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
Dinosaur Jr. Returns, Metal From Baroness, Son Lux And More (Tuesday, July 10, 2012) — On this week’s All Songs Considered, listen to what happens when Robin takes a chance on an album based solely on its cover art, and when Bob brings on a surprise guest who makes our ears bleed. Also, the forthcoming album from Taken By Trees, the solo project of Victoria Bergsman, was inspired by a recent trip to Hawaii. Premiering here, “Dreams” is a tropical, slightly sultry song. Plus, Bob Boilen schools Robin Hilton on their bet from last week by twisting the numbers a bit, but the search for the Albums Everyone Can Love is far from over. You can hear the entire discussion above and listen to each track discussed below.
Book Reviews from The New York Times
Book Review Podcast (Friday, July 13, 2012) — This week, David Sanger discusses Barack Obama’s foreign policy; James Shapiro talks about A. N. Wilson’s book The Elizabethans; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.
Books Podcast from NPR
Author and Screenwriter Nora Ephron Remembered, Teenage Brain, more (Thursday, June 28, 2012) — Stories in this episode: 1) Ephron: From ‘Silkwood’ To ‘Sally,’ A Singular Voice 2) Rich Reads: Historical Fiction Fit For A Queen 3) As The Earth Slows, This ‘Miracle’ Becomes Calamity 4) Dr. Karp On Parenting And The Science Of Sleep 5) Teenage Brain: Gateway To A ‘Bright And Dark’ World.
Brain Stuff from HowStuffWorks.com
Why do Wint-O-Green Life Savers spark in the dark? (Wednesday, July 11, 2012) — If you’ve ever bitten into a Wint-O-Green Life Saver candy in the dark, you’ve probably noticed an accompanying spark of light. Marshall Brain explains the chemistry behind the phenomenon known as triboluminescence in this episode.
How does Christmas work? (Monday, July 09, 2012) — Christmas is the biggest holiday on the American calendar — but how did it get this way? Travel back in time with Marshall Brain as he explores the evolution of Christmas in this special holiday episode.
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
Cleveland Rocks (Friday, July 13, 2012) — This week, we visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Where else can you see The Beatles’ drum set and Katy Perry’s candy coated dress? Find out what else you can see at this museum, plus learn how it came to Cleveland in the first place.
Culturetopia from NPR
Spiders And Kittens And Lots Of Gratitude (Friday, July 13, 2012) — This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See’s Linda Holmes, Trey Graham, Glen Weldon and Stephen Thompson discuss this summer’s latest superhero movie The Amazing Spider-man, a reboot of the series retelling the origin of Peter Parker. Is it good, is it bad, is it necessary? Then, revisiting the made-up holiday Appreciation Day, in honor of this show’s second anniversary, and what in pop culture has the gang grown to appreciate in the last year? All that plus What’s Making Us Happy this week.
Film Junk
Episode 376: The Amazing Spider-Man (Monday, July 09, 2012) — We get bitten by The Amazing Spider-Man and discuss the Jack Reacher trailer plus Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, Zodiac, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Sunshine, and The 39 Steps.
PopStuff from HowStuffWorks.com
Bootlegging: Files not Booze (Wednesday, July 11, 2012) — No, Tracy and Holly are not donning flapper costumes and talking about the era of speakeasies. They’re discussing digital piracy and how the Free Culture movement is changing the way people think about creative work in the digital space.
Dear PopStuff, am I normal? (Tuesday, July 10, 2012) — Who really writes in to advice columns? Tracy did once, but that was long ago. From Emily Post to Dan Savage, Tracy and Holly discuss advice columns and their place in the cultural landscape.
Science Talk from Scientific American
Plants Know Stuff (Friday, June 29, 2012) — Daniel Chamovitz, director of the Manna Center for Plant Biosciences at Tel Aviv University, talks about his new book What A Plant Knows.
Sound Opinions
Sound Opinions Summer Record Reviews (Sunday, July 08, 2012) — Jim and Greg’s inboxes having been filling up with new releases. Tune in as they review albums by Best Coast, Patti Smith, and Bobby Womack during our Summer Record Review Roundup. Plus, Billboard’s Joe Levy talks rock n’ roll cruises.
Stuff To Blow Your Mind from HowStuffWorks.com
Magicology: The Science of Magic (Thursday, July 12, 2012) — Illusionists merely engage a fiction of sorcery, but there’s a rich foundation of neuroscience beneath the smoke and mirrors. In this episode, Julie and Robert explore the ways in which magicians manipulate our senses and the inner workings of our minds.
The Art and Science of Camouflage (Tuesday, July 10, 2012) — There’s far more to military camouflage than painting a tank green. As Robert and Julie discuss in this episode, camouflage design incorporates both the neuroscience of how we perceive the world and the art of cubism and textile design.
Stuff You Missed in History Class from HowStuffWorks.com
What happened to the lost colony at Roanoke? (Update) (Wednesday, July 11, 2012) — Of all the mysteries we’ve covered, the lost colony at Roanoke is one of the strangest. In this classic episode, former hosts Candace and Josh recount Roanoke’s story — and there’s a new development, one that may finally reveal the fate of the colonists.
The Prisoner Princess: Sophia Dorothea of Celle (Monday, July 09, 2012) — Sophia Dorothea of Celle married her cousin, George I of Great Britain. Sophia had an affair with a Swedish count, and her in-laws decided to stop the couple from running away together. The ensuing events became known as the Königsmarck Affair.
Stuff You Should Know from HowStuffWorks.com
How Lightning Works (Thursday, July 12, 2012) — You’ve seen lightning before, and maybe you’re even afraid of it. You should be. The air is ripped apart and a sudden electrical discharge burning six times brighter than the sun connects with Earth. Learn all about it with Josh and Chuck.
Geysers: Nature’s Innuendo (Tuesday, July 10, 2012) — The spectacular eruptions of steam and water we call geysers are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, the result of thousands of years of specific natural conditions and physical processes. Learn the Stuff You Should Know about geysers in this episode.
WNYC’s Radiolab
Shorts: Radiolab Remixed (Monday, July 02, 2012) — Turning ideas into radio is one of the most exciting, frustrating, rewarding, and insanely fun things there is. Which got us thinking–why not ask you to join in on the fun? So we teamed up with Indaba for our first-ever remix competition. And now we get to play the winners.