I’ve been thinking a lot about the kind of content I like to cover/research/discuss and started making a map in my head about it. Here’s what I came up with, including a description of each category and some examples. The overarching theme is that it’s all geek/nerd content. So I like to think of it as a categorization of the geek universe. I’m sure I missed some of your favorite categories so please add them in the comments section.
Movies – Mostly Sci/Fi or Fantasy with some occasional thrillers or experimental stuff. Recent examples are 2012, Star Trek, Avatar, etc.. Some of my favorite geeky movie podcasts are The Movielicious and Film Sack.
TV – Again SciFi/Fantasy or Geeky is the rule here. My lineup right now includes Flash Forward, Heroes, Dollhouse, V, Stargate Universe, Sanctuary, Fringe and Doctor Who. I don’t listen to a good podcast about this stuff, though we do tend to talk about it a lot on East Meets West.
Books – A little broader here than just SciFi/Fantasy though dominated by it. I also include geekier off-the-beaten-path interests. That could be non-fiction like anything by Evelyn Wauugh that’s not Brideshead Revisited. Or non-fiction geeking out on things like Guns, Germs, and Steel. I do Sword and Laser to cover Sci/Fi/Fantasy. I wish I liked a good general book podcast. Suggestions?
Comics – I’m not the biggest comics geek in the world by far, but I do enjoy them quite a bit, and go through phases of buying them. I’ve always been a Superman fan, but that doesn’t mean I’m loyal to DC. I also cut my teeth on the Love and Rockets series. I also dearly love online comics like XKCD, Extra Life, WonderMark and the classic grandaddy of them all for me User Friendly. One podcast that covers a lot of these topics, and is done by Web comic artists is Extra Life Radio.
Video Games – I’m also just a dabbler in video games. In the past year I’ve really been enjoying playing World Of Warcraft. I know some cool people who play, but I also agreatly admire the world they’ve created. That said, when I get time I also love playing a good console game. RPGs and driving games are my favorites. I have a rich history in video games though, dating back to my days of Hunting the Wumpus on the TI 99/4A and so am a big fan of classic gaming. Hands down the best World of Warcraft podcast I know of is The Instance.
Tech – This is my job at CNET TV, so I’m probably best at talking tech. I do Buzz Out Loud every day which I think is one of the best daily tech news roundup shows you can get, if I do say so myself. It’s the amazingly smart audience that makes it so. I’m also a great admirer of This Week in Tech, both the show and Leo Laporte’s whole network. But I would remiss if I didn’t also mention Tekzilla with two of the most awesome hosts in Web video, Patrick Norton and Veronica Belmont.
Science – I am and always have been a huge huge fan of science. I’m especially a physics (particle and quantum) and astronomy fanboy. I read Scientific American cover to cover every month. My absolute favorite science show is This Week in Science.
Toys – Another one I was more involved in when I was younger and am now rediscovering an appreciation for. I have a working Doctor Who sonic screwdriver and a Mr. Pink doll from Reservoir Dogs. But I pale in comparison to the real toy collectors out there. I’ve been brushing up on my toy knowledge with the most excellent Toy Break show. You should too. If you like toys, that is.
Fringeware – This is my catch all for oddities, weird stuff, esoterica, pretty much anything covered by Boing Boing. I’ll make an anarchic jumble of examples out of Umberto Eco, RE/Search, Church of the SubGenius and Mashups. One excellent example of a good show on the Net in this category is the incredible Scam School, wherein one Brian Brushwood teaches you how to do tricks in order to scam free drinks. Yes, it is produced by my wife, so you can call me biased, but watch it anyway and you’ll see it’s a damn great show.
World events – This one I struggle with including here. But I think all geeks and nerds are consumed with knowing a little more, or having inside knowledge of, how the world works. I take in The Economist, which gives you a free complete audio edition of every magazine as part of the subscription price. In other words they read the magazine to you. They also have a good free podcast for non-subscribers that they use as a teaser. I also listen to The World Next Week from the Council on Foreign Relations. And I recommend The Phileas Club, a monthly discussion show between people from all parts of the world.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:52 pm
I don’t do it a whole lot, but I love trying to build things with my hands. I’ve got a couple of microcontrollers and like trying to write software to make them do random things like operate locks and such.
Other than that, my list would be about the same. Of course, that’s probably why I listen to your podcasts…
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:06 pm
You classify Star Trek as “Movie”? I bid you “Good Day, sir!”
Oh BTW, a couple of categories to add … Science geekery (a la Dr. Kiki). And I’m sure there’s some cosplay podcasts you can find if you look really hard. I mean, REALLY hard. :-)
Oh, and … “I said, Good Day!”
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Ahh hunt the wumpus. Microsoft sponsors a program out here for the high schools where computer science classes program their own version. Good times.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Perhaps something about table top / board / trading card games – Risk and Magic: the gathering come to mind as pretty popular ones but of course DnD is the original rpg wargame.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:51 pm
It looks like you might have been asking for suggestions on book podcasts, but I’ll take a chance and recommend a book, instead. I’ve been reading David Weber’s Safehold series lately, and it’s got me absolutely gobsmacked. The premise (w/o giving anything away) is this: one person who knows super advanced tech is dropped onto a planet with a mix of medieval tech and 1800’s Royal Navy level Naval technology. This near immortal individual is tasked with bringing the technological level of humanity back up to a yr2500 or so spacefaring level. Behind the scenes. It’s been an absolute joy to read along as the culture “discovers” cannon rifling, advanced gunpowder, steel smelting, etc. Can’t wait until they get up to the higher tech levels.
Anyway, it’s worth a read if you ever have the time (ha!).
Love the shows (said in my best robot voice, of course)
JasonY
November 24th, 2009 at 6:00 am
I’ve got no additions to your list, however, thanks for opening my eyes to the fact that 95% of the podcasts I’m listening to are from CNET. I need some variety!
Oh, and you have a typo in the “toys” section. Not a big deal, I’m just sayin’….
November 24th, 2009 at 6:04 am
Best general book podcast I recommend is called books on the nightstand. Its from two people who work in the publishing industry. They cover all genres http://www.booksonthenightstand.com/
November 24th, 2009 at 9:32 am
I’m glad you included the World Events category. The last East Meets West I listened to was very interesting in that I found you surprisingly passionate about the state of politics in the US. Good for you.
My other comment is that I have been a geek for a long time. My first computer was an S-100 buss with a Tarbell tape loader and a TV set for video. It’s amazing we went on from that. I also have been a Ham Radio operator for 35 years, Yes, we are still around and have not been replaced by the internet. It still is a great hobby with a strong public service aspect and it interfaces with the ‘net very nicely in lots of ways. Is that a Geeky Hobby or what?
Love the shows……
Richard
December 10th, 2009 at 9:56 am
I’m surprised that you didn’t add BBC Global News in with the the World Events section. I’ve heard you mention it before. If I were to categorize my podcast subscribtions, my World Events section includes EMW, Phileas Club, NPR World Story of the Day (short but rates high in quality content), and Fareed Zakaria’s GPS show on CNN. He has some pretty big foreign names in his interviews.