What Does Randy Listen to on his iPod?

If you see me on the street or on campus, chances are you’ll see the telltale headphones dangling around my neck or sticking in my ears. You may be surprised to learn that I very rarely use this 21^st century gizmo to listen to music. Instead, I’m listening to downloads of my favorite news and talk pograms.

If you are interested in current events, culture, the arts, politics, science and technology, or if you would simply like to practice your English listening skills, check out some of my favorite podcasts. As a bonus for those on a student budget, all these podcasts are supported by donation only. Some have transcripts available in case you cannot catch every word.

Fresh Air

Language level: Advanced

Cultural knowledge: Advanced

Terry Gross has been called “the best interviewer in the English Language,” and I agree. She has been doing her show for over twenty years, and she knows how to ask exactly the right questions, in exactly the right way, and then keep quiet while her guests reveal what we want to know about them and the work they do.

Browse recent shows here: http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13

Some interviews you might like are these:

Terry interviews Jerry Seinfeld

'Spider-Man': It's a Parable, Which is Kind of a Pain

'Lucifer Effect' Asks Why Good People Go Bad

Science Fridays

Language level: Intermediate to Advanced

Scientific knowledge: Intermediate to Advanced

I listen to these shows every week. Host Ira Flatow brings you his East Coast accent, wisecracking style, and cutting-edge guest experts and some phone call-in conversations. Learn how to podcast it here: http://www.sciencefriday.com/feed/

Browse or search their archives for your favorite topics here: http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/

Transcripts are not free, but you can buy them here: http://www.npr.org/transcripts/

Some recent shows that I enjoyed were these:

March 23, 2007: Hour One: Rep. Bart Gordon / Carbon Trading / Politics Online

March 9, 2007: Hour Two: Edison Biography / Honeybee Problems

March 9, 2007: Hour One: Alternative Energy Update: Biofuels / Diet Comparison Study

Jim Hightower’s Commonsense Commentaries

(Free transcripts!)

Language level: High-Advanced

Political/Cultural knowledge: Intermediate to Advanced

Hightower brings you up to five three-minute segments each week in his Texas drawl. His sly use of understatement, sarcasm, and folksy verbage earn him my high-advanced rating. Hear him tear apart right wing “political bigshots” and “corporate greedheads” at http://www.jimhightower.com/.

The Writer’s Almanac

(Free transcripts!)

Language level: Advanced

Cultural knowledge: Intermediate

Garrison Kiellor has the best pronunciation of any American alive. Five five-minute podcasts a week, each with one or two biographies of world-historical figures, on their birthdays, and always at least one poem. Check it out at http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/.

Car Talk

Language level: Advanced

Automotive knowledge: Beginning to Intermediate

This humorous duo of automotive experts will leave you laughing as they answer calls from Americans with car questions. Listen for those East Coast vowels and diphthongs! A short “best call of the week” version of their hourlong weekly show is availabe at: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=9911203

More info at http://www.cartalk.com/

Democracy Now

(Free transcripts!)

Language level: Advanced to High-Advanced

Political/Geographic knowledge: Advanced

Download these podcasts if, like me, you want the news stories that ABC, MSNBC, and Fox won’t tell you because those mainstream outlets are too lazy, too corrupt, or just don’t care about countries other than the US. Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales produce five hour-long programs per week, and I listen to them all. Hear Goodman deliver the news and interview guests in her dry, humorless style and break most of the rules of English intonation.

You can get video or audio podcasts or streams at http://democracynow.org/streampage.pl

You can also get free transcripts of every show. More info at http://democracynow.org/

You can search the archive for your favorite topics: http://www.archive.org/details/democracy_now

I particularly enjoyed this recent interview with Bill Moyers:

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/25/1414222

Counter Spin

Language level: Advanced

Political/Cultural knowledge: Advanced

These media critics, with flawless diction and sometimes stinging sarcasm, uncover the week’s lies and omissions by US mainstream media, and bring on interesting guests for interviews.

Get the podcast here: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=5

Browse their archives: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3

This page will tell more about podcasting: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=144#podcasting