LimbicNutrition Weblog

Podcasts

This American Life [ Website / iTunes / RSS feed ]

The joy of my Podcast life is the peerless weekly podcast of the award-winning radio show “This American Life.” First-person stories and short fiction pieces that are touching, funny, and surprising. Hosted by Ira Glass, from WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. In mp3 and updated Mondays.

Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett [ Website ]

“American Public Media’s Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett is public radio’s weekly conversation about religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas. Speaking of Faith does not always have religion itself as a subject. Week after week, it grapples with themes of civic life — asking how perspectives of faith might distinctively inform and illuminate our public reflection. The Speaking of Faith podcast contains each week’s program in its entirety and is updated every Thursday.“

I am at best a secular Buddhist but pretty much an atheist yet I still love this brilliant show. It has destroyed my prejudice against “religious people” and introduced me to to some magnificent public figures.

Some recent episodes of note are:

•  Moral man and Immoral Society, a show about 20th century theologian and macro-historian Reinhold Niebuhr
• Reflections of a British Muslim a show about British activist Ed Husain who was seduced, at the age of 16, by revolutionary Islamists but managed to escape
• L’Arche - a community of brokenness and beauty, a show about philosopher Jean Vanier, a truly beautiful man
• Brother Thay - a radio pilgrimage with Thich Nhat Hanh, about my guru and spiritual mentor, Thich Nhat Hanh

Joyrise with Karen Jarrett [ Website ]

I first came across Karen and her unbelievably gorgeous voice whilst listening to the podcast she does with her husband Jason about Buddhism (”A Buddhist Podcast” which I also recommend). Joyrise though is Karen’s personal show and is an absolute joy to listen to. Karen is so cute with her Swiss accent, occasional gaffs (never edited out) and her infectious positivity. Recently the show has adopted a sexy theme which compliments Karen’s sexy voice. I recommend bringing this woman into your life for some aural loveliness and a dose of simple kindness and positivity combined with great music and insightful quotations.

Theatre of the Mind with Kelly Howell [ Website / RSS feed ]

Personal transformation with the wonderful Kelly Howell and her often superb guests.

Radio Lab with Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich [ Website ]

“On Radio Lab, science meets culture and information sounds like music. Each episode of Radio Lab® is an investigation — a patchwork of people, sounds, stories and experiences centered around One Big Idea. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, Radio Lab is produced by WNYC public radio.”

Zencast [ Website ]

Beautiful and brilliant lectures on Buddhism and the Buddhist life. Look out for Gil Fronsdal and the magnificent master, Thich Nhat Hanh

Streams and Radio Stations

David Byrne radio [ Website ]

My hero and role model Kevin Kelly explains:

When it came to music, I was an old fogie. I had a shelf full of Bob Dylan, Allman Brothers, Brian Eno, and more Bob Dylan. You know, old guy’s music. I actually liked a lot of the new popular music I overheard, I was just not up on it. Didn’t know what was what. Recently I’ve found [a] tool to keep me current with great contemporary music that wasn’t just top 40. My iPod is now full of some pretty hip music, which I thoroughly enjoy.

…For one or two days a month I queue up David Byrne’s Radio Station on the web and listen to his two-hour loop of new, wonderful, delicious tunes. Rock-star Byrne is a professional musical pioneer, admirably eclectic in his taste, yet astutely discriminating at the same time. Over years of listening to all kinds of music — experimental, indie, international, fringe, classical, pop — he’s heard enough to make some great recommendations. Given his reputation he is constantly asked what he is listening to. In answer he has generously turned his play list into a streaming audio station. When you tune in, you are hearing the music he plays in his office.

Each Radio David Byrne playlist runs a few hours long before it repeats; it keeps cycling the whole month. It’s kind of like listening to a 2-hour album over and over again.This gives you a chance to “master” the new music you are hearing. Past playlists have focused on “Icelandic Pop,” “Movie sound tracks,” “Opera highlights,” or, my favorite, “Eclectic Stuff.” This month (Feb 08) the theme is “African Fusion Pop” — Byrne’s favorites from two decades of exploring modern African hits.

I listen to each list for a few days as I work, slowly accumulating my favorites. There is a handy Amazon link near the tunes available for download, which makes adding a new song to your own collection a no-brainer. Or you can copy the metadata and hunt for it on iTunes or E-Music, etc. Byrne earns a few cents for each download, which keeps his bandwidth going. Over several years of listening a few hours per month I’ve gotten a great education in contemporary music. I know Dylan has a satellite radio show, but really, more legends should do this — stream what you love.

Besides the fact that Byrne’s Radio station has introduced me to fantastic artists (sometimes preempting my kids!), I also like the fact that it is demonstrating a workable, legal (at the moment) model for music exploration: Expert + Sharing + Purchase.

Proton Radio [Website]

The absolute best dance music radio station out there bar none. Superb intelligent dance mixes and for paid subscribers a permanent archive of mixes.

Audio Blogs

Public Radio Redux [ Website ]

“There’s way too much audio in the world to catch everything that comes out of your clock radio. Public Radio Redux shines a spotlight on stories that makes you turn and look at your speakers. It’s a curated list, a place to make comments, and a blog about making radio. Consider it the espresso in your daily public radio fix.”