The Podcast Review

this is one of the most under-listened to podcasts out there.

Basically, it presents the talks of writers and thinkers that have released a new book  recently.  The talks take place in Philadelphia in front of a live audience, and questions are answered towards the end of the the 1 hour allotted.  There are very candid answers.

This talk by David Plouffe (Obama’s campaign manager) is especially insightful and revealing.

audio quality is very good for a live recording, and the range of guests is just exceptional.

add to your listening list now.

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this isn’t really a podcast as such, but is a loose collection of audio files.  The last posting was on March 2009.  What it is is a set of 23 talks given by Steve Pavlina, the personal development guru.  It is basically him monologuing in front of a microphone, waxing lyrical about money, careers, and the universe.  The guy is brimming with confidence, and seems to utterly believe everything that he says.  It is an example of true self-belief or ultimate self-delusion.  One can never tell where the line is crossed.

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the talks are energetic and go quickly.  Audio quality is quite good, as Steve makes quite a fuss about his recording equipment.  His wife Erin appears on a few occasions, and says her part on psychic phenomena and relationships.  She seems rather flaky.

whatever you think of the guy, Steve Pavlina has carved out his own place in internet culture – and was especially prominent in promoting blogging as a paying means of survival.  Tapping a few keys at your laptop, and earning big bucks from it?  He certainly shone a light for many people.

Nowadays he has a book and a seminal speaking career.  His site seems rather ancient and out of the times.  I wonder what role he has left to play.

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these two guys (Jett Loe and Gareth Higgins) are onto a winning formula.  Too often, film podcasts devolve into an endless stream of tangents and side-stories, minutiae that would bore the legs off a spider.  Well … no more!

The Film Talk presents to you a weekly podcast of TWO of the latest theatrical releases.  Packaged in half an hour, this is purely the films themselves, and nothing else.

Jett (on the left) hails from Nashville, and his sparring partner, Gareth, is from Ireland.  They bring a transatlantic approach to the discussion.  One might think American / European, or maybe just a mere clash of personalities.  Actually, despite what they claim, Jett and Gareth don’t argue, or get inflamed, they just provide alternative views.

The podcast has been running on 3 years now, and is just about to ring up it’s 100th episode.  The guys are on a fundraising drive, and keen to bring on any new listeners.  I definitely appreciate these guys’ up front approach; it makes a marked contrast to what else is out there.

Professional, intelligent, engaging, sometimes abrupt.  Heartily recommended.

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intelligence gathering is a feature of any organised society.  One has to know what the others around you are doing or thinking.  It helps inform your plans for warfare, diplomacy, trade, and treaties.  To KNOW, is a deep yearning for the human species; for we are fundamentally bound by Limited Knowledge.

intelligence agencies have grown with the size of the Society.  Just witness with CIA in the US, or the KGB in the USSR.  This is a NEED TO KNOW what the other side is doing.

The SpyCast is a monthly offering by the International Spy Museum, based in Washington DC.  The Museum itself was founded in 2002, and houses 600 artifacts from the world of espionage, going all the way back to the Greek and Roman times.  The podcast itself is a 20 minute offering, featuring a talk on a highly focussed subject – whether it be cyberthreats, the changing face of al-qaeda or u.s. navel intelligence in the second world war.

one has to keep an open mind re the information being presented (is it the whole story? is there an agenda being pushed?  misinformation?) but the talks themselves are direct and well presented.  This is well made podcast that could act as a template for other cultural institutions aiming to put themselves out there.  A fine outreach effort.

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the Illuminati have penetrated popular consciousness in recent years.  Thanks to the likes of Dan Brown and Zeitgeist, the word has become commonplace and almost cliche.  Some of these representations fail to mention that the original conception of this group (the grand grand Illuminati) have deep deep roots in the past – some of which may go all the way back to the Egyptians, and their pyramid schemes. Such is the symbolism on the american dollar bill.

this podcast – Taui – from Ra Amen, is a new arrival on the scene.  Started in Oct ‘09, it is a talk show that reveals the spiritual origins of the past.  It is rooted in the Egyptians and their illustrious Book of the Dead, but also encapsulates the Jewish Tree of Life, and the chinese qi gong principles. It is all embracing in matters of faith.

The discussion goes for 2 hours, so its a hefty listen.  There are also call ins from live listeners, as the show is produced on blogtalk radio.  Audio quality could be better – the speaker has some accented English, and one has to listen closely to make out each word.  The guest call ins are either too loud or too soft relative to the host, and voices are often clipped.  No doubt improvements will be made to this over time.

the information presented is deep, challenging, and ultimately profound.  It is spiritual science here; the true knowledge of man and his place in things; his function, and duty to the wider cosmos.  For spiritual seekers, some lovely lines to be found here.

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this is a fantastic weekly podcast from the BBC.  Broadcast every Sunday, hosted by Bridget Kendall, and running for around 45 minutes, this is a great panel discussion that brings together leading thinkers, scientists, analysts, and writers.  The opinions are diverse, and the subject matter is equally wide ranging.

One is often flooded with data and daily news – stepping back and putting things into a wider jigsaw is something sorely missing.  This podcast offers a chance to recall former times of discussion – a Forum in which things are beated out with stories, experience, and considered opinion.

unfortunately, as is the case with most bbc podcasts, the archives are missing from the itunes and rss feed – basically only the latest episode is downloadable.  An online archive page offers access to past material, but is an ugly barrier to listening.  I seriously protest and question this policy decision from the BBC.  Information is born to be free and easily accessible.

Forum Discussion leading to a wider understanding.  Enjoy it.

there was a time when recording was hard.  Before the age of cheap photocopiers, unlimited digital camera shots, terabytes of hard drive space.  We are talking about the eighties here, and the infancy of info tech.  And who can imagine the time before computers.  How did they survive such limitations on their knowledge and communications?  well, they did, and they did a remarkable job.  Sometimes extreme deprivations (here of connectivity to one’s fellow man, and access to their memories and experience) can lead to extreme deductive reasoning.  Sometimes one is forced to go down other routes to obtain insight; such as the use of psychedelic drugs.  Such were the times of the 60’s when visionaries abounded, and the world seemed to be a place of infinite potentials.  Such was the wonder in their eyes.

and so when we come to know and look back on those that forged the culture at the time, we remark: how the heck did they do what they did?  come up with the imaginative artifacts that still act as landmarks for us of a later age?  the likes of McKenna, Leary, R.A. Wilson … Sheldrake …

but luckily, these men were prolific talkers.  And many of their talks were recorded for posterity.  Often on some sub-standard walkman cassette tape, full of room noise, the audience as audible as the speaker, but recorded none the less.  The man known as Lorenzo undertook the task of releasing these talks in podcast format about 4 years ago.  So far, about 200 such episodes each an hour long have been set into the wild.  They are a body of learning.  They are also very funny.  These guys knew how to entertain and tell stories, and they are by no means shy.  Insights abound and dance in the crackling air.  Such a variety of thought-leaders are represented too.

you may not do grass or any other mind warping substances, but everyone has something to learn from those that have gone before.  Be humble.  Listen.  Tune in.   Tune out.

Wondrous.

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family is important; everyone knows that.  But so often our parenting styles are the ones we inherited from our own parents – our attitudes, our aspirations, our forms of punishment and reward.  And so, to progress as human and moral beings, how we raise our children is something that should be considered quite seriously.

Cliff and Stephanie Ravenscraft have three children.  They are also founders of the gspn Podcast Network.  Family from the Heart is one of their more earnest and direct shows (they also do tv related podcasts, and tech focused shows) and truly cuts to the quick.  Recent episodes have looked at being too over-protective parents, and some of the issues in the educational system – whether to hold one of their children back a year in class because their school grades were borderline on progression.  These are real-life issues, and these two parents weigh things carefully.

the podcast has quite a following, and one of the best features of the show is listener callback on previous episodes.  It is very communal, and a sharing of life experience.

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this is a twice weekly podcast from two internet legends: John C. Dvorak, long time columnist for PC Magazine and host of the Cranky Geeks Show, and Adam Curry; former MTV host, and a proponent of podcasting from the early days.  Both are formidable personalities, and have strong and articulate opinions.  Both are also well versed in the arts of media manipulation, and can deconstruct what is going on in the world around us.  Shows are 90 minutes long and are totally donation supported.

The podcast began as an informal chat between two friends, and has evolved into a smorgasbord of  analysis and tangential segways.  Conspiracy Theory seems to feature highly in their “No Agenda” agenda, and it is quite astonishing to see this field given some serious consideration.  I was certainly not expecting the subject of orgone and Wilhelm Reich to come up!

a constant theme of the show is how conditioned modern human beings are.  We live in a constant matrix of information that is controlled from on-high.  Just exposing this simple fact is a service enough.  But the other insights that John (the Buzzkill) and Adam (the Crackpot) bring to the table are pure gold.  We are talking about years of profound experience.

there are lots of funny clips in this show, and lots of laughs to be had beside the serious material.

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at the the heart of zen is a quest: that of integrating the mind (the human) with the body (nature).  This is often implicit and deeply understood, but in these lectures from WZEN.org this relationship is made much more clearer.  The divide that thinking leads to (separation from Source, imagined realities) is a deep source of pain and suffering for many.  But it is also an essential learning tool for us; for only by appreciating Source from afar (through separation) will we truly understand what it (and we) truly are.

deeply nested in Nature, zen aims to heal the divide that humans create by their mere existence.  Going beyond thought, beyond presumption, it just IS.

talks are recorded at the Zen Mountain Monastery, located in the Catskill Mountains, New York.  They are about 40 minutes long (easily digestible) and feature an array of guests; audio quality is clear and almost flawless.

we all quest for meaning in our lives; some is to be found here.

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