Talk Radio

I wanted to start this by talking about “how old I am” and emphasizing age and being cranky, but that’s not really what this is about and I’m starting to annoy myself with how much I talk about being “the old guy” at 32. Mind you, when I’m at Shmimprov or surrounded by my students, it’s easy to feel like that when everyone else is 25 or under, but when it comes right down to it I’m still “young” in the eyes of society.

What I will bitch about, though, is that at 32 I am pretty set as an adult. You won’t find many people that will say that at 32 you don’t have any responsibilities or notice that your tastes have changed at least a little and that’s really what I want to talk about, changing tastes.

I knew that I had entered “adult life” the moment I discovered podcasts.

Yes, that’s what I said, podcasts.

Or, as I like to call them, talk radio for Generation X.

While people in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s listen to Rush, Dr. Laura and the other freaks on the radio people in their 30’s and younger listen to the freaks that record via Skype on all manner of esoteric topics like Star Trek, Doctor Who comic books and such-n-such. When I first got my iPod I was all music all the time. I spend the better part of a month uploading all of my CD’s onto the computer and then importing to iTunes. I scoured my friends music collections, my parents, any stranger who would let me and added it to the mix. I got obsessed with making playlists that would be perfect for any particular occasion.

Then, during a trip to the iTunes store, I stumbled on these things called podcasts and they had titles like iFanboy, Around Comics, Gallifrey Embassy… all very geeky and all up my alley. I started by downloading anything that looked like it might be good. That habit stopped very quickly. Just because you have a podcast doesn’t mean that it’s any good. The only quality control there is are the reviews that are written by the most committed of listeners. But to the point, as I explored further I found the combination of podcasts that satisfy all of my needs, from news to geeky pursuits. Just like the talk radio so popular with the older adult demographic, I now know that I’m close to joining their ranks, at least in spirit, as I get more enjoyment from listening to fanboys talk rather than Panic at the Disco.

Here is a list of the pocasts that I currently subscribe to for your perusal. I would add hotlinks, but I got all of these from the iTunes Store, so I suggest getting them there.

• Around Comics – Round table discussion about the world and culture of comic books. This is one of the best out there.
• BBGeeks – All Blackberry news. About 10 min. long with news and rumors.
• The Bugle – An English version of The Daily Show in audio form. Funny and timely.
• The Crankcast – Comic book creators talking about the business, shows they like and regular Joe stuff. Hard to describe, but one of my favorites!
• The /Filmcast – Movie news and commentary with writers, directors and actors often as guests. It’s a companion to /film.
• iFanboy – My favorite comic book podcast! Every week they run down the best, and sometimes the worst, comics released.
• JapanesePod101 – This is where I learn Japanese.
• Marvel Podcasts – I’m a Marvel Zombie.
• NPR: Story of the Day, World Story of the Day, Pop Culture & Technology Podcasts – This is all the news I ever need.
• Real Time with Bill Maher – I love it. I hate it. It might be the whole show, might only be New Rules.
• Tom vs The Flash – Tom Katers reads and comments on every silver age issue of The Flash. It is awesome.
• 40k Radio – This is a Warhammer 40,000 podcast that is only for the true gamer. If you don’t play the game skip it because it will scar you. Not scare you, scar you. Gamers and their fanaticism are not for the faint of heart.

See you tomorrow!