Podcast reviews still delayed

Dear readers,

I am still recovering with my ears. I can do a little listening over the speakers on my PC, but not much progress is made. Hence, I can't promise how much and when there will be more reviews, but still can give you some insight as to what is lined up.

- Open Source (Parag Khanna)
- UChannel Podcast
- Irvin Yalom (on KQED and Wise Counsel)
- Susan Yacoby (The Age of American Unreason)
- Shrink Rap Radio (Mindmentor and others)
- Simek interviews Jaap van der Zwan
- Speaking of Faith: No more taking sides
- OVT
- History 5
- Chronicles Radio Dispatches (review by guest author)
- History 106B (The Roman Empire)
- Historyzine
- The Missing Link
- In Our Time

On March 1st:
- A new podcast directory to be added, Geography Podcasts.
- 100 podcasts reviewed

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You can let your preferences (I'd love get new podcast recommendations) know by commenting on the blog or sending mail to The Man Called Anne at: Anne Frid de Vries (in one word) AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk

Engines Of Our Ingenuity

A podcast about the machines that make our civilization run and the people whose ingenuity created them. How does that sound? History? Technology? Very serious in any case. This is how the podcast Engines Of Our Ingenuity presents itself in the introduction to each episode.

This is about where the seriousness of this University of Houston podcast ends. Speaker John Lienhard delivers a monologue of two hundred and twenty seconds. Those seconds, though seriously filled with facts and provoking thoughts, are rife with wit and irony. The result is a very charming and very short program that sheds light on some aspect of human progress - not necessarily even technological. The program is broadcast on Houston Public Radio and various other stations. And published as a podcast - luckily for us.

There are more light science, technology and history podcasts, but I have yet to hear one that wraps them all in so little time with so huge a result. A real gem in the world of educational audio.

Celtic Myth Podshow

Here is a new podcast that recently started: Celtic Myth Podshow. The podcast intends to bring us a wide variety of stories from the Celtic traditions, that is Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish and from Brittany. The way the show intends to bring the tales is by telling them.

The way they phrase it themselves is: 'bringing the tales and stories of the ancient Celts to your fireplace.' Indeed they are brought home, close to the listener, by subtle dramatization. The text is read with a bardic tone of voice and the characters are featured with speaking voices. This is mixed with music in style and the odd sound effect, just the right blend to get you in the Celtic mood.

It may be hard, hopefully will become easier, to keep track of all the names, as they are many and they are very outlandish to the unaccustomed ear. Host Gary performs a pronunciation of the Celtic names that sounded very genuine to me, but at the end of the first show he throws a disclaimer and apologizes for possible mistakes in this respect. Well, we have had one show, I hope this is going to be continued in the splendid way it started.

Related content:
The Fisher King,
The art of coherence,
The Bitch, the Crone, and the Harlot,
Shrinkrapradio meets Curtiss Hoffman.

Podcast review: Historypod

Do you want a five to ten minute history lesson? Would you like to know what was the famed warship Wasa? Or what was it with the Zimmermann telegram? The Historypod podcast delivers this material. Five to ten minute podcasts taking on interesting subjects of world history and effectively deal with them in such a short time.

Host Alan Joyce took on this podcast out of his own curiosity with what he calls 'some of the lesser known stories in history.' His disclaimer is he is not is historian, but to his credit, in podcasting this need not be a problem. With good reading he accomplishes this task and throws in some good podsafe music and sound effects for good measure. Light history lessons at their best.

So what was it with Wasa, and with Zimmermann? You can find this out by listening just as long as reading this review. Wasa was the Swedish warship that was going to be the most formidable battle ship in its time, but then something went wrong on the maiden voyage. And Zimmermann? Arthur Zimmermann was the German foreign minister during WW1, he sent a telegram to Mexico, which was intercepted by the British and carefully conveyed to the US Government, with considerable effect on the ongoing war.

Other short history podcasts:
British History 101,
History according to Bob,
History Podcast,
Matt's Today In History,
Parnell's History Podcast.

Podcast Review: Africa Past and Present

Africa is the great unknown. Not only for me I guess, for most in the West, or the rest of the world for that matter. The State University of Michigan supplies a podcast called Africa Past and Present. After having heard two issues, I am still not much smarter on the past, but at least a little more on the present. In any case a must listen for everybody.

It is not just heavy-handed serious stuff. The podcast also paid attention to the African soccer Cup, which was won by Egypt, even if the podcast predicted the Ivory Coast would win. But that is a mistake anyone could have made - I myself thought the Ivorians were really good. Other subjects that have been are the diversity of Islam in Africa, film in Africa and the new media.

I suppose the range of subjects will continue to be as wide and no matter how curious I am to find out about the history of Africa, even if this podcast will fill in the picture of contemporary Africa and its recent history, it is a podcast very much worthwhile.

More Africa on this blog:
The Missing Link on counting,
Apartheid and Environmental History,
Environmental History and South Africa,
Africa - Stanford Travel,
Africa - Counsel for Foreign Relations.

An unforeseen lapse in podcast reviews

Dear Readers,

We have hit a snag with this blog. I have come down with an ear infection. Not only does this keep me at home stuffed with antibiotics, it also means I cannot listen to podcasts. I have a couple of reviews lined up, of shows I have already listened to, but beyond that I cannot offer you new content until further notice.

My apologies,

Anne