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“Podcast” might be a word that you’ve hear thrown around (on the web) in the past few years and it doesn’t seem to want to go away. To cut through some of the techno-speak, a podcast is just an audio program that you can listen to at any time on your computer or your MP3 player (the iPod being the most popular, thus a “pod” cast). There are also “vodcasts” (referring to video podcasts), but most people are limited to watching those on their computer if they don’t have a video enabled MP3 player.

The real power in podcasts (for the listener) is that you can listen to your favorite content whenever you want and not at a specified broadcast time. If you cant listen to your favorite stuff while sitting at your computer, you can take it with you on your MP3 player. It’s like TIVO for radio.  I often listen to my podcasts during my long drive into work.

Oh, and anyone can be a podcaster. If you have the equipment and the know-how, you can host your own radio-show-like program for the world to hear. I started listening to podcasts almost 3 years ago and found a mix of good content and just garbage.

In the past 2 years, mainstream content providers have jumped on the bandwagon and have their own podcasts. It’s not assured, but the quality of these mainstream content is usually pretty decent and more consistent than the hit-or-miss you get with individuals. There are notable exceptions.

Without further ado, here are a few of my (current) favorite podcasts. I’ll link to their site, but you can find these in iTunes as well (just do a search in the iTunes store):

• History According to Bob - This is one of my favorite podcasts for several reasons. It’s about history; the host (Bob Packett) is entertaining and clearly loves this, and the podcasts are in “bite sized” chunks (usually 9 to 15 minutes each). On many days, I can listen to an entire episode walking from my car to my office. Bob also likes to mix things up. He does a wide variety of material such as American wild west, gladiators, American presidents and early English kings (to name just a few). Many of his listeners have commented that they didn’t think they liked history before listening to his show. He makes me appreciate history even more. He’s pretty consistent about getting a new one out every day.
• NPR: It’s All Politics - For those of you that talk to me on a regular basis, you might know that I have my bachelors degree in Government and I’m pretty jaded about modern American politics. This is a show that I can listen to and not cringe as it informs and entertains. Ken Rudin and Ron Elving deliver a 30 minute show every Thursday. Between their bad jokes and unique personalities, they make me laugh and keep me up to date.
• The WDW Radio Show - I’ve been to Walt Disney World several times in my life and it never ceases to fascinate me. No, I don’t yearn to have a character breakfast with Winne the Pooh every few years (as cool as that can be). What really interests me is how they run such a large operation (they have 4 parks in Orlando now) with such efficiency without sacrificing quality. I love the history and trivia. With this in mind, The WDW Radio Show (with Lou Mongello) delivers all of this. With every show he gives news, rumors, interviews, special guests and small features that just doesn’t get old to me. If you’re a Disney junkie like me, you’ll love this show. He does one a week, but it’s usually 2 hours long.
• BBC Global News - In addition to being a little frustrated with modern American politics (as mentioned above), I’m also put out with the sad state of American news. Yes, there are some good sources that deliver objective news stories, but most of it meant to entertain and sell advertising than to deliver real news. Every summer we have shark attacks and women that go missing (in Jamaica, from their wedding, etc.) while other worthy news doesn’t get reported. Even when I listened to shortwave radio on a regular basis, I’ve always maintained that the BBC is the best news source available. Luckily, they’ve significantly improved their podcast offerings and now have a compelation of stories from several of their news programs that they deliver twice a day. I usually only get to listen to one, but at about 30 minutes each, I could listen to both if I wanted.

These are the high points. I listen to others off and on, but these have been on my iPod consistently.