LGEEQUAL’S CORNER
Podcast Roundup By Torrie Jones, LA Valley College
In 2005, Apple CEO Steve Jobs foresaw the potential in a developing medium called ‘the podcast’. “What podcasting does is it lets me pick out those precise things I’m interested in. Whether it’s a podcast on new films...on news, music, whatever, it automatically puts it on iTunes and syncs it to my iPod. So without any work on my part whatsoever, the latest and greatest episodes of the podcasts that I’ve picked are right on my iPod, saving me a ton of time,” Jobs said in an interview with ABC News. Flash-forward four years and seemingly everyone, from multi-billion dollar media conglomerates to middle school kids in their PJ’s, has a podcast. Consequently, it’s harder than ever to separate the intellectual diamonds from those rhinestones in the rough. Since knowing is half the battle, here is a round-up of the best podcasts in news, sports, education, and entertainment:
News:
CNN: Regularly updated features, including an hourly news podcast, makes CNN a great source for breaking news coverage. www.cnn. com/services/podcasting BBC: If fancy accents and international news is your cup of tea, “the Beeb” has you covered. The British media giant offers 73 regularly updated news podcasts. www.bbc.co.uk/ podcasts/genre/news NPR: The non-for-profit offers capsulated news from many of its local affiliates around the country. To stay current on national and global events, check out the Hourly News Summary Podcast, posted 10 minutes after every hour. www.npr.org
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Sports:
ESPN: The worldwide leader offers audio podcasts for some of its most popular TV and radio shows, including Pardon the Interruption and Around the Horn. www.espnradior. go.com/espnradio/ podcast/index In the Bleachers: Year-round college football news and analysis. http://inthebleachers. net/table/podcasts/ podcasts MLB: Get your daily fix of Major League Baseball highlights, news and hot stove talk from the official MLB video podcast. http:// mlb.mlb.com/feed/ podcast/c1265936.xml
OCT 2009 / STAY CONNECTED. GET LINKED.
Education:
PBS.org: This podcast is sponsored by “viewers like you.” But seriously, the array of podcasting options available on PBS.org is as diverse and intellectually challenging as their television programming. Audio and video content provided. http://www.pbs.org/ podcasts Stanford University: “The Harvard League of the West” offers a wealth of downloadable content including courses and faculty lectures. http:// itunes.stanford.edu Great Speeches in History Podcast: Self-explanatory site featuring audio from landmark speeches in American history. www.learnoutloud. com/Podcast-Directory/ History
Entertainment:
Comedy Central: Check out episode highlights and outtakes from the cable network’s popular shows including: The Sarah Silverman Program, Chocolate News, and Reality Bites Back. www. comedycentral.com/podcasts/ index.jhtml Time Entertainment Podcast: The weekly magazine’s entertainment writer’s wax critical about the latest in film, television, music, and literature. www. time.com/time/podcast TED: I would call what TED does “edutainment.” The think-tank invites luminaries from the arts, academia, and the sciences to give keynote speeches about the topics they are experts in. More than 450 downloadable TEDTalks are available on their homepage. http://www. ted.com