In my post about the Microsoft Silicon Valley vanpool I mentioned how podcasts saved my sanity while driving in the heavy traffic.  One of the other vanpoolers mentioned that I should blog the podcasts I listen to (Thanks Yvonne).  So here I am on my ride blogging again.  This could get to be a habit. :)

Having more time to write can be a bad thing. ;)  I started writing this post and before I knew it it had become a 2000 word mega-post. :O  That’s not exactly what I had in mind.  Personally I prefer to read posts that are short and sweet.  So with that in mind I’m going to split this into a series of posts on the subject.  In this series, I’ll try to put some structure around the podcasts I listen to regularly.

I guess I’ve just subscribed to too many of these.  That’s no big deal.  There’s no law that says you have to watch all of these.  At first I did feel guilty if I fell behind in a series but I’m so over that.  There’s just so much out there to watch or listen to that all you can do is pull together the stuff that interest you and see what happens.

Today’s post is about the Entertainment podcasts I listen to.  See my other posts about Technology, Startups, Miscellaneous and Video podcasts.

Entertainment Podcasts

In the evenings I like to mostly relax and listen to stuff that’s entertaining but still makes me think a little.

• NPR Fresh Air
  • I tried to explain to my son the other day why I liked Fresh Air so much but couldn’t really do it.  The fact is I’m not sure why this show is so good.  It just is.  The people they have on tend to be interesting.  Typically that means authors, musicians, artists or pretty much anyone you might find interesting; politicians even, who knew they could be interesting :).  The interviews themselves tend to be quite good; going deep on the areas I want to hear about.  This one is about 40-45 minutes long.

• This American Life
  • Another public radio show that’s just great.  This American Life picks a theme each week and goes out and find interesting stories on that theme.  The stories are told by the people who experienced them.  Sounds boring but it’s incredibly interesting.  I’ve had a number of times where I’ve pulled into my driveway and turned off the car and kept listening ‘cause I was so engrossed in the story.  It’s a podcast so yeah I could have paused it and listened to it later but the stories can be so incredibly interesting that you want to hear the end.  Each show is 40-45 minutes.

• NPR Science Friday
  • Science Friday is hit and miss.  There are some segments that I find interesting and some that I don’t.  The nice thing about this one is that each show is made up of many segments and each segment is made available as a separate file so if I don't find one interesting I just skip to the next one; no need to fast forward looking for the next segment.

• APM Sound Opinions
  • I’ve only recently started listening to Sound Opinions.  It’s a podcast on pop music.  The two hosts do a great job of talking about issues related to pop music and the industry.  I mostly listen because it’s a great way to hear new music.  One of the great thing about having a Zune is that you no longer have to listen to someone else’s programming on the radio; you listen to your own programming of the songs that interest you.  On the other hand that means that you have to find another way to discover new music or your collection will get stale.  The Sound Opinions podcast is a great way to hear new stuff.  Each podcast is typically about an hour long.

So what do you think?  Do you like these?  Are there others that you recommend?  Leave your comments in the area provided below.