Casting for the Pod You Love

 I listen to a fair amount of podcasts, which is interesting considering ten years ago I didn't know what a podcast was.

About that long ago Emily bought me my first iPod, to listen to music while walking or doing chores.

It was called an iPod Shuffle and it still works, despite being over two hundred in electronics years. But it sits in a desk drawer, because although you can play music in order or shuffle it at random, there's no way to better pick what to listen to, in what order. That became a big deal when I started with podcasts, basically radio shows you can download off the internet. Since I have an eclectic list of interests, I wanted to be able to pick the order.

So for my birthday several years ago Emily bought me an updated model. It gives you much better control of the what and when, plus you can load it with photos and videos and other stuff, something I've never done. Although the battery is fading, it still works.

But now I mostly listen to podcasts on my phone, because why carry two devices when you can carry one?

There's a danger in running your brain 24/7; sometimes you need to stop the input and let it rest a little. Just the same, I've found listening to something makes chores like lawn mowing go faster, and helps out when I walk or run. Oh, who am I kidding? Walk.

So, what kind of podcasts do I listen to? I thought you'd never ask.

There's something called podcast fade, and some of the ones I used to like have faded away in time. But plenty others are still going strong, and most of my favorites--of course--involved writing:

I Should be Writing is by SF author Mur Lafferty, and is aimed more at beginning writers. Lafferty shares her own struggles with writing and publishing, not to mention depression and other related challenges.

Ditch Diggers: Lafferty is joined by author Matt Wallace for a more advanced writing podcast, which covers more of the business end of the industry. As their theme song says, they pull no punches.

Writing Excuses: It's fifteen minutes long, because "You're in a hurry, and we're not that smart". A group of authors goes over every aspect of writing. Sometimes they spend too much time on the politically correct for my taste, but it's not a bad thing to hear what people have to say on various issues.

Shipping and Handling: Two literary agents sip wine and discuss their industry and their jobs. Sometimes they spend too much time on national politics, but otherwise it's a great look into the minds of agents and how the business works from their end.

The Writer's Digest Podcast They don't seem to be podcasting anymore, and neither does Harlequin: Meet the Editors, but you might still be able to glean interesting tidbits from their older shows.

Smart Author with Mark Coker: This one's about book marketing and self publishing, which isn't surprising when you realize Coker is the founder of self-publishing powerhouse Smashwords.

Of course, there's more to life than writing, although you wouldn't think that to talk to me.

ID10T with Chris Hardwick is a talk show with uber geek Hardwick, who has far ranging conversations with, well, everybody--actors, authors, comedians, singers, you name it. One of my favorites was Max Brooks, author and son of the legendary Mel Brooks, who's just as fast on his feet as his dad. I don't spend a lot of time on pop culture, but Hardwick seems to be a genuinely nice guy and a joy to listen to.

Nutty Bites: My first podcast experience was with my friend Tabz of Strangely Literal, and she led me to Nutty and her husband Tech, and don't Canadadians have strange first names? You boot, they do. Nutty holds fourth with her friends on various nerd subjects, and this is where I go when I just want to have fun.

Planetary Radio: I love space stuff. This, the podcast of the not for profit Planetary Society, looks into the tech, politics, and science of space exploration, very much one of my earliest interests.

The History Chicks: Two ladies talk about history--specifically, women of history. I love history, and women ain't too bad either. Sometimes they're surprisingly squeamish about how things were done back in the day, but they don't pull any punches--and by the time they're done, you'll be squeamish about the good old days, too. But you can learn a lot in a fun way, about women ranging from Queens of England, to a Chinese pirate (yes, female), to authors, inventors, and murderers. You probably won't be surprised about how seldom the ladies get the historical credit they earned.

The Bladtcast: Christian Bladt was Dennis Miller's sidekick on Miller's podcast, and when Bladt started one of his own I moved over there with him. Not literally. He and his cast of friends basically nerd out (often obscenely) about various fandoms ranging from movies and comics to sports, and it's another one I listen to for the fun of it.

How about you all? Any favorite podcasts to recommend? There are a million of them out there.

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