Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Podcasts

I blame Melvyn Bragg. It's his fault that I can't seem to settle on any one book or subject. Every time I listen to In Our Time, I immediately want to know more about Hatsheput, or reread Marlowe's Edward II or Siegfried Sassoon's war poetry. I've done all these things in the last week which is why I'm still halfway through several books. As you can see if you follow the link, there are literally hundreds of In Our Time podcasts available. I've listened to dozens of them since I discovered podcasts on my iPad about a year ago. I've only chosen the History & Culture archives & I listen to the new series as well. The format of the 45 min program is that each week Melvyn discusses a topic with three academics. The topics range from history & philosophy to science, literature & religion. The discussions are often very lively but nearly always well-mannered - except when Melvyn wants to move on & a guest has just one more point to make.

BBC Radio 4 is my main source of podcasts. As well as In Our Time, I also love Great Lives with Matthew Parris (recent programs on Lucille Ball, Dorothy L Sayers, Arnold Bennett & Henry Purcell). The Books & Authors podcast includes two programs, Open Book with Mariella Frostrup, a magazine type program about all things bookish & A Good Read, where Harriett Gilbert & two guests discuss the books they consider to be good reads. This can lead to all round agreement & joy about a book or an embarrassing silence while one guest tells another that their choice did nothing for them whatsoever. There's also the monthly Bookclub with James Naughtie. Then there's Home Front, a drama about the people of Folkestone during WWI. Darleen reminded me the other day that, after a break, Home Front is back this week after a two month break. Hooray! Also Desert Island Discs, which has a very extensive archive of programs (over 1500 of them from 1942 onwards). This week, I listened to Mairi Hedderwick & Robert Hardy.

Home Front's role as my Drama of the Week has been taken over by Serial, which I mentioned the other day. only three more episodes of Serial to go &, as it's a real story rather than a fictional drama, who knows if we'll be given any definitive answers at the end? Other podcasts are linked to magazines I subscribe to, like History Today & BBC History magazine. Always interesting & often linked to articles in the latest issue.

Then, there are the bookish podcasts. Simon Savidge from Savidge Reads is involved in two of them. You Wrote The Book! where he interviews authors from Richard Flanagan & David Nicholls to Rose Tremain (coming soon). The Readers is a book-based banter podcast with Simon & Thomas from the My Porch blog. Two men, one on each side of the Atlantic, talking about everything from favourite bookshops to reading plans & what you would replace if your books were lost in a flood or fire. Books on the Nightstand is a podcast I've only recently discovered. Ann & Michael work for Random House US (although the podcast is a private project not connected to RH) which gives them access to lots of new books & they also talk to booksellers as part of their work. They discuss everything bookish & often answer questions from listeners about bookish problems. They've just posted their Christmas gift guide here. It's where I first heard about Serial. Why I Really Like This Book was one of the first podcasts I became addicted to. Kate discusses many of the middlebrow authors I enjoy like Georgette Heyer, E M Delafield, Rose Macaulay & Nancy Mitford in fortnightly podcasts of about 10 minutes. The last few weeks have been devoted to the Harry Potter series which I'm lukewarm about but I've listened to most of the archive & I almost always want to read the books that Kate really likes.

So, that's it. The podcasts that inspire & sometimes confuse my reading. Thanks Rose for suggesting I post about my listening as well as my reading.

12 comments:

  1. Podcasts are my classroom on the go! We share an interest in quite a few programs but Why I Really Like This Book is a new one to me so thanks so much for mentioning it. Off to download....

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    1. I think you'll love WIRLTB, there are lots of your favourite authors there. I'm really hoping that no one will suggest any new, fabulous podcasts to me as I don't know when I'd fit them in!

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  2. This is a dangerously tempting post....there is only so much time and so much to read and listen too... Fortunately quite a few of the BBC programmes you mention I already love but you've added more ...ones I haven't heard of ..and you've made them sound so irresistible.... the best I can say is at least they aren't fattening (mind you I'm sure there are some great cookery podcasts somewhere) :o)

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    1. Thanks Val. I'm always hoping I won't come across any more good podcasts because I just don't know where I'd fit them in. I wish my drive to work was twice as long!

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  3. Oh Lyn, thank you! That was like sitting down to a lovely big plate of Christmas dinner and wondering where to start! I am going to treat this like a buffet and choose a little bit here and a little bit there. Thank you for a post I'll keep coming back to!

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    1. I'm glad you liked it! Now if only we could arrange a couple of extra hours in the day just for listening...

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  4. Podcasts are so interesting and addicting! I've been listening to Serial, and I like Desert Island Discs, too. But you've mentioned several podcasts that I'd like to try. Home Front sounds really good as I like stories set around WWI.

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    1. Home Front is very good. Only 10 mins a day, Mon-Fri. It's probably not too late to catch up. I listen to the omnibus at the weekend while I'm cooking or ironing. I'm looking forward to getting back to it this weekend.

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  5. I already listen to several of the podcasts you recommend, but I've added several. I listen to podcasts in the morning while I'm getting dressed or when I wake up way too early and can't get back to sleep. Jack and I have also listened to them while driving back and forth on our trips to Boston. He especially enjoys the History Extra podcasts. Since we live in the heart of the city, I love the Coast and Country podcasts, when I can hear the sounds of the country and imagine the sights as they're described.

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    1. History Extra is one of my favourites too. I enjoyed going back through the archives & listening to some of the older ones as well.

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  6. I discovered Home Front when some broken bones laid me low!!! In fact I can say I thoroughly enjoy the BBC IRadio site!!! I'm delighted that Home Front will be around for a long time. I listened to Tommies and to The Mystery of Udolpho and some other stories. They are a bit abridged but the acting is superb. I definitely encourage all to go to the IRadio site and serch for some goodies---even available in the US!

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  7. The BBC is amazing, isn't it? Our local version (ABC) has just had its funding cut back by the federal government. Not sure what all the repercussions will be yet but it won't be good. I'm looking forward to listening to the Home Front omnibus over the weekend.

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