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Podcasting Essay Page
This page was last updated on 01/10/07
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Podcasting (* But Were Afraid to Ask)
Do you remember when cable TV was cool? Back before all the money, when there weren't any commercials and you never knew what you'd see next?
Do you remember when the World Wide Web was cool? Back before spam and Nigerian scams and viruses?
Do you remember when radio was cool? Back when you could hear Kiss, the Sex Pistols, and Chuck Berry all in the same hour on the same station?
If you long for the glory days of any of these technolgies when they were just emerging and anything seemed possible, well, right now you have the chance to re-live the joy. "Podcasting" is currently in that sweet zone where it is too new to be commercial, but established enough to be easily accessible.
And you're missing out.
But you don't have to! Because I am here to help. What you hold in your hot, little, electronic hands is everything you need to know to enjoy podcasting. After you are done reading this, you will be able subscribe to the RSS feed of your favorite Podcast and automatically download asynchronous audio content to your mp3 player of choice.
But let's take this one step at a time, shall we?
What Is "Podcasting?"
I'm going to spare you the verbose, technical and philosophical definitions you will get elsewhere on the web and cut right to the chase: Podcasting is amateur radio, delivered via the World Wide Web.
(I will also note that "podcast" is a combination of "iPod," a popular, portable audio player, and "broadcast." I will also note that podcasts are becoming increasingly professional, for all the good and bad that entails.)
Why Is Podcasting Cool?
Well, podcasting is cool for a bunch of reasons. First off, unlike corporate controlled radio and TV, podcasting is done by individuals without much oversight. Many are not worried about turning into a career and are doing it because it is fun.
Secondly, unlike radio and TV, you can listen to a podcast whenever you want. The basic idea is that you put each shown on your computer or portable audio player and listen when you feel like it.
Third, unlike radio and TV, you can hear an extremely wide variety of shows. Creating and distributing podcasts is fairly inexpensive, so people create shows about very specific topics. There is no need to program for the lowest common denominator.
Finally, podcasting is cool because it is young, hip, and now. Soon, corporations will figure out how to co-opt it to make money and it will suck. So start listening now before it all goes to Hell.
What Do I Need to Listen to a Podcast?
There are a few pieces of technology that you will need to hear a podcast. If you are reading this message, then you most likely have them already. Obviously, you will need a computer. That computer should have a fast Internet connection, like a cable modem or DSL, because podcast files are large. For the same reason, you will want a large hard-drive with some free space. Probably a gigabyte or so will do.
The bare minimum software you need is an .mp3 player. .mp3 files are simply a type of audio file that 99% of podcasts use. If you are a Windows user, then you already have a .mp3 player called the Windows Media Player. But any player will do.
Optionally, you can use a portable .mp3 player such as the iPod.
How Do I Listen to a Podcast?
Later in this essay, I am going to get into some techno-babble about listening to Podcasts, but that doesn't matter to you at the moment. For right now, listening to a podcast is as easy as going to a web page and clicking a file.
Let's try an easy one.
1. Click on this link: http://insomniaradio.net/
(You may need to copy and paste that URL into your web browser if clicking doesn't work.)
2. On this web page, look for a link to download an episode of Insomnia Radio. He usually numbers them. For example, "Download Episode #122." Click that puppy. (Insomnia Radio is an independent rock show that usually doesn't have anything too offensive in it. We'll get to the offensive stuff later.)
3. Now, depending on your browser, a couple of different things might happen. If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player, the show will probably just start playing. (The podcast .mp3 file gets stored in a temporary directory on your hard drive and is deleted when you shut down.) Some browsers will prompt you to save the file to your hard drive. Save it to your desktop then double-click it to listen. Delete it when you are done so you aren't taking up a mess of hard drive space.
And that is really all there is to it. If you want, you could put the podcast on your portable .mp3 player and listen to it there. All of the rest of the technical portion of this essay you can ignore until you become a fan of podcasts and want to know more.
Where Can I Find Other Podcasts?
There is a list of podcasts I listen to at the end of this essay, along with a few places where you can find more. For now, go to http://www.podcast.net and click around.
I Love Podcasts But It Is a Pain To Download Them All!
If you get into listening to podcasts, you will eventually get sick and tired of going to multiple webpages to download them. "Isn't there some way I could subscribe to them in one place?!" you'll scream.
There is. However, herein begins the technical stuff, so pull your pant legs up.
Virtually every podcast has what is known as an "RSS feed." "RSS" stands for "Really Simple Syndication." An RSS feed allows you to subscribe to a web site so that you see whenever it updates. The idea here is that a podcaster will upload a new podcast whenever he or she feels like it, and the people who are subscribed to their RSS feed will be notified.
New web browsers are beginning to support RSS. I'm pretty sure that GoogleMail knows about RSS feed as well. However, I still recommend using a web service or a program to work with them.
I use http://www.bloglines.com/ to read RSS feeds. It is a free service that allows me to subscribe to a bunch of RSS feeds. It arranges them in a directory tree and makes them bold whenever there is an update. Because it is a web service, I can get to it from work or home. (If you don't like Bloglines, just do a Google search on "RSS reader" to find many others.)
Another really popular RSS reader is called iPodder and can be found at http://www.ipodder.org/ (look for the "Download iPodder" link.) This thing not only lets you read RSS feeds, but it automatically downloads new podcasts to your hard drive or portable .mp3 player. That's pretty cool, but I've never used it.
I should also note that Apple's iTunes allows you to download podcasts as well. So if you like iTunes, you can go that route.
No matter what program or service you use, you will have to be able to find the URL of the podcast's RSS feed. Increasingly, podcasters use this graphic: 
to store the URL for their RSS feed. You will most likely be able to right-click on the graphic, choose "copy link location" or "copy shortcut" and then can paste it into your RSS reader. (If you just click on this link, you go to some other confusing page.) Some web pages display these links in a variety of other ways. When you are on the home page of a podcast, look for these common phrases: "RSS Feed," "Subscribe," "Syndicate This Site," and "XML." Commonly, these phrases are links to the RSS Feed you want.
I know that all sounds confusing, but it is fairly easy to navigate after you have spent some time with the tools.
What Podcasts Does Brad Like?
I have been listening to podcasts for about a year now and have developed a long list of shows I like. I'll list my favorites here.
Please note: You are on the Internet. You will probably be offended at some point.
Comedy Podcasts
Over the last year, I have found that I'm listening to fewer music podcasts and instead focusing on talk radio podcasts. My two favorites are hilariously offensive shows.
Keith and the Girl
http://www.keithandthegirl.com/
(feed: http://katg.libsyn.com/rss )
Keith and his girlfriend, Chemda, are a New York couple that specialize in outrageous humor along with some yelling and arguing. I think they are really funny, but you could easily be offended by them. If you can't handle Howard Stern, stay away from this one.
Distorted View
(feed: http://www.distortedview.com/show/index.xml )
Tim Henson is the host of this comedy show that features weird news, politically incorrect commentary, and humor that is guaranteed to offend you at some point. Unless you have a dark sense of humor, stay away from this one.
Gaming Podcasts
It seems like a new podcast on gaming appears every other day. Here are my favorites, but there are many to hear.
Ogre Cave Audio Report
http://www.ogrecave.com/audio/
(feed: http://www.ogrecave.com/audio/podcast.php )
Boardgames to Go
http://boardgamestogo.com/index.html
(feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BoardgamesToGo )
Have Games Will Travel
http://www.havegameswilltravel.net/
(feed: http://havegameswilltravel.libsyn.com/rss )
Sons of Kryos
http://sonsofkryos.livejournal.com/
(feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Sonsofkryos )
Podcasts from Japan
I dig Japan and have found several English podcasts from the East.
Guzen Radio
(feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/guzenradio )
Tokyo Calling
(feed: http://tokyocalling.org/video.xml )
Miscellaneous Podcasts
These podcasts don't really fit into a category.
Wiggly's World
(feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/MagicMilkshakeMachine, http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmartWrestlingFanWrestlingReviewShow, http://feeds.feedburner.com/wetalkgames, http://feeds.feedburner.com/Wiggly )
Wiggly does about 15 million podcasts and I like all of them. Smart Wrestling Fan is an amusing show about professional wrestling. The Magic Milk Shake Machine is three friends sitting around and chatting. We Talk Games is a show about video games and nostalgia. Wiggly's World is his solo show of introspection and commentary.
Cover to Cover
(feed: http://www.dragonpage.com/podcastC2C.xml )
I'm a geek, and so are these guys. But they are surprisingly proficient broadcasters and get a number of cool authors for interviews.
Dicks 'n' Janes Podcast
http://dicksnjanes.blogspot.com/index.html
(feed: http://dicksnjanes.blogspot.com/atom.xml )
The Scarborough Dude is a Canadian podcaster who spends most of his show talking about philosophy, his many adventures, and beer. He might not be everyone's cup of tea but I find him interesting.
Copyright Brad Weier Addison, IL 2007