Podcasting

In light of Ben’s recent post about NPR’s new NPR One app, I figured I’d chime in on my own public radio listening habits. I really love NPR and APM (American Public Media). NPR tends to have more human interest stories, whereas APM has a strong tech- and finance- bent. I enjoy NPR’s Religion podcast, as well as NPR Economy and, of course, Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Plus, Planet Money is always fascinating.

In the last three weeks, I’ve formed an addiction to APM’s programming. I start my mornings with the Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor, a daily dose of poetry, literature, and history. I then spend a considerable portion of my afternoon listening to APM’s Marketplace family of broadcasts: Marketplace Morning Report, Marketplace Weekend, and Marketplace Tech. In advance of the weekend, I tune into APM’s Dinner Party Download, which is the consummate blend of history, pop culture, and cocktails.

For longer-form content, I enjoy the New Yorker’s Political Scene, a weekly discussion of politics and policy, and Out Loud, another weekly discussion, often of culture. The Economist Podcast is an excellent summary of the most recent Economist issue, and they also recently spoke with President Obama in a compelling conversation on foreign policy.

I also greatly enjoy Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s weekly podcast, which is generally a summary of his weekly Torah thoughts, but also includes recent speeches and lectures.

I do most of my listening on Overcast, a new, iOS-only podcasting app that’s elegant and functional. It has a cleaner interface than Apple’s native Podcasts app, and focuses on the listening experience (smart fast-forward, etc), rather than on content curation, as is the case in Stitcher, another podcasting app.