do the math, that's a daily quotient of 3 cans of Diet Coke and 1 bag of chips for a buck. Awesome. They also let me listen to my iPod while I get my legal document review groove thing on.

Rather than listen to an endless loop of rock and/or roll music for 8-10 hours a day, I try to spend the bulk of my time enriching my life (or perhaps just mindlessly entertaining myself) with podcasts of all shapes and sizes. After much listening and personal interweb research, I have compiled my list of favorite blogs. In no particular order:

1. LDS Broadcast Archives. I figured I would get the religious one out of the way first. I don't mean to be the cliche Mormon, but I've found this site to be a great place to go to for spiritual inspiration. Not only does it have conference talks, but it also has Young Adult broadcasts and more. I like to think of it this way: a podcast a day keeps Satan away.

2. Dan Carlin's Hardcore History. Carlin has an interesting take on many historical topics. From what I've gathered, he takes hunches about sweeping themes throughout history, and does a lot of intense research on them. He then puts together podcasts that can range anywhere from 40 minutes to a 4-part series that clocks in at a total of over 6 hours. Every single podcast is fascinating, especially since Carlin makes you think about things from entirely new angles. My particular favorites include Ghosts of the Ostfront (about the eastern front of WWII), and Globalization Unto Death (about Magellan's circumnavigation). The podcasts are considered "hardcore" in that war and death tend to come up a lot in the stories, since they tend to be decisive moments in history.

3. Thom Hartmann political podcasts. Hartmann is a populist with a strong economic bent. His podcasts are not for everyone (particularly if you have been known to nod your head in agreement with Glenn Beck from time to time), but he does make you think about the role that corporations and finance play in United States politics. Be warned: he is not a big fan of Ronald Reagan (or Bill Clinton, for that matter). But his knowledge of economic trends and U.S. history is quite deep, and he will get you to ponder the relationship between politics and economics. Speaking of economics...

4. UC Berkeley Economics 113: American Economic History (Fall 2008). This link contains the recorded lectures from an entire semester of this economics class. (In fact, you can access many Berkeley pocasts for a variety of courses here. There are several semesters worth of archives. History and Poli Sci courses tend to be the easiest to follow.) I fell absolutely in love with this series of lectures. The first few classes move a bit slow, but things really heat up once he hits the Great Depression, which takes several lectures to get through. Professor DeLong is absolutely brilliant, and it was especially interesting to hear his take on our current crises, considering that he was speaking from fall of 2008, before most of our current economic situation had really solidified. A word of caution: the lectures are easier to follow if you have a basic understanding of economic terminology. A good litmus test would be whether or not you know what the term "opportunity cost" means, or what GDP stands for.

5. The Kevin & Bean Show on 106.7 KROQ FM Los Angeles. This morning show is quite famous in the LA area, and has been syndicated as of late in many markets throughout the U.S. It has been running for about two decades, and only gets funnier and more entertaining with age. The podcasts get put up each afternoon after the morning show has aired, with all of the commercials and songs cut out. They tend to interview music/sports/show business types on a regular basis, and they also talk to Dr. Drew and the guy from TMZ about once a week. It's pretty much a go-to podcast for pop culture, with a healthy dose of irreverent humor sprinkled in. Warning: it's not for everybody. If you can't get through a CW drama withouth getting uncomfortable and/or squeamish, then you probably should avoid this one. Some of their segments may discuss matters that would be lumped into the category of "adult themes" if the podcast were a PG-13 film. So keep that in mind.

And finally, I have a request for my blog readers: What are your favorite podcasts? Are there things out there that keep you entertained or enlightened? I would love to read your suggestions, as I tend to have lot of hours to kill each day while sitting in my work space and staring at my computer screen. (Well, it's actually two screens. The place is kind of cutting edge.) Let me know what I am missing out on.