Well, that hasn't happened yet. I gotta say, the different membership levels start off pretty high, and I guess I just haven't seen any good freebies worth becoming a PBS member for. I know it's very self-serving and not exactly the point of 'supporting public television,' but what the hell am I going to do with a DVD of Lawrence Welk's best hits? Or Ross's painting shows. Ooh, actually I would so dig watching Ross any time of the day: I can sleep listening to that man talk. Which is probably why nowadays a favorite nighttime habit of mine is falling asleep not to voices from the big black box with magic pictures, but from the big Blackberry beside my bed. Total side note: did you know that more than 50% of Americans sleep with their cellphones next to them? It's the new security blanket. Ok back to front note: As I was saying, podcasts are now a few of my favorite things. It really started with Chicago Public Radio's This American Life, and now I can't get enough of it. So, today I'd like to share and recommend these three podcasts that I have fallen madly in love with:
1) This American Life - I think the first TAL episode I've listened to in passing was last year's ep called "Someone Else's Money" (about the US healthcare system) but the first one I really got into was the ep called "Bait and Switch." Anyway, for those who haven't heard about TAL, it's a show hosted by the adorkable Ira Glass, who sounds a helluva lot like one of TAL's frequent contributors, David Sedaris. In the words of Mr. Glass, on TAL "each week, we choose a theme, pick a variety of stories to tell about that theme." Sounds kind of mundane, but then the TAL staff presents these fascinating stories about your average Americans. For example, in the Bait and Switch episode, you learn of a young couple who called the police about an abandoned car in their neighborhood, then subsequently got accused of stealing the car and spent years fighting their wrongful accusation in court. There's hilarious stories, like David Sedaris's SantaLand Diaries; there's heartbreaking stories, like the man who is inflicted with cataplexy; there's also just - for lack of a better word - amazing stories, like the girl from Michigan who became friends with infamous drug trafficker Manuel Noriega. If you're getting into public radio and public radio podcasts, this is the best, most surefire way to get addicted to it. It's wonderfully produced, intellectually stimulating, and beautifully told by people, not robots or actors. This is the one podcast that I actually give moolah to, 'coz I don't know what I'll do without my stories now. :)
2) Planet Money - I started listening to Planet Money because of TAL. Often TAL and Planet Money cross lines and do segments on each other's shows (as Chicago Public Radio is an affiliate of NPR). Planet Money has a lot of hosts, but I always remember two names: Chana Joffe-Walt and David Kestenbaum. I remember them because of their memorable names and because to me they were the primary owners of Toxie. It was through Planet Money's multi-episode project with Toxie that I finally understood (even in the simplest terms) what the eff went down with that subprime mortgage mess that we're (still) in. And that is the beauty of Planet Money: they make the most complicated, bore-your-pants-off topics and make them not only coherent, but also entertaining. For example, I was just listening to them talk about how to market their first line of PM apparel, and then they went and broke down the economics and logistics of actually developing a line and made it remarkably interesting.
3) Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me - the NPR News Quiz hosted by Peter Sagal and announced by Carl Kassell. This is the best way for me to test my knowledge of the week's top news. It's done in front of a live studio audience, so it's really hard for me to sleep while listening to it. It also doesn't help that it can get very, very funny. Of course, the week's worth of stupid politicians, TV shows, and other pop culture shenanigans only cultivate the humor. The best part of the show is "Not My Job," wherein they quiz celebrities and other public figures on random stuff. Brian Williams is a definite favorite, but also Dick Van Dyke just this past Sunday (I don't even like Mary Poppins and I want him to be my grandpa).
And a couple more I'm kinda listening to right now:
1) How Stuff Works - oh, what I now know about grow houses would make my Berkeley roots proud.
2) The Sound of Young America - fun interviews with celebrities and other pop culture figures like Rob McElhenney from It's Alway Sunny, and Samantha Bee from Daily Show.
3) Culturetopia Pop Culture Happy Hour - it's amazing listening to people who watch more TV than I do!
What's your favorite podcast that you like listening to?
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