The Wonderful World of Podcasts

I have a new guilty pleasure. I listen to podcasts. I listen at work. I listen at home. And I don't even own an iPod.

Podcasts are great. I like music, but I wouldn't say that I'm a music lover. And I can't listen to music all day. But I have to listen to something during work, so I discovered the great world of podcasts.

It works out great. I started an iTunes account and I download the podcasts to my hard drive. I plug my headphones right into my computer, and listen to my heart's content -- no iPod necessary. There are eleventy-billion titles available on iTunes, from sports, to education, to comedy, to ... whatever. Many popular radio programs re-air via podcast so you can listen whenever you want. And, of course, many are recorded only for downloading.

And the best part...they're free. (At least I haven't run across any that cost money.)

Since there are so many to choose from, I thought I'd share my podcast playlist.

Sports:
General Sports:

GoGameFace.com presents Game On
Hosted by Erica Boeke and Melissa Greenhawt

Their tagline is "the podcast by women who love sports, but not stats." Which is exactly why it's my favorite podcast. Erica and Melissa are knowledgeable, smart, enthusiastic, and fun. In addition to lots of great sports talk, they also discuss pop-culture. They have great guests (their most recent episode featured Masi Oka from "Heroes") and they conduct awesome interviews. It's a ton of fun.

Baseball:

ESPN: Baseball Today
Hosted by Eric Karabell and Peter Pascarelli

The good thing about stuff from ESPN is that you know it's great stuff. Updated daily during the season and weekly during the off-season, it provides top-notch updates and insight.

Twins Baseball:

Blog Talk Radio: Jack Steal
Hosted by Fanatic Jack Steal and Topper Anton

A nice podcast by blog writers of Fanatic Jack Talks Twins and Curve For a Strike. I enjoy this podcast because it's just a couple of great Twins fans talking baseball. Jack is quite outspoken and really wants this team to win (lately, he's been pretty frustrated by Bill Smith's lack of activity). His passion is awesome. Topper (who is a friend of this blog) lends a voice of calmness and reason. They complement each other nicely.

Blog Talk Radio: SethSpeaks
Hosted by Seth Stohs

Presented by the estimable author of sethspeaks.net, Seth gives great insight and analysis. He often focuses on minor leaguers and prospects, which is pretty interesting.

Other Stuff:
General Knowledge

CBC: Spark
Hosted by Nora Young

This is a podcast version of the Canadian Broadcast Company's Spark radio program. It's about technology and culture. I like it because it's very interesting but not overly nerdy or complicated.

Stuff You Should Know by howstuffworks.com
Hosted by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant

I love this podcast. It's pretty much two really smart, yet kind of goofy, guys who thoroughly research some random topic and then talk about it. They've covered everything from totem poles to pirates to nuclear proliferation. Very cool, and very interesting.

NPR: Fresh Air
Hosted by Terry Gross

I've been listening to Fresh Air for years. And I'm thrilled that I can download it and listen whenever it's convenient. It has great interviews that cover arts, issues, and culture.

NPR: Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me
Hosted by Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell

I've got to be careful when I listen to this podcast, because I always laugh out loud and I don't want to disturb my co-workers. This quiz show about news and current events is hilarious.

The MannersCast
Hoted by Trent, Colin, and Derek

This fun podcast is about everyday manners for everyday people. It's pretty much three guys chatting about manners issues sent in by listeners. Their advice is great, but never snooty or self-rightous.

Quick and Dirty Tips

The Quick and Dirty Tips network offers a bunch of short (about 6 minutes), informative podcasts from a variety of experts. I have a few favorites, but they're all great.

• Grammar Girl - Quick and dirty tips for better writing
• Modern Manners Guy - Quick and dirty tips for a more polite life (hosted by the same Trent as The MannersCast)
• Nutrition Diva - Quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous
• House Call Doctor - Quick and dirty tips for taking charge of your health

So that's about it. Sometimes I'll listen to others, but don't subscribe. But, hey, if you have some recommendations, let me know. I've got room for more (there are a lot of hours in the work week).

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I sincerely hope you have a fantastic New Year. I really appreciate all the readers who stop by this blog. Let's all hope that there will be some exciting Twins news very soon.