::A Geek in Korea::

The first application I wanted for my Android phone was a proper podcasting service. I listen to all of my podcasts on my phone exclusively now, and I needed something that could connect via WiFi at set intervals, update and check feeds, then download the programs that were newly released. The feed management system needed to be robust and easy, and there needed to be a way to organize my feeds into a playlist so that when one show finished, the next would start automatically. I’ve found that the best application for all of those things is DoggCatcher. It has all the features I need, and a few more. It distinguishes between audio and video podcasts and keeps them in distinct playlists. It will also recommend new podcasts for you based on your listening habits, and will easily allow you to add more from different sources like rss or online channels like Revision 3.

Now that I’ve got it automatically downloading the last few podcasts released from a feed, I can just turn on my phone in a WiFi zone at work or at home and have something new to listen to at any time without needing to be constantly poking at my phone. It even has a series of settings so that it can remember where you left off in any particular show. If you want to skip to another program and return, it will let you do that, even from a widget on the home screen. That’s one less step and several less seconds of work. When I take out my headphones from the jack it will instantly stop the show too, meaning I don’t have to worry if the cord gets tugged when I go for a walk or something.

It is an expensive application at $6.99, but it has solved all the problems for one of the major uses of my phone. It is absolutely worth the money to me, and I uses it hours daily. I’ve never had a single problem with this program, and the other podcasting applications on my Android phone drove me into fits of rage because of their bugs. Support this well made program! I’ve got more time to listen instead of waiting for things to download all the time. I’ve added a few new podcasts since the last time I gave some recommendations too. Here are some of the programs I am listening to now:

The Educational Shows:

Stuff You Missed in History Class – I was a history and civics geek in high school, but that was the last time I did anything related to the subject despite being a follower of politics now. Listening to this podcast about historical figures is very insightful. Sometimes I can imagine teaching a lesson on one of these topics to my old higher level middle school students, even though I don’t teach that sort of class anymore. I find the podcast interesting as it weaves a story out of the figures, often building on previous episodes to take a more in depth look at people’s impact on history. The shows only run around fifteen minutes, so while they do require careful listening, they aren’t too exhausting.

Skeptoid – This is a critical thinking podcast, with lots of debunking going on. Some of the topics remind me a lot of the Stuff You Missed in History Class, except with a skeptical bent to them. It also has a short run time. The host of the show has a strong point of view, and doesn’t hold back on people he considers frauds. I’ve taken a strong interest in supporting skeptical media recently, and this is one of the best. I’m also a big fan of The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe.

The Comedy Shows:

WTF with Marc Maron is the newest podcast I listen to. I’ve been looking for it for a while, but when I found it I was surprised at the quality of guests on the show. The host is acerbic towards some comics, but some of the interviews are very interesting. I’d recommend the two about Carlos Mencia (75. Direct: 76). The show is extremely [NSFW], but if you are interested in listening to comedians when they aren’t doing their acts, this is a very unguarded, honest sort of show. Learning about how comedians approach their craft is a very interesting.

Doug Loves Movies This is a [NSFW] game show and interview podcast. The majority of this show is devoted to the “Leonard Maltin game” where people have to pick the right movie by listening to a few hints and a few bottom billed actors. It’s a great game you can play at a party, but sometimes the guests take forever to understand the rules and that can drag on the fun. I’ve only guessed the right movie a handful of times, but it makes me feel like a genius. Learning about which movies people are excited to see, or recommend is fine, but this can be a very Los Angeles sort of scene. The show is usually a short 30 minutes, most of it spent playing the party games. It’s pretty funny, and there are good guests most of the time.

The Nerdist Podcast is proof that geek culture is not as niche as it used to be. Chris Hardwick makes Dr. Who references all the time, or talks about he is good friends with Weird Al. They geek out about AMC shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead like I do.That’s awesome. There are times when this show lines up so closely with my interests that it is impossible for me to believe I am not subconsciously willing it into creation from a geek dimension that I never new existed before I listened. It’s not as edgy or as vulgar as WTF with Marc Maron, but is still hilarious. Every week there is a new guest that is totally in my wheelhouse. This is one of those podcasts that gets immediately bumped up in my queue when it finishes downloading.

My longstanding favorite podcast happens to be The Bugle. It is the one thing on a Saturday I save as a ritual to listen to last after all my other political and news podcasts are done. A week without The Bugle is the longest week. Even watching the Daily Show barely takes the sting out of it. Even the Bugle Twitter Feed doesn’t satisfy my urge for frequent satirical bullshit (their words). Where would I send a picture of a building that looks like a giant penis if I happened to see one if I didn’t have access to the latest Bugle? I don’t know!

There is a rumor that The Times Online, who is associated with The Bugle is going to be moving to a pay model. This is all because Rupert Murdoch threatened Google to stop stealing his Interents or something. They are trying to capture a dedicated, hardcore fan based that would pay for content while forgoing the expense of providing content to the rest of the “freeloaders”. The idea of “1000 true fans” model of content creation applied to the newspaper model. If it was anyone else, I’d support this, but now that it’s put up or shut up for The Bugle, their distant connections to people I do not want to give money to causes me to hesitate.

On paper, it looks like I’d be their perfect consumer. I subscribe to their content loyally. I’d even tolerate ads in the distribution if they had them. I listen to their content and promote it. I’m a “freeloader” that spends time promoting the material they produce to reach new people. I guess that promotion isn’t being factored into their “freeloader” distribution theory. Fans like me get more people listening. I never skip an episode. I don’t live in the country the material is distributed, yet I comment and promote their memes. It seems likely that they’d be able to flip me over to a paying customer. Then I’d get a feeling of pride supporting something I pay for and repay my debt for the hours of entertainment John and Andy, the hosts, have provided to me. Support and being a fan mean nothing if I don’t pass cash their way from time to time.

I haven’t heard the most recent Bugle, but I’ve even heard them mentioning some sort of poll about pricing The Bugle by “season”, which seems ominous. Would I pay for weekly content I’ve gotten for free for three years? I guess when Times Online goes pay-only, The Bugle will be locked away from the Internet behind a pay-wall. Their RSS feed is already wonky, and I’ve only been able to get the latest episode by manipulating an iTunes only feed to work with my Android phone. It’s still free at the moment, but it’s a matter of time. I’m willing to solve THEIR distribution problems to listen to a free show, but would I go through any hoops at all if I was paying per episode? I don’t know if I would. I’m sure if I wanted to continue to listen to the materials after they went to a “pay to listen” model that it would be trivial to continue to listen, perhaps with only a slight delay between episodes.

Politics being a taboo on the front page of my blog, I wouldn’t give Rupert Murdoch anything for the Bugle, despite it being one of the podcasts I look forward to most. I recognize that it costs money to make, and it’s been hours of free entertainment. I love the model they are trying to promote, but if the money isn’t going into the hands of John and Andy directly, I don’t feel the same way about promoting the show that I did when it was free. In a round about way, subscribing to The Times Online to support John and Andy would be good, but none of the other news is relevant to me. I don’t need a subscription to a newspaper I wouldn’t read. I need a street performer donation box to support them. I’d like to be able to money in the creative maker’s pockets without the taint of the rest of their organization being involved.

While I support this “1000 True Fans” business model, Jesse Thorn over at MaximumFun does it better in every way. They have a two week fund raising drive every year. The shows add a little segment asking for donations, either one time, or monthly in small denominations. Both Stop Podcasting Yourself and Jordan, Jesse, Go!, who run under the banner of Maximumfun participated. The rest of the year they don’t beg for money. They give prizes to people who donate set amounts, and denote participation with special tags on their forums. They don’t lock down anything, and they don’t hide their stuff away.

It’s the “Public Radio” model mixed with a bit of the “True Fan” mentality. My current credit card has expired without the option to renew since I live abroad, but once I get my own American bank Credit Card, I will donate to this fine group of  gentlemen. They’ve provided me with YEARS of entertainment, and I can support the podcasts I love directly with minimum overhead going to people not directly involved in their production.The same as The Bugle, yet I know the money goes into their hands, and I know they need it more.

Stop Podcasting Yourself is ironically also at episode 116, and all their episodes will remain free, as well as their archives will be available to all, forever, and I can donate as much, or as little, as I want. I would also get a t-shirt (my friend designed it), and help two of my favorite comedians through the Internet. They’ve earned my good will by not threatening to take anything away, but simply continuing what they do well and never stopping to appreciate their fans. In the latest pledge drive, maximumfun got 876 donations. That’s awesome. I hope it supports their efforts and keeps the content coming far into the future.

Does this make me a huge hypocrite? Perhaps it does. I produce free content on a daily basis, and of yet have been rewarded with: A box of maternity clothes, magic cards, and RPG books. I don’t run ads, and I don’t ask for anything to produce what I do, so I’m thankful I can still do what I love as a hobby, paid in geek stuff or not. I guess that gives me some sort of Internet Geek Utopia Cred, but I’m not in it for anything but my own satisfaction. Honest.

Well, I’ve gone and made myself podcast-famous again. I sent in an overheard from work this week that made it onto episode 91 of Stop Podcasting Yourself. This is the second time I’ve gotten content on their show. I was listening to it while I was spending time with my daughter, and when they read my overheard I started laughing very hard. I made the cut for a written overhead! YES!

While I highly recommend Stop Podcasting Yourself itself, there is another podcast I discovered through their forums. Five Tacos and a Taco is another “Two dudes talk about funny stuff” podcast. These particular guys are Americans that live in Dallas, Texas. They have a pretty good show that I’ve started listening to only recently, and there was plenty to enjoy.

Since I like shows with a themed structure to them, it’s no surprise that this show also follows a general routine in each episode. They have a topic for each show that takes the form of a five point list that is created by each of the hosts. For example, the first episode I listened to they talked about their Top 5 “Childhood Misconceptions”. (Where do babies come from? Watermelons grow in your belly if you eat a seed…etc.)

They used these lists as segues to each new idea when one of their conversations started to meander. They’d get off topic a lot, but due to their lists they had a means to keep the show tied together. I appreciated that. They also read and discussed some humorous news stories, answered email, and created a fictitious society to answer people’s questions based on stereotypes, all in one episode! I can’t claim every episode will be as good, but I’ve been giving them a listen and I like what I hear.

I already listen to a lot of other podcasts of a similar ilk, but this one has got a lot of archives for me to listen to during my time off.

One of the best things to get to learn how to play a roleplaying game like Dungeons and Dragons is listening to other people play it. I learned a lot from the first series of official D&D podcasts done with the guys from Penny Arcade when the 4e system was brand new. Listening to a bunch of guys roll some d20s might seem boring, but with good editing and some funny people it’s just like a story as long as you’ve got some familiarity with the system. I had listened to the latest series to completion, and wanted some more adventure gaming podcasts to listen to.

The Tome Show is good for reviews of classes and new book materials, but I was looking for someone that talks about and plays through a campaign. I hadn’t found anything that was up my alley until I discovered Return to Northmoor. This podcast is exactly what I am looking for that it’s almost like I willed it into existence with my mind unconsciously.

The first thing I like about the show is that it’s well put together. It’s got tight editing and doesn’t waste time. I do not have time to listen to 7 dudes roll dice for 200 minutes a week. The two hosts have a laser focus on exactly the show they want to make. In their first episode they explain that they are busy professionals that only game biweekly. They have mentally taxing jobs, families, and not a lot of free time. (Wow! Sounds familiar!) They have been playing D&D since the age of the Red Box and know a lot, but don’t come off like a bunch of grognards. Their goal is to help a busy person set up a campaign as easily as possible, even if they are busy adults with children and not a lot of free time.

The set up of the show is brilliant for teaching new DMs how to start. One episode is dedicated to outlining a scenario for the DM. The next episode is that very same scenario being played by their group. This is a practical guide to what can go right and wrong during an encounter. They limit the gaming to the highlights of the campaign, and don’t bother to tell what every die roll might be. A well edited gaming episodic D&D podcast with a focus on game building, playing, custom worlds and designed for busy adults? YES! THANK YOU!

What I really like about the show is that there is a plan and reason to their content. I’ve listened to the first three episodes and learned a lot about how to DM and play. They’ve set their goals in a reasonable fashion. They let the listeners know how they made their custom campaign setting, and offered tips for people looking to set up their own custom world. Not only that, but they provide the materials they discuss in their podcast in addition to their audio, so you not only get a campaign being read to you, but the materials to run it as well! Knowing how the game might turn out before you even run the campaign saves tons of time and lets you balance the encounters in ways you wouldn’t have thought of without a prior experience with the materials.

I’d recommend starting at the beginning as they are attempting to go 1 through 30 levels in their campaign, which is an epic accomplishment if they manage it. I only get to game Play by Post style these days online, when I can squeeze in some time in front of a computer without the baby demanding attention. (Amount of times I was stopped by Glow needing attention for this post? Approximately 20 times.) If I can get a little more gaming in while on the bus going to work, I’m all for it.

I hope the quality of this show continues and improves as I listen. Even in the first three episodes there was a lot to like about their approach to both D&D and podcast gaming in general. I’ve got a few more of their shows in queue and can’t wait to give them a listen and catch up on this show.

A friend on Twitter said that I should check out a podcast about video games in the This American Life style of radio show called “A Life Well Wasted“. I always take long time friend’s suggestions on podcasts seriously, as any recommendation from them is worth a listen. For all the podcasts I do happen to listen to, This American Life is not one on my podcatching software, despite it’s high quality production and noted acclaim. The whole “This is a story of some guy” style of podcasting isn’t what I get into when I’m listening to a podcast. It’s too ranging and broad. I like tightly focused themed shows. I was wondering if I had time for a video game podcast.

I don’t follow video games very much anymore. I mean, I probably follow them more than most people I know, but it’s just because I hang out places that have a strong game background cultural aspect to them on the Internet. I only listen to one game themed podcast, The D&D Podcast put out by Wizards of The Coast because it has tightly edited, funny people playing D&D. I don’t have the time to play video games, or the interest in new games like I once had. Perhaps I’m just going through a phase. I’ll be more into games when my daughter can enjoy them too… probably.

Right now, I’m more interested in the interactions between gamers, but things like Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons, where half the game is about interacting with other gamers, and the other half is about your own imagination. Interactive storytelling and shared experiences is much more my style these days. They can take as much, or as little time as you can to play too. A game where you sit down and twiddle your thumbs for a few hours in front of a television seems like a waste of a good imagination. I bet if I went back and told myself that 5 or 10 years ago I would have been shocked to hear those words coming out of my mouth, but priorities change.

Anyway, A Life Well Wasted is a video game culture themed podcast, but different than a “Let’s talk about new/old games” sort of thing. It’s made by a 30 year old guy examining the gaming subculture and wondering, “Why do we game? Why do we spend hours twiddling our thumbs?” He’s looking back on this thing that was clearly an important thing in his life and wondering why it meant so much to him. He clearly still loves the subculture, but has some distance to reflect on it now that he sees it changing, and how he relates to it. Games as art. Games as culture. Games as a lifestyle. It’s very interesting stuff. I relate to a lot of it on a deep level. It’s not judgemental or critical of people that still identify with games, but it’s more of an exploration of what these people have in common.

This is a relatively new podcast, and it’s got a tight production, good interview style, nice music, and a very good approach to the topic. I’m very interested in what this turns into in the future. It reminds me a lot of RadioLab, if everything they did was about Gaming instead of Science.

I was struck by how similar the editor’s take on video games is to my own. I used to be that kid that hauled around video game magazines and poured over every detail of every game no matter how silly. I used to play games at friend’s houses just because my parents wouldn’t let me have a game console at home. It used to be the reason I got out of bed early in the morning and the reason I stayed up late at night. Occasionally it still is, but not as much as before, and I’m okay with that.

For anyone that considers themselves a gamer, but is looking back at spending their life in front of a video game console and wondering if they should have any regrets, check out A Life Well Wasted.

Radio Lab, which had been doing a series of podcasts about the Afterlife, interviewed Mary Roach, who wrote Spook, which is a book I really enjoyed about the topic. She also wrote Bonk, which I recently finished.

(Wordpress just ate my last post. I’m not writing it all again.)

Today was my weekly “long walk” with my dog. This is when I load up on podcasts, eat lunch, and walk till my feet give out and I exhaust all my podcasts. On the docket today was a political podcast bonanza:

On weekdays, my go-to News Analysis is usually in the form of The Rachel Maddow show . I adore this show’s snarky sense of self. It’s got sharp criticism for the dumb stuff that goes on in the world, but is not as unfair and fear based as other pundits. I’m in total awe at how geeky Rachel Maddow is, and yet she still gets to host a national news program on cable television. It’s a good show, but still amusing at the same time. It breaks down the news into issues that I find important to focus on, but also keeps a lighter side so that listening day in and day out doesn’t overwhelm me. I’ll likely delay a walk with Yoshi if I know that this podcast will be availble to listen to if I wait a few minutes.

The most “Inside Baseball” podcast I follow happens to be “It’s All Politics” from NPR. It’s one of my newest finds, and it’s a very niche, very hardcore sort of politcal program. If I had grown up in some sort of alternate universe where politics was discussed around me from my youth instead of baseball box scores (shudder), this is how I would have ended up sounding when discussing things I’m interested in. Basically, this is a Poli-Sci nerd dream in audio form. The hosts of this podcast talk with a political shorthand and don’t slow down to explain issues all that often because they have only 15 minutes or so to discuss an entire week’s worth of news.

This can’t be the first podcast of the week you listen to, because if you don’t keep up from week to week you won’t understand a damn thing these people are talking about.I like this podcast because I’ve become a political junkie over the past year or so and go out of my way to keep up with issues now. This is a quick, no-BS podcast that is a giant hodgepodge of predictions, results, and pondering of how current events will affect the results of the wild world of politics. It doesn’t play favorites, and is usually very calculating in it’s predictions, so it’s a short and to the point sort of show.

I still listen to Slate’s “Political Gabfest” every week. The hosts here are all journalists that write for Slate Magazine. I’ve been listening to this podcast for years now, and it’s always refreshing to get their take on the news. I don’t always agree, but seeing it from multiple sides in the same podcast, and also discussing how the news is reported is usually very interesting. They also introduce the topics into their show and give a background to some of the stories you might have missed that they deem important. I like it, and it’s something I go out of my way not to miss each weekend on my walk.

My final “event” podcast for the walk is The Bugle. The entire state of the world gets me down sometimes, and listening to straight “serious business” podcasts sometimes winds me up pretty tight. The Bugle is when I get a grip on the fact that bullshit is funny, and lots of bullshit is hysterical. I’ll occasionally laugh out loud while I walk around town listening to this podcast. I find walking in a park helps minimize the amounts of stares I get. If I’m in a crowded place while listening, it’s probably going to cause a scene. It’s worth it for the consistently hilarious stuff on this podcast. My weekly politics walk isn’t complete with an episode of The Bugle to decompress with. It’s part of my routine now, and this is the only podcast I archive and listen to back issues of when I’m bored.

Just like The Bugle winds down my week, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! starts it back up. I listen to this on Monday or Tuesday, getting ready to go to work. This gets me into a slightly competitive, but mostly silly mood that I find soothing for getting ready for whatever it is that the students are up to in any given week. They take a self-depricating look at the news, and know that they are a silly part of the whole spectacle that is the “New Cycle”. Wait Wait is one of thos rituals that I maintain because I really enjoy listening to the humor, no matter that it’s not as edgy.

This is the majority of my podcast listening these days. I’ve trimmed several podcasts from my queues, and if I had more time I’d probably be running out of things to listen to these days, instead of having too much stuff on my plate. I think my interests have narrowed a little, but also I don’t have as much time spent commuting or walking these days to follow it all.

I was listening to a Jordan Jesse Go! episode where Jordan Morris was talking about what he did on a typical day after work. He talked about watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Google Video, playing his advanced copy of Super Smash Brothers (I’m waiting for mine to be delivered!) and watching Futurama.

This is basically what I do to spend my free time too. It’s UNCANNY and a little unnerving to think someone spends their time the exact same way I do most days. The one thing he mentioned he’s made and effort to check out when he has the chance is The Venture Brothers. I had never seen the show before, but on the strength of his recommendation, I decided to check it out.

I’ve only watched a few episodes of The Venture Brothers so far, but I know I’ll be watching it from start to finish already. It’s great. It’s funny and it has a great sense of humor about itself. It could be that I’ve seen a lot of Johnny Quest, so I appreciate what they are doing with the show. There are a lot of jokes I’m catching up on that I’ve seen on the Internet that must have originated on this show.

I’ve been watching two episodes a day now, and I’ve enjoyed them all. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for an adult, funny, but not serious sort of show. It’s very “Adult Swim”. It’s violent without being too graphic, comically sexual, and very funny. The animation looks great too! I was skeptical going in that it wouldn’t be my style, but Jordan has good taste.

Thanks JJ go!

As a former college Subway employee, the current Pseudopod horror podcast entitled “It’s Easy to Make a Sandwich” had me chuckling in a far too disturbing way. This wasn’t straight horror, but more of a messed up nihilistic revenge fantasy.

The idea about the disconnect the hands sometimes make from the brain when working in low wage jobs is completely true. I could have made a sandwich in my sleep after a few months at that job. The lifers, the daydreams, the contemplations of the different customers, the tuna stink…all of it seemed way too close to home.

The only poisoning we ever did was unwittingly selling bad crab salad a few times. Honest.

A long time ago, after I started reading Boing Boing, I delved into Cory Doctorow’s personal website craphound to listen to a few podcasts. Actually, I treated his older material like audiobooks, as they were released before I ever knew about them, and I simply used a podcast aggregation too to organize and download all the material easily. That was one of the things that got me started listening to podcasts a few years ago.

Things were going well for a while, but then he started reading “The Hacker Crackdown“. While this is an important book for real life hackers and the culture of hacking, I quickly grew bored with this material. This I tolerated for a few weeks, until finally I gave up caring about the minutiae of the different cracking rings and the dated terminology. I went off to discover different podcasts, which is ultimately for the best.

Low and behold, 30 weeks later, Craphound.com is back in my podcasting queue once again as there is a new science fiction novella being read week by week. This story, True Names, is about Post-Singularity Entities fighting for all the available computational cycles left before the Entropic death of the universe. In other words, really interesting speculative science fiction just like I used to enjoy.

A lot of Cory Doctorow’s speculative short fiction is Post-Singularity, Cyberpunk sort of stuff. I can take my Science Fiction is a lot of different flavors, but this story still feels somewhat fresh for me. If you want most Post-Singular podcasts from the same author, try this, or this (with mechs!). As long as Cory Doctorow’s pumping out the Creative Commons stories, I’ll probably be around to listen to them.