A new podcast reviewer - thepodcastreview.net

It was just last month when I published a list of podcast reviewers that I know of and whom I follow to keep up. And then, almost simultaneously, a new blog started reviewing podcasts at a rate of at least one podcast a day: The Podcast Review. This blog was already instrumental in letting me find The Short History of Ireland podcast.

The Podcast Review reports on new podcasts on a daily basis. It seems to take on every kind of podcast and then reviews the whole series (not specific episodes, such as I frequently do).

While I am at it, I want to also mention SFF Audio, which is not strictly about podcasts, but rather about audio drama, especially SciFi and Fantasy, whether syndicated or not.

And here is the full list of last month, updated with the two above:

Blogs:
The Podcast Place. A blog that started in December 2008 and tries to review a couple of podcasts per week from all genres.
Daily Podcast Reviews. Is not exactly a daily blog, but every now and then there is a new podcast review. Among the reviewed podcasts are quite a number of the Quick and Dirty series, best known from the podcast Grammar Girl.
The Podcast Review. New podcasts on a daily basis. It seems to take on every kind of podcast and then reviews the whole series (not specific episodes, such as I frequently do).
DIY Scholar. My favorite among these blogs and a recurring source of inspiration is the Do It Yourself Scholar. She reviews many educational podcasts as well as videos, blogs and other free academic content.
Baxter Wood. The re-education of Baxter Wood is the blog of a 62 year old truck driver who takes on academic podcast series and reports about them without links. But he is quite exact in how to google the content.
Marje's favorite history podcasts. A near complete source for history podcast reviews compiled in a bookmarking tool. Marje helped me discover new history podcasts, but it seems, I have helped Marje as well.
Open Culture. The free culture blog by Dan Colman, associate dean of Stanford, which used to bring more podcast reviews than it does today. These days there are more general culture links and many, many videos.
SFF Audio. Not strictly about podcasts, but rather about audio drama, especially SciFi and Fantasy, whether syndicated or not. Apart from a blog, this is also a podcast.

Podcasts:
Edgy Reviews (feed). A weekly podcast that rates a wide variety of podcasts in sets of three.
Podwatch (feed). An Australian podcast review show that has recently been revived.
Historyzine (feed). A history podcast that also reviews history podcasts.
Forgotten Classics (feed). A literature podcast that opens every episode with one or several podcast reviews in various genres.

The podcast reviewers

When I started reviewing podcasts, two and a half years ago, I think I was the only one. There may have been an abandoned blog that contained an insignificant number of reviews, but that was all. By now there are many more, maybe even more than I actually know of. So here is a list of where you can go.

Blogs:
The Podcast Place. A blog that started in December 2008 and tries to review a couple of podcasts per week from all genres.
Daily Podcast Reviews. Is not exactly a daily blog, but every now and then there is a new podcast review. Among the reviewed podcasts are quite a number of the Quick and Dirty series, best known from the podcast Grammar Girl.
DIY Scholar. My favorite among these blogs and a recurring source of inspiration is the Do It Yourself Scholar. She reviews many educational podcasts as well as videos, blogs and other free academic content.
Baxter Wood. The re-education of Baxter Wood is the blog of a 62 year old truck driver who takes on academic podcast series and reports about them without links. But he is quite exact in how to google the content.
Marje's favorite history podcasts. A near complete source for history podcast reviews compiled in a bookmarking tool. Marje helped me discover new history podcasts, but it seems, I have helped Marje as well.
Open Culture. The free culture blog by Dan Colman, associate dean of Stanford, which used to bring more podcast reviews than it does today. These days there are more general culture links and many, many videos.

Podcasts:
Edgy Reviews (feed). A weekly podcast that rates a wide variety of podcasts in sets of three.
Podwatch (feed). An Australian podcast review show that has recently been revived.
Historyzine (feed). A history podcast that also reviews history podcasts.
Forgotten Classics (feed). A literature podcast that opens every episode with one or several podcast reviews in various genres.

Harmonious dialogs - The Word Nerds

Common advice for podcasters is to have more than one voice on the show. When podcasts contain conversations, they are easier to follow. As much as this is true, there is, in my opinion, also a trap: making the dialog work. If the participants are completely free, they may start rambling and the conversation becomes tedious. What many podcasts with more than one host do is to script the dialog between the hosts. This more often than not is so artificial, it does more harm than good.

Here I wish to highlight the podcast The Word Nerds that has always more than one host (sometimes up to four) and has perfect dialogs. I have always been wondering whether these dialogs were scripted. The speakers collaborate so well, that some scripting must be at work, but then again it also sounds so natural, it can't be entirely acted. Then, in the last show (about Writing) a real discussion arose. For the first time it really appeared that the dialog was not scripted at all. The hosts just have a splendid rapport and in this harmony an excellent podcast emerges.

The Word Nerds is more than a light show about 'language and why we say the things we do'. It is also an example of a good amateur podcast. Apart from the excellent dialog the show is an example of good balance between sections, between talk and music, good audio quality and an altogether pleasant atmosphere that makes one connect to a show.

Previous reviews of The Word Nerds on this blog:
Word Nerds on Facebook,
Abrrev & txt,
Stories and Story Telling,
Debate,
Ambiguity and linguistic tics,
Syntax.

The Word Nerds on Facebook

This cyber-age in which everybody is networking through the internet, it is inevitable the practice leads to new vocabulary. Necessarily it is a matter of time, language podcasters such as The Word Nerds, pay attention to the new lingo.

It seems to me that the greatest hype of networking currently is Twitter, but in their show about Social Networking (#115) the greatest amount of the Nerds' interest goes to Facebook - a good number two in the range of social sites, I guess. The reason for this is not in the least the Nerds are heavy Facebook users themselves. As a consequence, the initial part of the show is mostly about the use of Facebook, rather than the vocabulary. When they finally get to it, the listener will learn, among others, new meanings for verbs like to peep and to stalk.

The Word Nerds podcast has a page of its own on Facebook, though their own site also has a forum where the audience can socialize. It is an example I try to emulate. For Anne is a Man, there is also a blog network page on Facebook and the forum is shared with Dara's and Baxter's blog at The Podcast Parlor. And even on Twitter, I can be followed.

Previous reviews of The Word Nerds on this blog:
Abrrev & txt,
Stories and Story Telling,
Debate,
Ambiguity and linguistic tics,
Syntax.

Abrrev & txt - The Word Nerds podcast review

The Word Nerds have gotten back on track with regularly releasing podcast and what is more, they are also getting back at their old amazing quality being informative, light, entertaining and delivering a very cosy atmosphere.

Also, the nerd that had long been absent from the show: Michael Chang was recently back on the show. "The rumors of my demise (from the show) were greatly exaggerated," he quotes and procedes to contribute his research in the modern abbreviations to the show Abrrev & txt. Abbreviations are of all times and Chang wouldn't be the classicist he is, if he wouldn't kick the subject off with the abbreviations used by the Romans. But soon it is fast forward to the present.

I was expecting that the nerds would speak also of the need for abbreviation in SMS, but mostly the entertained the talk of IM. My favorite abbreviation was KPC for Keep Parents Clueless. It goes to show the nerds are teachers in their day jobs. The rude word of the week could be guessed at the beginning of the show: WTF. LOL!

Previous reviews of TWN on this blog:
Stories and Story Telling,
Debate,
Ambiguity and linguistic tics,
Syntax,
Prosody.

Sinterklaas - The Biography Show

TPN's Biography Show just did a show on Santaclaus and with it has outdone itself in sheer entertainment, historic enchantment and even some raised eyebrows on my part. The show was fun, had great historic information which was compelling and thought-provoking, yet produced some details about Sinterklaas that sounded off in the ears of this semi-average Dutchman.

The entertainment lies with the opinionated disposition both David Markham and Cameron Reilly take in this show. Markham minces a few words on some conservatives in the US whose sense of injury is great enough to perceive a "War on Christmas" and feel the need to protect a tradition of which Markham shows that it is hardly a tradition if there is a war at all. And should you think there must be a tradition, wait for Cameron Reilly to deconstruct Santaclaus.

The greatest charm of Cameron Reilly's view of the origins I find is that he links back to Odin and the pagan traditions, just as most of the other rituals around Christmas root in European paganism. It is where he tries to render the morphing from Odin into Sinterklaas, so familiar for the Dutch, I think he makes a couple of mistakes, but nothing awful, to get back on track and reveal how the Dutch Sinterklaas morphs into the American Santaclaus with some of the details around this figure date back less than a century.

Reilly claims that Odin had a staff that was called 'zwartpiet' and that just can't be. But he when he reveals that the Byzantine Saint Nicholas had an Ethiopian servant, the next step makes it right again: for the Dutch, Sinterklaas comes from Spain and has a Moorish servant (or several) and this is Zwarte Piet, black Pete. Even in Israel the Dutch celebrate Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet and the tradition of giving presents and they do so on the 5th of December. Let this be added to fill out a minor omission in an otherwise fantastic show.

More TPN's Biography Show:
Charlemagne,
Biography podcasts,
Sargon of Akkad and Ramses II,
Helen of Troy,
Alexander the Great - Biography Show.

Edgy 59 - Podcast review podcast reviewed

The Edgy reviews podcast has taken up the small challenge I threw at it in my last review: explain the rather lengthy official name it carries: Edgy Reviews from That Podcast Show.

This is done in it's 59th edition which includes as usual three lengthy podcast reviews by Daniel and Sue. After that they both give their own podcast recommendation for the week and eventually Daniel explains the name of the show.

As I had already noticed, the original starting name was That Podcast Show. Even though that sounded good and maybe even definitive in the kind of way a meta-podcast should sound, it had a bad search engine implication. The name is rather indifferent in the proximity of other show names and more problematically, it doesn't carry the word review in it. Consequently, the show will react weakly to searches on 'podcast reviews' and that is quite opposite to what was to be intended.

So the word reviews was added and in order to maintain some of the original cheeky line, the reviews became edgy. Understandable, but likely to be too long for anybody to maintain. I predict it will over time become Edgy Reviews Podcast for short.

As to the contents: Edgy reviews gives the widest range of podcast reviews with professional valuation you can find on the internet.

Charlemagne - history podcast review

Suppose you want to know about Charlemagne. If you are looking for a podcast, there are quite a few options. A good, but old and podfaded podcast is the Ancient and Medieval History Podcast. Another place to go is History according to Bob, but he has spread his episodes so wide, the preceding series about the Franks and the eventual Charlemagne are no longer in the feed and you will have to buy them on CD. A splendid new podcast is Hoor! Geschiedenis which very effectively addresses the build up and Charlemagne in several episodes worth over an hour and a half in listening, but it is in Dutch - which may not all of you master.

So, I reserved the best for last: TPN's Biography Show which has dedicated its 8th episode to Charlemagne. All aspects are explained: how Charles comes to power, where his roots lie, why he becomes emperor (and hates that), what the renaissance is he brings about, and more. Additional strength of the show is that it is a conversation. Host Cameron Reilly is well prepared and asks excellent questions. Historian David Markham is at his best and is informative and instructive with the best. Last but not least, these veterans of the Napoleon 1O1 podcast, do not miss the opportunity to put Charlemagne in the wider time frame with the Roman emperors, the Holy Roman Empire, the power of the popes and the culmination in the figure of Napoleon.

An interesting side note is to be made about an additional episode in the TPN podcasts: Cameron Reilly's pledge drive. TPN, the Podcasting Network (in Australia) is asking for your money and in doing so positions itself in the tradition of public television and radio networks in America, that also live from the donations of their listeners. It gives one answer to the question how podcasts can survive into the future: they can be packaged together and as a whole offer a service to the listeners for a small fee, that by virtue of the vast audience amounts to a fair income - we hope.

More Cameron Reilly:
Cameron Reilly: Is podcasting dead?,
Biography podcasts,
Sargon of Akkad and Ramses II,
Helen of Troy,
Alexander the Great - Biography Show,
TPN Napoleon 1O1.

Edgy podcast reviews

I hope one day Daniel Sellers is going to explain to us why Jana Selllers and he chose such a tough name for their podcast review podcast. As I see it, the name came about in stages. It started more simply as That Podcast Show, which had as a weak point that it could be about anything, but on the other side had something cheeky. I mean THAT podcast show, sounds like the show you and I need to talk about - right. Then they added Edgy Reviews From. This made clear it was a review show. But why Edgy? And why so long: Edgy Reviews from That Podcast Show.

The name aside, this is THE podcast review podcast around. Its scope is vast - much vaster than mine. ERFTPS are ready to cover all podcasts, everything, anything, that is out there. Only, there need to be at least 10 episodes out and maybe a couple of tiny admission prerequisites, that probably most podcasts cover.

Since my last writing about them, they have reviewed 18 more podcasts. The team on the show, temporarily is Daniel and Sue, because Jana is on maternity leave. (Daniel and Jana create more than just podcasts.) Here are the latest 18.

1. The Kitchen Sink 
2. Cruising Authority
   
3. Roadcast Radio
   
4. My Living Room! Radio Show Podcast (also at Anne is a Man )
   
5. MetroBuzz
   
6. Real Talk (also at Anne is a Man )
   
7. Cue the Film
   
8. That’s What She Said: The Office
   
9. The Office Alliance Podcast
10. Planned Brotherhood 
11. D6 Generation
    
12. Wine for Newbies
    
13. Wikipedia Weekly  
14. Zune Insider
    
15. Common Sense with Dan Carlin (also at Anne is a Man)
    
16. Blogs, Views, and Blues 
17. Camera Dojo
    
18. Space Podcast
    

Podcast hits headlines - Freedomain Radio review

On November 15th an article appeared in the Guardian: You'll never see me again. An 18 year old has drastically broken with his parents and the parents blame this on an internet cult, that is an on-line community. The leader of the so-called cult is to have encouraged the boy to break up as he propagates an idea that personal development is hampered by involuntary relations and one should engage just in voluntary relations.

BBC radio gave the leader of the community, Stefan Molyneux from Canada, the chance to react in a telephone interview that lasted some 9 minutes. Molyneux's defense was he was merely running a philosophy show (this is the podcast Freedomain Radio , feed ) and in his conversation with the runaway boy had merely pointed out that maintaining a relationship with your family should be a decision. On a more offensive note he continues to throw doubt on the harmonious picture painted of the broken family. How can this family be so close and harmonious is contact with a philosopher all the way in Canada could have such a devastating effect? More likely it is that more has been going on and there could even be good reason for the boy to run off.

This is not something I had seen before. I had sort of gotten used to podcasts being a rather niche phenomenon and not capable of stirring headlines, let alone controversy. However, as Cameron Reilly (of The Podcast Network) pointed out, podcasting is about creating community. Molyneux's Freedomain Radio is the most prolific podcast I have ever seen, in under three years he has produced over 1200 episodes and indeed has managed to build an on-line community. And as communities go, they are bound to be controversial to at least some outsiders.

Molyneux's podcasts, website, community and books are the means by which he spreads his philosophy which I think can be easily (if crudely) summarized as an ideology of anarchism. His idea of freedom and personal development is colliding with authority, especially institutionalized authority. In Molyneux's view the state and the church and their emissaries are suspect. In his view, state and church are effectively teaching their flock to be obedient, not to ideals, but to officials such as state functionaries and priests. The role of the family in the whole of these ideas comes out much more hybrid. He doesn't believe parents are suspect the way for example priests are, but surely the reflex of obedience is taught in the family. It is in family that the frustration of personality is internalized and the greatest harm is done.

One of the most interesting and - frankly - admirable issues of the podcast, is the episode (#1221 ) in which Stefan expresses his own personal involvement in the family issue. He goes beyond the philosophical construction and relates his own history of struggle with a dysfunctional family and the misery he had to grow up in. For this reason he declares not to want to sit back and let situations of individuals suffering from their families slide.

I am tempted to ascribe the success Molyneux had by building a community to this personal dedication. Other than that, I assume that the radicalism of the ideas also play a part. Anybody drawn to ideas that are rather far away from main stream will find himself in solitude and here internet communities can become much more important than otherwise. The article in the Guardian can be read such that Molyneux is taking advantage of his vulnerable following. Any off the beaten track movement has been accused of such. It certainly doesn't seem that way in the case of Freedomain Radio. It is a voice speaking to his own community. It is just not a regular preacher with a parish.

I have sympathy for the ideas and for the stamina, but there is also a point where I found it hard to make a connection with the podcast. Molyneux speaks for and to his community. He refers to 'the movement' and its ideas as a given. You have to be part of the deal to fully comprehend. As an outsider I felt a bit shut out. It takes a full immersion to fully appreciate and this means that you need to subscribe to the majority of the ideas and be inspired by them in order to connect. Otherwise it is a curiosity at best.

Ernst van de Wetering - Simek 's Nachts recensie

De finale batch van Simek 's Nachts bevat een interview met Ernst van de Wetering (stream, download), dat zeer de moeite waard is. Dat Van de Wetering 's werelds grootste specialist met betrekking tot Rembrandt van Rijn is, benadrukt Martin Simek tot vervelens toe. Zo is het wel genoeg, klaagt hij en Simeks excuus is (in de laatste minuten van het programma) dat er nog mensen ingeschakeld kunnen hebben. Laat Simek gauw gaan podcasten, dan hoeft hij daar niet meer aan te denken.

Van de Wetering is ook een van diegenen die in de jaren tachtig het grote zwijgen omtrent de 'Foute Ouders' heeft doorbroken. Daar gaat hij liever niet op in, al dwingt Simek hem er gelukkig wel toe. Dan zie je dat de rehabilitatie van zijn vader vooral op persoonlijk vlak geschiedt. Vader van de Wetering is vooral musicus en schilder. De politiek is gewoon niet relevant voor Ernst. Het is natuurlijk ook een vermijden van waar het omgaat, maar tegelijkertijd ook werkelijk niet relevant tussen vader en zoon.

Gelukkig komen daardoor ook wat wijder te spreken over schilderkunst en daar heb ik het gevoel een mini-college kunstgeschiednis gekregen te hebben en mijn ogen verrijkt te weten voor het volgende museumbezoek. Hoewel Simek haast storend is met matige vragen, toch zou je ook kunnen zeggen dat hij de juiste sfeer voor dit prachtige gesprek heeft gecreëerd.

Simek op dit blog:
Ageeth Veenemans,
Marc de Hond,
Geen podcast?,
Marjan Berk en Johnny Kraaykamp jr.,
Brigitte Kaandorp.

Ageeth Veenemans - Simek recensie

Het radioprogramma Simek 's Nachts gaat verdwijnen. Daarmee mag je er van uitgaan dat ook voor de podcast het doek gaat vallen. Uit de laatste toevoegingen in de feed heb ik gekozen voor het gesprek met Ageeth Veenemans (stream) om te bespreken

Met Ageeth komt Simek te spreken over het onderwerp Polyamorie - de mogelijkehid om er meerdere liefdes tegelijkertijd op na te houden. Ze is in dit verband van een ervaringsdeskunidge tot een ideologe geworden. Het moet dus kunnen, in Ageeths visie, en je moet er voor uit kunnen komen ook. En of de duvel er mee speelt, juist nu dat ze bij Simek op bezoek is, is de liefde die ze naast haar huwelijk had op de klippen gelopen.

Simek probeert een bres te schieten in de constructies van Ageeth Veenmenans zonder dat hij aggressief wordt, of zelfs maar de indruk wekt er absoluut niet in te geloven. Dat is de kracht van Martin Simek, zeker in dit soort onderwerpen. En daardoor kunnen we Veenemans goed leren kennen. Ze krijgt alle ruimte om haar opvatting over relaties met goede gedachtes en invoelbare ervaringen te staven. Als ze daar wat mij betreft niet in slaagt, is dat wellicht omdat ik er helemaal niet voor open sta.

Simek op dit blog:
Marc de Hond,
Geen podcast?,
Marjan Berk en Johnny Kraaykamp jr.,
Brigitte Kaandorp,
Heleen Mees, Maarten van Roozendaal.

Word Nerds on stories and story telling - podcast review

The Word Nerds, David and Howard Shepherd, went to a story telling festival in Jonesborough Tennessee and reported from the scene in their latest podcast, #108 about stories and story telling.

They discussed their own relationship with story-telling, which turns out to be a family issue. So they were brought up with stories they call the Jack Tales and the Grandfather Tales, which have roots in both England as well as the Appalachians. And they have a history of attending the story telling festival in Tennessee. In the podcast, they tell what they have listened to, less about the specific stories and more about the story tellers. A lot of names to follow-up on, if you believe the recommendations of the Word Nerd brothers.

Is podcast a form of story telling as well? Tentatively Dave and Howard ponder the question and if they lean to agree, I might suggest to say no. There are podcasts that are used to tell stories, or that seem to fit in with the old oral traditions of mankind, I feel that the majority of podcasts are still an attempt at radio, which is more of audio newspaper and magazine style. It takes a much more careful definition of story telling, oral tradition, media and another ten years of podcast evolution to bring more light into the question. In the mean time, podcasters will be addressing their audiences, that picked them in traditional as well as innovative ways.

Previous reviews of TWN on this blog:
Debate,
Ambiguity and linguistic tics,
Syntax,
Prosody,
Rhetoric.

Cameron Reilly wonders whether podcasting is dead

If it is. Did video kill it? The big guys, like big media networks, killed it? Did it die for lack of a market? Is there no revenue to be had? Is the technology no good?



Needless to say, podcast Cameron Reilly does not think podcasting is dead. The hype is over and the real thing has only begun.

While he talks of how podcasting is all about creating communities (and he is not the only one who does this), it struck me that he doesn't go into a business model at all. Podcasting does not seem to be an economical activity in itself. So, what is its future? Promotional offering?

Or should technology make podcasts more user-friendly and gap the bridge between the radio and the podfeed, so that the full audience could be reached?

What remains, by all means, is that podcasting is still young and looking to build its life.

More Cameron Reilly:
Biography podcasts,
Sargon of Akkad and Ramses II,
Helen of Troy,
Alexander the Great - Biography Show,
TPN Napoleon 1O1.

RVU stopt Simek, waarom zou Simek stoppen?

Wat lees ik nu? Ronald van den Boogaard, radiomaker in ruste, blogger en vaste lezer van mijn blog (verklaar ik met niet in te houden trots), wees mij op deze ontwikkeling: De RVU gaat met Simek 's nachts stoppen. Wat krijgen we nou?

Aldus de RVU:
De RVU heeft geen ruimte voor Napels én Simek 's nachts. - Een vereiste voor het vernieuwde Radio 1 is dat dat alle programma's live zijn, ook op dit tijdstip. - In waarderingsonderzoek van de Radio 1-programma's wordt het programma van Martin Simek de afgelopen twee jaar niet positief beoordeeld.

Kennen wij het programma Napels? Nee natuurlijk niet, want het is geen podcast. Als je afgaat op wat erover te vinden is, is het een tamelijk slap, doorsnee radio programma. Niet iets waarvoor we Simek in zouden willen ruilen.

Ik wil wel toegeven dat ik mij een beetje schuldig voel. Ik heb in mijn recensies onze Simek niet altijd even positief beoordeeld. Ik vond hem de laatste maanden beduidend zwakker, maar komt dat misschien ook door de beslissing van de RVU? Had Simeks intuitie hem al van dit voornemen op de hoogte gesteld, voordat de omroepbonzen het zelf wisten?

Hoe dan ook, Simek is een van de beste Nederlandse podcasts. Een met een recht van bestaan en een reeds aanwezig publiek, dat recht heeft op voortzetting. Laat Simek daarom zich niets aantrekken van de omroep en zelfstandig gaan podcasten.

Simek op dit blog:
Marc de Hond,
Geen podcast?,
Marjan Berk en Johnny Kraaykamp jr.,
Brigitte Kaandorp,
Heleen Mees, Maarten van Roozendaal,
Barbara van Beukering, Gert Dumbar,
Jaap van der Zwan,
Lucie Stepanova,
Olaf Tempelman,
Paul Gelderloos,
Bas Heijne,
Herman Finkers,
Tijs Goldschmidt,
Truus Menger,
Eva Maria Staal,
A. C. Baantjer,
Ida de Ridder,
Ton Boot,
Robert Kranenborg,
Douwe Draaisma,
Maria Sickesz,
Jeroen Pauw,
Anne Hermans,
Hans Dorrestijn,
Niko Koffeman,
Renate Dorrestein,
Carola van Alphen,
Maurice de Hond,
Jef Vermassen,
Guus te Riele,
Jan Rot.

Edgy Reviews from That Podcast Show

Podcasters Daniel and Jana Sellers had the same idea I had: there is need for a source of podcast reviews. They decided to do this in a podcast format. Every week they review three new podcasts and rate them in a scale of 5 stars. They choose full podcast series, never specific episodes, as I frequently do.

The overlap between their podcast, That Podcast Show, and my blog is minimal. Out of some 150 reviewed podcasts they have covered and over 200 I have, we both touched on less than 10 of them. Their attention goes to no field of podcasting exclusively, whereas my starting point are the educational podcasts. As a consequence, their reviews go into a much lighter variety than I do.

With their star scale and Daniel's emphasis on the technical aspects of the podcast (notably sound quality), the reviews might, on the face of it lack information , but that is not true. Maybe if you just read the blog, you might get that impression, but always, the podcast discussion contains much more information. So much more, I usually have made up my mind, before I know what rating Jana and Daniel each give.

So, check them out: site, blog, feed. See the left sidebar for a list of reviewed podcasts, ordered in section corresponding with iTunes's categories.

Stanford's great podcasts

I am a great lover of the content delivered by Stanford University. Whenever I have had some criticism in the past on how this content was delivered I have usually had to retract my words and this is the case again. The fact that the content is exclusively presented through iTunes U, implies some restraints for some listeners, but again, Stanford has taken steps to take away the biggest of thresholds.

The new feature, and one that I am very happy about, is that the web-site (http://itunes.stanford.edu) these days does more than just push you through to iTunes. It contains several pages of explanation and help, among others a guide how to install and work with iTunes. The best addition is the list of RSS feeds. The best of Stanford's content (not all of it) is available in a feed and thus a veritable podcast and this page lists all of them. The best are there, most notably all of those lecture series from Stanford I have so happily reviewed in the past.

Hannibal, (review, site:Stanford on iTunes U, feed).
Stanford University delivers some phenomenal audio, but you have to have iTunes in order to get there. This lecture series about Hannibal gives insight in the history of Hannibal, his trip over the Alps and Professor Patrick Hunt's efforts to reconstruct Hannibal's route over the Alps.

Historical Jesus, (review, site:Stanford on iTunes U, feed).
The very best of Stanford is a lecture series, including syllabus and link to the central book, by theology professor Thomas Sheehan about the Historical Jesus. Sheehan carefully takes the listener through the intricacies of dissecting Scripture to the most authentic sources to Yeshua of Nazareth himself.

Geography of World Cultures, (review, site:Stanford on iTunes U, feed).
Although this podcast is mostly about geography, in effect it is filled with history - one cannot talk about the spread of languages and religion, without entering history. The focus is on maps and the maps are added as visuals, which means, this is an enhanced podcast. (Wikipedia on enhanced podcasts)

Global Geopolitics (review, site:Stanford on iTunes U, feed).
The latest addition: an enhanced podcast following up on Geography of World Cultures showing the international relations in geopolitics. Of course with the help of great many maps.

History of the International System, (review, site:Stanford on iTunes U, feed).
This is a course, not just in history, but in a sense also in geopolitics and political science. Starting around 1870, the lecture series takes the audience through global history and observes and explains how the international relations wobbled from stability to disruptiveness back and forth.

Dan Carlin's view of Anne is a Man!

Here is a mail I received from podcaster Dan Carlin, who produces the podcasts Hardcore History and Common Sense.

Anne,

It is always a fine thing to get a positive review from you. You are, in my mind, the most elite of the podcast reviewers (and most especially in the History genre). Your reviewing style reminds me more of a film critic...you are NOT the general public reviewing a piece of art, you are on a different level. You absorb all the subtle little nuances in the podcast. Any little thing we do that we wonder: "Will the audience pick up on this?" you always notice.

We also use you as a sort of barometer for how we are doing. You see, by the time we release one of our history podcasts we have heard it so many times (during the editing process) that we lose all perspective of what it sounds like to the first-time listener. So, we are never sure if it is balanced enough, or entertaining enough, or educational enough, etc. when we actually release it. Then, no matter what, we get good and bad emails about it (on this Apache show certainly!). It becomes hard for us to get a good perspective on how good the podcast episode actually was.

Until we read your review.

We know that, whether the review is good or bad, you will at least understand what we were trying to do and can judge the work on THAT standard. We really respect that and use your reviews to get a feel for what sort of product we are leaving behind in "digital stone" (strange concept, eh? That these silly little shows we do will outlive us probably?). Thanks so much for that.

And keep up what you are doing. I see no reason why you can't be the THE podcast reviewer online. No one has really assumed that role, and no one, it seems to me, does it as well as you do (and believe me, I look!).

Take care and stay safe...

-Dan

More Dan Carlin:
Assyrians,
Depression,
Succession in Macedon,
The Plague,
Dan Carlin's common sense.

The podcasts that review podcasts

Last week I discovered two podcasts that do exactly what I do: review podcasts. These are Podwatch and That Podcast Show. I am not going to review them all the time, but I am looking for some way to keep you posted of their work. In the end, we complement each other.

This weekend the two of them released a new episode, with That Podcast Show commenting on Philosophy Bites - which is a podcast that I have reviewed myself a couple of times (see below). For me, this review shows the quality of That Podcast Show and I must say, they stand the test with flying figures. They are slightly less enthusiastic about Philosophy Bites, but their critique is very right: the podcast does too little to make the subject accessible to a wider audience. And it gives very simple pointers how to improve.

The other two podcast reviewed:
Tudorcast (expected here some time in March)
Girls Night In

Podwatch came out and -hey!- gave a plug to my blog. Apart from that there is the regular technology news and three podcast reviews.
The Digg Reel - isn't that actually a vodcast?
Buzz Out Loud - getting the highest acclaim. Especially for technology interested listeners this appears to be a hot item.

I think these to podcast review podcasts are very good and for all you podcast listeners out there a must-have source of information.

Philosophy Bites on Anne is a Man!:
Humanism,
Is war innate?
Wittgenstein,
Friendship,
Egalitarianism.

Podcast reviews; I am not alone

Persistent searches on the net keep giving me the idea that a blog on podcast reviews is a rare creature. I have run into a handful of blogs that either do the occasional review, or have been concentrated on podcast reviews but were abandoned with little content accumulated. What has sprung up rather recently are two podcasts that review podcasts. As podcasts go they have their websites and as such can be viewed also as blogs. Kindred spirits.

That Podcast Show started this December and has released thirteen episodes by now. The show is presented by Daniel and Jana Sellers from the US and tends to give three reviews per show. The podcasts are chosen throughout the spectrum of what is out there. The hosts discuss their impressions and ideas each in their own style creating a very personal atmosphere; Daniel is relaxed and laid back as opposed to Jana who seems to be with her eyes on the ball all the time. It makes you feel being informed by your peers. Eventually the review is allotted a rating in a five star system. Even though this is one rating all aspects of a podcast are discussed: is it informative, entertaining, of good audio quality and such.

A more recent starter is Podwatch by host 'Tom' from Australia. Tom evaluates the podcasts on entertainment value, quality of content, production quality, rates those each on a scale of 10 and then concludes with an overall rating on the same scale. His reviews are intelligent and detailed and in addition to the reviews he also talks of technology and other subjects. His choice of podcasts to review seems to be poised also towards science and technology, but there are also some podcasts of other tastes. He has accomplished five shows by now resulting in some 10 podcast reviews.

I am very glad to have found these colleagues in cyberspace. I recommend checking them out, either in the blogs (all reviews appear in writing as well) or on podcast. So far you cannot compare us as none of us has reviewed a show another has touched. The pond is large and the fishermen are still very few.