Five Podcasts for a Snowy Weekend

As I’m sure everyone has heard: Snow! Snow is coming! Panic!

Personally, I recommend foregoing buying the milk, eggs, and bread (and flashlights, bottled water, canned food, and first aid kit) and instead buy a few nice bottles of wine, some cheese, and maybe a pint or two of ice cream.

Find a fireplace, space heater, furnace, or just a big heavy blanket. Curl up. Fire up your itunes and get ready to subscribe (or just download, whatever):

1. When we launch into our spiel about Secretly Y’all, many people have responded by saying, “So, like the Moth?” Yes, we are like The Moth in many many ways. We are also big fans. Give it a listen if you’ve never heard it before.
2. I first heard Scott Carrier on This American Life, telling tales of running after antelopes and taking down the histories of people with mental illnesses. He’s got his own gig now with Hearing Voices. To me, Hearing Voices has surpassed This American Life in taking a theme and exploring and exploding it. Maybe it’s because I share its affinity with people living on the fringe of the American dream.
3. I never know what I’m going to get when I suggest Radio Lab to people. My friends and family seem to either love it or hate it. Some people say it’s over-produced, but recently, I heard Robert Krulwich describe it as a kind of attempt to make musical explanation of science. That seemed pretty accurate to me.
4. I’ve just recently started listening to the Stuff You Should Know podcast from the people at How Stuff Works. Of all the podcasts on here, this is definitely the least produced, but that doesn’t detract from it at all. Usually I start one of their podcasts thinking Whatever! Who Cares! and then before I know it I’m twenty minutes into listening to an interesting conversation.
5. BackStory! BackStory! I have to admit I have yet to add this to my regular rotation, but every time I stumble onto it while driving around town, I have to listen. Sometimes I say sitting in my car once I’ve gotten to my destination just to finish a segment. Also, it’s got Pete Onuf from UVA, Ed Ayers from Univeristy of Richmond (formerly from UVA), and Brian Balogh from UVA.