Five favorite podcasts

Here, in no particular order, are five of my favorite podcasts.

Radio Oh La La This is the only music podcast I subscribe to. It's dedicated to French pop music from the '50s and '60s and is hosted by a Dutch woman named Natasha who presents the show in English. I thank her for introducing me to the music of the German band, "Les 5 Gentlemen," who sing in French. Subscribe to podcast (Update: Natasha says: "By the way, I'm not Dutch, I'm French Canadian, although I live in Amsterdam" and Mark Bellis says Les 5 Gentlemen hail from Marseilles, France.)

MacBreak Weekly Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann, Scott Bourne, and Alex Lindsay team up with guests to jawbone about all things Mac related. My favorite part is the hosts weekly software picks. One recent program that I found out about on this podcast is CoverScout, a $20 utility that grabs music cover art for your digital music. Subscribe to podcast

Kasper Hauser Comedy Podcast The first thing I ever heard from this comedy sketch group was a parody of Star Trek, in which Captain Kirk has ingested a psychedelic plant and is freaking out. I immediately subscribed to the podcast and caught up with all the previous episodes. Their New York Times wedding announcements are awesome, as is their take on This American Life. They are also the creators of one of the funniest books I've read in years, SkyMaul: Happy Crap You Can Buy From a Plane. Subscribe to podcast

The Sound of Young America This "Public Radio Show About Things That Are Awesome" features interviews with authors, film makers, comedians, and artists. Host and producer Jesse Thorn is a wonderful interviewer who keeps things moving without getting in the way. I especially enjoyed Jesse's interview with magician Ricky Jay Subscribe to podcast

Moldawer in the Morning David Moldawer picks three topics in the news and discusses them with a special guest. As David explains at the beginning of each episode, "Expect a medium amount of bullshit." Subscribe to podcast

[#1 posted by Matt Hames , February 15, 2008 8:46 AM]

I think of Podcasting like Tivo for Radio, I can listen when i want to what i want. And there's a lot of good radio (and podcasts) out there. Here's my five in no particular order.

1. Radio Lab, WNYC in New York. The production of this show is awesome. I love the way the introduce guests. I love the way they read credits.

2. This American Life, WBYZ Chicago. On a weekly basis, this is must-listen to radio.

3. The Curling Show Podcast, New Jersey. The first true podcast on my list. We've often said about our game that the best in the world are really approachable. This is them giving their time to a podcast. I love to think about how many of them learn about Podcasting when interviewed on this show.

4. Prime Time Sports from the Fan590 in Toronto. I live in the US, but this show is the best damn hour of sports radio there is. bonus marks for how fast they get a show that airs from 6-7 online.

5. Vinyl Cafe Stories, CBC radio. Stuart McLean is the best story teller I've heard. Actually, he's tied with David Sedaris. Both tell stories about their families. In Stuart's case, his family is completely made up, but once you get to know them, you'll love them.

Who needs TV?

Matt Hames.