About podcasts

I have, of course, known about podcasts for years, but never did anything with or about them.
I found the podcast app on my cell phone kind of by accident and checked to see if, perhaps, "Says You" (our favorite radio show) had a podcast.  It did.  I added it to my favorites but never did anything about it...or figured out what to do about it.

But with our new sleeping arrangement -- and who knows how long it will last -- I've been learning about podcasts.  Walt tried sleeping upstairs, but he does better downstairs, and he has been falling asleep at 9:30, lights out and golf on, leaving me with an evening with nothing to do and too early to sleep!

Sometimes I sit in my office here and muddle about on the Internet, but once I get into my chair there was nothing to do but watch golfer after golfer after golfer just miss the hole at the end of their round of play.  I almost want to cheer when a ball actually goes INTO the hole.  Since this condition of Walt's started, I'll bet I have seen 100 golfers just barely miss the hole on the first try.

And I've started listening to "Says You."  Last night was funny.  The stage is set up with two teams of 3 at tables opposite each other, with 2 scorekeepers in between.

From left to right that's Caroline, Arnie, Paula, 2 scorekeepers, Tony, Francine and Barry.  Got that?

As I was listening to the show I realized something was wrong.  Host Richard was calling on the panelists but I was hearing Arnie in my right ear and Tony in my left and that just was not right.  When I switched the earplugs around, then the panelists were in the correct ear and all was right with the world.

With the success of "Says You," I also downloaded the podcast for "Check Please, Bay Area," the San Francisco PBS show which reviews local restaurants.  We used to love that show until ComCast in its wisdom decided to deny us access to the San Francisco PBS station.  So we have not seen it in a long time.  But I can at least get the sound of it...but I don't listen that much because it's just not the same without the video of the food they are talking about to go along with the critiques.

When I began giving up Rachel Maddow so Walt could watch the PBS news hour, I discovered that I could get her show as a podcast, so that is now part of my nightly company.

For a time I listened to an Outlander podcast.  Two women critique each show after it airs.  It's an hour podcast ending with emails from listeners commenting on their show the previous week.  I only made it through 1-1/2 shows before I realized I wasn't interested at all.  Too much giggling, men ogling (Jamie, Murtah, Roger), too much criticism about things left out from the book, etc.  It just made me sad that I could not relate to most of what was being podcasted, so I dropped it.

Then I saw a TV report on podcasts and it sent me searching through the lists to see what else interested me.  I can't remember how many podcasts a day are uploaded to the Internet.  I barely touched the tip of the iceberg. 

I discovered that if I can't watch Morning Joe, I can hear it as a podcast.  I also added a couple of NPR shows I have enjoyed.  I thought Andy Cohen's show would be fun to listen to since I hear so much about it and never watch it.  "Stuff You Should Know" looked interesting, the current episode being about how lobotomies work.  I also added The Daily Show and Sunday Morning's Willie Geist show, which I always record and almost never watch (now I can always record and almost never listen).  There are a couple of show biz podcasts, one of which, Theater Talk, has been a favorite TV show which seems not to be broadcast any more.  There are several episodes, supposedly, on the podcast, but I haven't been able to get any of them to load yet.

One of my favorite new podcasts is Chris Hayes "Why Is This Happening," the podcast that expands his nightly news show.  I listened to the hour interview with his long-time friend, Rachel Maddow. 

I have often said that one of my favoritest things to do is to go to a Davis Comic Opera Party and just sit and listen to Steve Peithman and Jim Lane talk.  Both are theater experts.  Steve had a radio show for years, where he played soundtrack from musicals and explained them.  Jim is a movie reviewer for one of the local papers.  But both men are a treasure trove of entertainment memorabilia and just to listen to them makes the evening for me.

That's what the Hayes-Maddow conversation was like.  Not scripted, not like either of them would present it on camera, but just two very intelligent, very knowledgeable friends sitting and shooting the breeze about current events--and lots of other stuff.

So with my newfound podcasts, I am perfectly fine with golf all night.  I have my own world to sink into until I'm finally sleepy. 

Of course I also realized last night that I could probably call up a movie on Netflix, which opens up a whole 'nother avenue of entertainment.  I may never sleep again.

If anyone knows any great podcasts I should try, let me know.