Podcasts & I

I follow ~92 podcasts (I say “approximately” because they are spread over a couple of devices with some significant overlap; at a count of ~92, I think ± a few is close enough for rock n roll!).

Of those, there are a small handful I listen to faithfully. Others are topic- or guest-dependent. Some I check in on from time to time. A few appear to be on hiatus but I watch hopefully for their return. There are a number I no longer remember the exact reason I subscribed but I “fully intend” to reacquaint myself with. Ahem.

The Player

On iOS I use Pocket Casts after trying several other apps. Its primary benefits are: * I can see every episode’s information without needing to load the audio, * I can play podcasts at 1.2-1.5× speed but easily slow it down if there’s a portion that is too rapid, * the user interface is a good fit for me, and * there’s a decent Apple Watch app for controlling it.

Favourites: Long Term, Grazing, & For Now

  1. Core Intuition (Manton & Daniel)
  2. WTF (Marc Maron interviews)
  3. The Bridge (with Peter Mansbridge, a Canadian perspective on national & US politics and media)
  4. The Herle Burly (primarily Canadian politics)
  5. Mea Culpa (Michael Cohen’s blue rants re Donald Trump; definitely in the “for now” category)

Radio Rebroadcasts

There are several radio shows I track, particularly from CBC Radio. Generally I listen to them when I’ve missed the live broadcast or there’s a topic that particularly catches my fancy. These include: * Laugh Out Loud (standup comedy) * The Debaters (dueling comedians) * Spark (technology & the impact on society) * Quirks & Quarks (several science interviews per week) * Under the Influence (advertising & marketing) * Ideas (many & varied topics, “new” host Nahlah Ayed) * At Issue (Canadian politics panel; very civilized!) * The World at Six (daily news, 28 minutes) * CBC World Report (daily news, 10 minutes) * NPR News Now (hourly, 5 minutes) * NPR Politics (daily, 14 minutes) * This American Life (NPR’s great radio magazine)

1-Time Series

I’ve also listened to several series. I most valued In the Dark (particularly the Curtis Flowers case), and S•Town, and also found Death in Ice Valley interesting.

Micro.Bloggers

Finally, I check in on several Micro.blog podcasters from time to time as their podcasts tend to be more sporadic. Head of the list are Manton Reece’s Timetable and Jean MacDonald’s Micro Monday, but there are also half a dozen others.

I’m surprised I haven’t heard any recent speculation on a date for the announcements of specific Macs with the new Apple Silicon chip. Maybe I’m reading the wrong websites…

My proposal: Everyone who lies about their kid’s Covid-19 test results and sends them to school should be subject to an immediate tax audit.

Ha! GM is adding 540 fast chargers a year to its network. But, they’re still using dorpy “refueling” pictures in their promos!

GM promo picture of people "refueling" their EVs hanging onto the "nozzle"! (probably ©GM)

These little guys are bursting out all over with daytime temperatures in the high single digits (9°C/48°F).