Welcome to Podcast Friday!, a weekly compilation of some of the more interesting podcasts from around the web, listed right here for your listening pleasure!
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All Songs Considered from NPR
Can’t We All Just Get Along? Our Search For The Albums Everyone Loves (Thursday, May 17, 2012) — When the NPR Music team started talking about the 25th anniversary of Paul Simon’s Graceland, we soon realized everyone on staff agreed it was one of the all-time great records. That doesn’t happen very often, especially in a group of people with such divergent tastes in music. This discovery got us thinking: Is it possible to form a top ten list of records everyone can agree on? The kinds of records that, if you put them on at a party, everyone would say, “turn it up!” So we need you to vote. We’ve started by nominating 20 albums that we think will be loved by everyone who listens to them, and we want you to tell us whether YOU feel that love. To keep this running through the summer, we’ll need more suggestions for albums that might fit the bill. Keep voting, and by August we hope to have a final list we can agree on. A big quest like this one needs a big kickoff, so for this week’s show Bob and Robin play a few selections they and the rest of the NPR Music team think everyone will love.
Book Reviews from The New York Times
Book Review Podcast (Friday, May 18, 2012) This week, Joe Klein talks about Jonah Goldberg’s The Tyranny of Clichés; Jeff Shesol discusses Eric Alterman’s history of liberalism from the New Deal to the present; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.
Books Podcast from NPR
Maurice Sendak, Rachel Maddow and more (Monday, May 14, 2012) — Stories in this episode: 1) An Inside Look At Sendak’s Wonderful Magic 2) Drift: Rachel Maddow On Why We Go To War 3) Wolf Hall Sequel: Cromwell In All His Complexity 4) Teachers Make A Difference, What About You? 5) Beyond The Blonde: A Look At Marilyn’s Inner Life
Brain Stuff from HowStuffWorks.com
Why do feet stink? (Wednesday, May 16, 2012) — What causes stinky, smelly feet? Sweat and bacteria. Find out exactly how bacteria turn sweat into malodorous feet in this episode.
How do instant cameras work? (Monday, May 14, 2012) — Instant cameras makes it possible to see a photograph almost immediately after you take it. But how? In this episode, Marshall explains the chemical processes behind regular and instant photographic film.
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
The Pacific Coast Highway (Friday, May 18, 2012) — Summer’s almost here and it’s time for a road trip! We’re heading down the Pacific Coast Highway in California. We’ll stop at Monterrey, Carmel, and Big Sur, check out the magnificent scenery and discover other landmarks along the way.
Culturetopia from NPR
Pop Culture Happy Hour: TV Season Postmortem, Old People, Young People (Friday, May 18, 2012) — This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See’s Linda Holmes, Trey Graham, Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon talk about how the recently concluded TV season went — what was picked up, what was cancelled and who knew Revenge would turn out to last so long? Then the gang touches on pop culture portrayals of older and younger people. Then as always, What’s Making Us Happy this week.
Film Junk
Episode 368: Dark Shadows (Tuesday, May 15, 2012) — We sink our teeth into Dark Shadows and discuss the Gangster Squad trailer plus Ed Wood, Demons, Face Off, Assault on a Queen, Shark Night and the beautiful game.
PopStuff from HowStuffWorks.com
Astrology: What’s PopStuff’s sign? (Wednesday, May 16, 2012) — Tracy and Holly both have some embarrassing confessions to kick this one off. What is it about astrology and horoscopes that makes even non-believers check their sign’s daily predictions? Is there really science that validates astrology?
Collecting: Popstuff’s Cabinet of Curiosities (Monday, May 14, 2012) — Is it true that everyone collects something? Many of us feel compelled to acquire and curate our hearts’ desires, but why are we so attached to this idea? Which one of the PopStuff gals is most likely to be a hoarder?
Science Talk from Scientific American
The Football Concussion Crisis, Part 1 (Tuesday, May 15, 2012) — NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson joins former NBC anchor Stone Phillips and pathologist Bennet Omalu for a discussion of chronic traumatic encephalopathy among football players. Recorded May 12th at the Ensemblestudiotheatre.org, site of the new play Headstrong about the brain injury issue.
Sound Opinions
Sound Opinions: Songs for Mom (Sunday, May 13, 2012) — Let’s give it up for Mom! Tune in for Jim and Greg’s Mother’s Day soundtrack. If this doesn’t make you call more often, we don’t know what will. Plus, Jim and Greg remember Adam “MCA” Yauch.
Stuff To Blow Your Mind from HowStuffWorks.com
Nebula in a Box (Thursday, May 17, 2012) — We’ve all heard about panspermia, in which the building blocks of life theoretically travel to Earth from elsewhere. But from where, exactly? In this episode, Julie and Robert glimpse inside the nebulae of creation. Also, Robert talks about “The Blob.”
Three Minutes Till Impact (Tuesday, May 15, 2012) — Sure, your chances of going down in a plane crash are pretty slim — but what if it actually happens? Without a parachute, how can you hope to survive a deadly drop to Earth’s surface? In this episode, Robert and Julie discuss your survival plan.
Stuff You Missed in History Class from HowStuffWorks.com
The Prince of Humbug: P.T. Barnum (Wednesday, May 16, 2012) — P.T. Barnum is best known as a circus man, but he spent most of his career running a curiosity museum and staging freak shows. Barnum attracted people to his American Museum through shrewd advertising, or “humbug.” He also wasn’t afraid of a hoax.
Operation Mincemeat (Monday, May 14, 2012) — Once the Allies invaded North Africa, the Nazis began planning. Both sides knew Sicily was the obvious choice for the next Allied invasion, so the Allies needed some subterfuge. Luckily, the British had an idea — and all they needed was a dead body.
Stuff You Should Know from HowStuffWorks.com
What is the future of Earth? (Thursday, May 17, 2012) — What will the Earth be like in 5,000 or 50,000 years? In this far-sighted episode, Josh and Chuck explore how Earth may change over time. Listen in to learn more about humanity’s odds of survival — and how technology just might save us.
Interpol: World Police (Tuesday, May 15, 2012) — Interpol is an international police agency that helps other law-enforcement agencies track criminals who operate across national borders — but how does it work, exactly? Join the guys as they delve into the world of global law enforcement.
WNYC’s Radiolab
Shorts: Colors Sneak Peek (Monday, May 14, 2012) — Just before the curtain went up on our live show in Los Angeles, Jad and Robert carved out a little stage time for a sneak peek at next week’s Colors episode.