Wednesday, March 18, 2009

A list ...

... of the podcasts I listen to, particularly now that THE FROZEN TUNDRA has defrosted and I can walk the earth again!

Warren Olney's "To the Point." Olney is one of the best journalists you'll find out there today. He's informed, smart, and unbiased. By taking contemporary issues and picking them apart with guests from opposing points of view, he really exposes his topic. Just a brilliant show.

Dan Carlin. His "Common Sense" show as well has his "Hardcore History" show never fail to engage me. I never miss an episode of either one. Carlin has a point of view unlike anybody else when it comes to politics and research like no one else when it comes to history. I HATED history until I found Carlin. Now, nothing else is good enough. I think so much of his work that I've donated to him.

Dan Savage, "Savage Love." Sex and relationship advice that is XXX raunchy and (usually) spot-on. Savage has made me laugh out loud, cringe, and nod in hearty agreement. There isn't a topic he won't tackle. The only way he could improve his show would be by having me as a guest.

KCRW's "Left, Right and Center." Arianna Huffington, Tony Blankley, Matt Miller and Bob Scheer duke it out on the political topics of the day without raising their voices.

Lastly, I sometimes I listen to "You Look Nice Today," which can be very funny in quirky way. It's like having coffee with three guys who might have been "Seinfeld" writers in another life. I also listen to any number of the major network news shows that I've missed if they catch my interest such as "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," "Face the Nation," and "60 Minutes."

Good gawd. What have I just revealed about myself?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Since we live flat against a fricking mountain range, we do not pick up much on terrestrial radio and sometime in my late 40s I lost all interest in emerging entertainment technology ... I've never indulged in a podcast or a video game, for that matter.

But at 5:00 PM every weekday, I stop working and amble to my easy chair in the living room, first to scream at Campbell Brown on CNN (though I'm watching and listening for the comments of Roland Martin and Jeffrey Toobin and Gloria Borger), then at 6:00 I tune over to the national news via PBS, followed by Anderson Cooper's nightly newscast at 7:00 PM ... interesting contrast there, in that PBS can devote 20 minutes to a single issue and dig down to its finer talking points while CNN just offers the Cliff's Notes version of the day's events.

Kirk said...

I like watching The McLaughlin Group just to hear the hopelessly outnumbered liberal Eleanor Clift shout out "LET ME TALK!" every now and then.

The fact that she's almost a Clevelander is another reason for me to root for her.

The Fool said...

Thanks for the suggestions, Erin. I've never tuned in to any of these shows, but I'll be sure to give them a try. "Frozen tundra" - you make me laugh. :)

Anonymous said...

I usually go online for music. I'm going to try some of these. If Erin says there good, I gotta try them out.

Erin O'Brien said...

I know all of those Roger.

Kirk, I used to watch McLaughlin all the time. Poor Eleanor! Blakely used to be a regular on there years ago.

Fool: Being my only boyfriend from Alaska, YOU have the right to laugh at "Frozen Tundra"

Dude, you will not be disappointed.

EVERYONE: Dan Carlin's "punic war" series on his history show is as good as podcasting gets. The "Apache Tears" episode is also top notch.

Amy L. Hanna said...

It says that the one with a following too does a bit of following herself .

~ ~ ~ ~

I find Dan Savage for the most part to be a tireless de facto advocate for those who are sexually marginalized, but he can also be a bit misogynist. However I do give him props for dispensing sexual awareness and literacy - and even chastisement, where warranted - in his column.

Erin O'Brien said...

Amy, I agree that Savage can totally flub, particularly with women. I give him slack, though. I can't imagine giving sex advice to a gay man!

Here is some more specific criticism of Savage courtesy of Yours Truly.

Hal said...

O'Brien and Savage would be righteous.

You should totally go for that...

Tony Rugare said...

I haven't picked up on podcasting yet. Need to learn more

Anonymous said...

Hey Erin

You won my movie contest for the Food Fiction book giveaway. Could you email me your mailing address so I could get them shipped? Thanks

amelia.zatik-sawyer@thegreenhousetavern.com

Anonymous said...

Does it trouble you at all that Blankly is on the payroll of The "Moonies" at the Washington Times? With all the hubbub over Jeremiah Wright during the election I never could figure out why Rev. Sun Myung Moons name wasn't brought up as a sort of rebuttal.
May I suggest "Bad Moon Rising" by John Gorenfeld.
Oh, I don't own an Ipod. All I need is more media to stimulate me but I'm sure I miss some quality broadcasts.

RJ

Erin O'Brien said...

Everything about Blankley is troubling.

But you've got to listen to the overblown gasbag to get the full effect.

Norm said...

Seriously good point about the WashTimes and the Moon thing, RJ. Moon pumps a lot of money and the opinion of his "newspaper" into the GOP. Anyone who does a bit of reading about his cult should be very, very concerned about what he might expect in return.

Our local NPR affiliate is KCRW in Santa Monica, where Warren Olney is based. We not only get "To The Point," but also "Which Way LA?" which is mostly of regional interest but is still fantastic. My listening list is very similar to yours, O'Brien! (I try not to listen to Savage, but I read his column from time to time to enjoy the snark -- am not happy he shows signs of misogyny!)

Kirk said...

I've never listened to Dan Savage on a podcast, but have read his syndicated column. I saw him on some cable show a couple of years back, and was suprised at how mild-mannered he was.

I also watch quite a bit of C-span. Not the House or Senate coverage so much, but things like Book TV and various forums and symposiums and what-have-you. I know a lot of folks find that kind of thing boring, and it often is. But there are surprises. I remember watching once a forum on the problems of the inner city, where a well-known activist said this:

"Speaking of crime, I just heard on the radio on my way over here that someone just robbed a drugstore and made off with all the Viagra. The police are said to be on the lookout for a hardened criminal."

Dick Gregory had another career before he turned to activism, but I can't remember what it was.

Anonymous said...

May I recommend a little wireless programme called Late Night Live?
www.abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive
It is produced in Australia but has much content of interest to Americans. It can be good to get a 'third eye' on your country. I think Erin and host Phillip Adams would get on like a house on fire. (He would no doubt flirt with you).