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BURNING WORDS: Podcast Reviews, November 2007

by Tamara on November 09, 2007

BURNING WORDS: Podcast Reviews
November 2007
by Tamara Kaye Sellman

Welcome to Burning Words: Podcast Reviews, a monthly column reviewing short prose podcasts featuring fiction or creative nonfiction.

What is a podcast? It might be thought of as the 21st Century equivalent to the old time radio show. Using the latest technology, listeners can download these radio shows as media files to their mp3 devices and computers and, with a single click, listen at their own convenience, either through headphones or through a speaker. Most podcasts are free and can be downloaded through various directories such as iTunes, ZenCast and Podcast Alley.

Note: All podcasts reviewed in this column were downloaded to either an IBM ThinkPad or a Creative Zen V mp3 player for listening and review.

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NOVEMBER 2007 PODCAST REVIEW Special Edition:
Six Podcasts I Am Thankful For

Not sure where to begin in the ever-widening inventory of podcasts out there? Here are six tried-and-true podcasts that I think just about everyone will enjoy. You can also contact me at tamara@writersrainbow.com if you’d like to share your favorite podcasts.

1.
Title: Grammar Girl
Overall Rating: 10/10
URL: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/
RSS: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/Subscribe.aspx
Language: English
Genre: Grammar tips

Why I’m thankful for Grammar Girl: She delivers reliable information. She has a terrific sense of humor. Her productions suit the content of her script. She has done a terrific job of using podcasting as a way to spawn community. Her shows are downright entertaining. She’s culturally hip in the way that nerds and geeks are all finally enjoying a moment of coming into their own. She has given new renewed glory to the lowly aardvark. Yes, she does it all.

She is Mignon Fogarty. Listen for yourself, if you can’t imagine a podcast on grammar being a must-hear event. A podcast to look forward to, if you care at all about the mastery of language.

2.
Title: Librivox
Overall Rating: 10/10
URL: http://librivox.org/
RSS: http://librivox.org/podcast.xml (Books podcast); http://librivox.org/newcatalog/NewReleases.xml (New releases feed)
Language: English
Genre: Classic literature

Why I’m thankful for Librivox: This one wins kudos for preserving media art. In this case, archiving classic books on tape and distributing them for free. Yes, you heard me right: you can listen to classic books and stories on tape for free here, except that you listen via download instead. You can’t beat the lineup: recent additions to their ever-expanding library include work from Alfred Lord Tennyson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lewis Carroll, and HG Wells. All of it, recorded by volunteers!

Need to bone up on your classics? Here’s an easy way to do it: listen while you do chores, travel, wait at appointments, commute! Let’s give those volunteers their raison d’etre.

3.
Title: The New Yorker Fiction podcast
Overall Rating: 10/10
URL: http://www.newyorker.com/fiction (scroll down to AUDIO)
RSS: http://www.newyorker.com/services/rss/feeds/fiction_podcast.xml
Language: English
Genre: Short stories

Why I’m thankful for The New Yorker Fiction podcast: From a Big Picture standpoint, I love how it keeps in circulation archived fiction from the magazine which I was either too young or oblivious to read when it first came out. Today I listened to a fun John Cheever piece called “Reunion,” which was read aloud by author Richard Ford. What a treat!

The format is terrific, as well: a current author in the magazine selects a short piece from someone in the archives, the work is read out loud, and then there’s a discussion about why the current author made that particular selection. Thoughtful exposure for writers from our near past who may be losing their recognition as we move into a virtual world. I also listened to a story by Grace Paley which did wonderful justice to the recently passed-on author/poet. There should be more podcasts like this one.

4.
Title: RUSC: R U Sitting Comfortably? Vintage radio program archive
Overall Rating: 10/10
URL: http://www.rusc.com/index.html
RSS: http://www.rusc.com/Old_Time_Radio_Downloads.html
Language: English
Genre: Vintage radio drama

Why I’m thankful for Old Time Radio: It’s so retro! And there’s something for everybody: Gunsmoke, The Guiding Light, Amos & Andy, Dragnet, You Bet Your Life, War of the Worlds…

Here’s making a short story long: When I first moved to Chicago in 1987, my husband and I savored the old radio drama broadcasts we could find by twisting the dial. A few years ago, I mentioned to some folks how I thought it would be brilliant if poets and writers could find a way to turn short creative work, like fiction and poetry, into radio shows like they did in the past (without having a clue that, just around the corner, podcasting was being born). So I’m thankful for Old Time Radio for a couple of reasons. One, the act of archiving in mp3 these decades-old shows (some dating back to the 40s) is an act of preserving critical media art. I tip my hat to that. Two, they set the stage for podcasting literature; how can we not credit our radio roots for helping to guide today’s new producers? And heck, they’re good clean fun, no doubt about it.

5.
Title: This American Life
Overall Rating: 10/10
URL: http://www.thislife.org/
RSS: http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Podcast.aspx
Language: English
Genre: Nonfiction themed features from NPR

Why I’m thankful for This American Life: This isn’t a new show, but it might be new for people to learn that they can download and listen to it at their own convenience, in case they aren’t able to catch it when it airs on their local station. That’s definitely why I’m thankful. Listening to TAL makes my garden chores and interstate road trips much more palatable.

It’s because of TAL in podcast that I wish I had known about podcasting when my kids are younger; then, I would have started listening more frequently and not missed so many good shows. Back then, the only chance I had decent radio listening time was when my kids were in the car with me, and TAL’s mature content (not as in X-rated, but as in complicated) was too much for their little psyches to process back then. Now we can enjoy these thought-provoking essays together.

6.
Title: The Writer’s Almanac
Overall Rating: 10/10
URL: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/
RSS: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/podcast/
Language: English
Genre: Ephemera for writers, Literary culture enthusiasts and bibliophiles

Why I’m thankful for The Writer’s Almanac: This five-minute literary booster is short, sweet, and appreciative. And who doesn’t love the deep melody of Garrison Keillor’s voice? Everyone should listen to this podcast to learn one or new two little facts a day and hear a high-quality poem. This is a highly sought venue for emerging poets and will probably be a standard-bearer in literary podcasting for years to come.

I think of this morsel like it’s dessert after reading the evening newspaper (which I only do online these days).

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Previous podcasts reviewed:

King Bonk’s Campfire Cast, March 2007: short fiction, essays, poetry, music, soundscape
http://metaxucafe.com/cafe/article/burning_words_podcast_reviews

Miette’s Bedtime Story Podcast, April 2007: short classic fiction and essays
http://metaxucafe.com/cafe/article/burning_words_podcast_reviews1

The Stuffed Fabulist on Air, May 2007: From the website: “A collection of contemporary fables, parables, and other reports of ‘things that go bump in the night.’”
http://metaxucafe.com/cafe/article/burning_words_podcast_reviews_may_2007

Bound Off, August 2007: Short stories in the literary tradition
http://metaxucafe.com/cafe/article/burning_words_podcast_reviews_may_2007

Special Edition: Hurricane Katrina stories, August 2007: First-person oral history re: Hurricane Katrina
http://metaxucafe.com/cafe/article/burning_words_podcast_reviews_special_edition

Well-told Tales, October 2007: Pulp fiction in the hard-boiled, scifi or horror genres
http://metaxucafe.com/cafe/article/burning_words_podcast_reviews2

© 2007, TKS

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