Introducing: Podcasts of the Week
One of the problems with living in China is that you begin to feel disconnected with the culture from your home country. You don’t get up on the latest trends, and it can be hard to follow the news carefully, or at least as closely as you would like to. Fortunately, television over the last decade has primarily consisted of cameras following around real people doing things as boring as my life, so I generally am okay with skipping out on pop culture. However, there are still some things I miss.
For me podcasts are a great way to connect to the world outside of China. One of the things I want to do on the new site is list a few can’t-miss clips each week. I listen to a fair number: on the train, walking around, and, using utter caution at all times, on my bike. There are a few I listen to just because I need to fill in the gaps, but some are really great. Here are three of the best I have listened to recently:
Larry David g
oes on Steve Somers: Steve Somers and Larry David are a double dose of Jewish NYC humor. Larry David is the co-creator of Seinfeld, and creator of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Steve Somers is a sports talk show host with incredibly dry wit. A can’t miss. Seinfeld frequently goes on the show, and is clearly a fan. David clearly has never heard of Steve Somers, and was talked into it.
This American Life: The Breakup: If you’ve never heard this show, you’re in for a treat. Each week they put together an episode in three segments, each a story on the same theme. This one is about breaking up, and has a bizarre cameo by…Phil Collins. Since it’s from August you can’t download it in podcast form anymore for free (it costs $1), but you can still listen through the website at no cost.
Bill Simmons with Charles Barkley: Charles Barkley, former NBA star and outspoken personality, always has something good to say about something. Bill Simmons is the man who made every 20-something man realize that if they had just sat around blogging about sports for a few years, they could have had a fantastic life.
Please alert me if there are great ones out there I’m missing. I would love to drop some of the terrible ESPN podcasts from my play list if I can find good alternatives.
Check in next week for more.
Share This
Steve Reed responds:
Posted: October 30th, 2007 at 6:01 pm →
I like the idea of the podcasts linking people to their home. The Larry David one is really interesting. What’s the deal with him saying he’s a Yankee fan but not realizing he agreed to be on the radio at the same time as a playoff game. A little fishy…
The Ragin' Cajun responds:
Posted: October 30th, 2007 at 9:08 pm →
Yeah..the first few minutes are a little sports heavy, but the David interview is pure gold after that. I can’t believe he actually quit, showed up for work the next day, and no one said anything. What a strange guy. Half the time you see the stuff George did on Seinfeld and it seemed ridiculous, but I guess a lot of it is real.
Rick responds:
Posted: November 4th, 2007 at 1:28 pm →
A few that I like:
twit.tv (a bunch of tech podcasts)
diggnation
CNet’s Buzz Out Loud podcast.
Oddly enough, I just recorded my first podcast yesterday, and should have it up on Little Red Blog by tomw.
Nice lookin’ site.
Eric responds:
Posted: November 15th, 2007 at 3:34 am →
Eric…
I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read….