Even though I’m no longer commuting to San Francisco every day (and I am so thankful for that), I still have plenty of time on the road to listen to music, audiobooks, and podcasts. It is my hope that one or more of the below interest you and that you’ll give them a listen – there are a lot of great creators delivering fantastic content out there, and many of them only grow by word of mouth.
- IT & Security News: Risky Business
- Every week Patrick Gray covers the goings-on in the IT security world, featuring knowledgeable and interesting industry insiders to offer their perspectives as well. With witty snark and a lengthy journalism background, he provides a great deal of information without unnecessary fluff.
- Science and Skepticism: The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe
- Hosted by an expert panel of New England skeptics, with frequent special guests, the SGU promotes fact-based reasoning, covers psuedo-science and quackery in modern culture, and discusses how to remain sane in the face of internet information-overload. A great podcast to challenge your own biases.
- Entertaining Horror Stories: Welcome to Night Vale
- Readily described as “HP Lovecraft meets NPR,” this long-running episodic series follows the community radio broadcasts of a small, weird, and otherworldly town in the middle of the desert. Everything is familiar, but just off-kilter enough to keep you on your toes.
- Shadowrun News: Neo-Anarchist Podcast
- Covering the major events in the Shadowrun timeline from 1990 to 2074+, Opti provides a fantastic in-character look at the years that shaped the sixth world, also providing the occasional run idea. The podcast updates sporadically, but there is plenty of content for anyone who is interested in the Shadowrun universe.
- Scary Horror Stories: Alice Isn’t Dead
- From the writers of Welcome to Night Vale comes this episodic serial about a woman driving the long roads of North America, seeking for the wife she knows is out there somewhere. She encounters a world much larger than she expected, and hopefully the strength to survive the horrors within. About to publish it’s third and final season in early 2018.
- Russian-Language Learning: Russian Made Easy
- Covering the basics of the Russian language, everything is presented in a well-structured and organized way, and I really like the way it includes native speakers. The presenter discusses both the figurative and literal translation of the words and phrases, which helps with total comprehension.
- Sports Journalism: All the King’s Men
- Long-time LA Kings hockey fan Jesse Cohen has become the official podcaster of his favorite sports team. Often joined by other Kings insiders and other hockey personalities, he provides a honest look at the strengths and weaknesses of the ongoing hockey season.
- Creepy Alternative-History: Within the Wires
- The first two seasons of this fantastic story are wholly separate, only tangentially related, taking place in an alternate post-war twentieth century. The first provides an audio guide to “relaxation,” as provided by a mysterious “Institute.” The second covers the works of a famous artist, as told by a friend and colleague. Definitely give it a few episodes and you’ll start picking up the abject weirdness.
- Shameless Self-Promotion: Motor City Shadows
- Presented in the manner of a 1950s pulp radio drama, Motor City Shadows details the ongoing story of a team of Detroit Shadowrunners as they get caught up in a story much larger than themselves. Even though there are only three episodes out so far, I’ve contributed my voice to a fair amount of upcoming content, and I look forward to contributing more regularly as the series progresses. Note that there are some audio balance issues which are being worked out as we continue.
Honestly, the above encompasses just about every podcast I stay subscribed to. There are others I’m an on-again off-again fan of, but the above have a permanent presence on my playlist and I actively look forward to new episodes.