A Long-Delayed Podcast Update

A long time ago, I used to keep readers of my blog informed on what podcasts I was listening to. I’m still listening to podcasts. I never stopped!

The last time I did a proper podcast update was 2008 The last time I mentioned podcasts at all was when I bought my first Android phone in 2012.

But first, a player update!

I had to retire my venerable favourite Doggcatcher because it was getting crashy and wasn’t being updated. I’d been using that since 2012. Antennapod does the main thing I want, which is put the podcasts in chronological order, not sorted by series. Your basic river of news, but in audio form. The one thing I haven’t figured out how to do which Doggcatcher did, is delete the episode when I push the skip-to-next-episode button. So I end up with a bunch of undeleted podcasts taking up space if I’m not careful. Otherwise, thumbs up so far. And being open source is nice.

I don’t have a commute anymore, but I’ll put on podcasts when I’m doing the dishes or driving or working on the house or something.

Radio Free Skaro

I’m a little surprised RFS didn’t come up in the 2008 podcast update, but maybe I started listening after that. I’m not sure. It was a long time ago.

Probably the podcast I’ve been listening to the longest at this point, RFS is three guys from Edmonton talking about Doctor Who.

I’m a bit resistant to podcasts that are mostly banter. RFS makes up for it with regular and special features, talking about or to writers and directors of the show, generally. They’re about my age and have roughly the same relationship to Doctor Who I had growing up. So that’s nice. They focus a lot of attention on the classic series. They speak to me, basically, in ways that the official Doctor Who podcast doesn’t.

Other Doctor Who podcasts:

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff

I’ve been listening to KARTAS almost since the beginning. I know this because, in an effort to silence the voices in my head, I started listening to Ken and Robin from the beginning when I go to sleep. It got familiar very fast.

I started listening because I recognized the names Ken Hite and Robin D Laws from my GURPS days.

Hosted by a Canadian and a Republican, for a role-playing game podcast, they end up talking a lot about American politics and history in ways I—surprisingly—don’t hate. Somehow this is my favourite podcast despite not actually liking Lovcraftian nonsense, which is a significant portion of their schtick.

I used to listen to a lot of gaming podcasts, but this is the only one in rotation right now.

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Another podcast I’ve been listening to for over a decade, PCHH makes me feel like I’m keeping up with movies and TV shows I’m not ever going to watch.

I like their positivity and I like their smart criticism. I look forward to especially their weekly “what’s making us happy” segment, particularly if Glen Wheldon is on that one.

It’s a fun little show, and probably one you already know about if you’re into podcasts at all.

Other pop culture podcasts:

Eurovangelists

Speaking of Glen Wheldon, this was his happy thing early last year. Eurovangelists is the newest podcast on this list.

I’ve been getting more and more into Eurovision. It’s crazy and ridiculous and a lot of fun. I was a bit skeptical about seeing it through the lens of a bunch of American dudes, but the podcast is a lot of fun, and I even find myself willing to do the homework (which is watching Eurovision songs, usually, so no great hardship. Usually).

Eurovangelists is giving me a bit of background and insight into the deeply weird but venerable Eurovision Song Contest.

Old Grey Mayors

I do try to track down local podcasts. The house and so forth has kind of gotten in the way of my getting involved in things, which I was trying to do up to a decade ago. But I am aware of a lot of the local political players and this is a great way to get their stories and perspectives.

I do get a little bit frustrated at times, but politics does that to me a lot, especially these days. But I kinda like Rob, despite his amalgamation nonsense and it helps me feel connected to the community in ways I’m struggling to IRL at the moment.

Other local podcasts:

Solarpunk Presents

Speaking of local, Solarpunk Presents is co-hosted by Kitchener resident Ariel Kroon. It doesn’t come up a whole lot, but I did particularly like her interview with Melissa Bowman.

I admit I skip about as many episodes as I listen to. And I rarely align with the politics. But I really vibe with the goal of solarpunk, which is to provide positive visions of the future, where humanity has survived and thrived beyond the threat of climate change, by builing societies and technologies that work within, rather than against the environment and other humans.

Other podcasts making me hopeful:

Linux Matters

When the Ubuntu Podcast ended, I picked up the Late Night Linux all episode feed. And then shortly thereafter, the Ubuntu Podcast guys started their own show on that feed called Linux Matters.

Linux Matters is my favourite. I don’t really need news podcasts, and I’ll tolerate editorializing about the latest open source drama. Unlike the usual Linux podcast, Linux Matters has each of the host bring a project or a discovery every week to discuss it. I like that a lot.

Other Late Night Linux shows I do actually enjoy listening to:

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Darcy Casselman

Blogging as the flying squirrel.