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
Newport Folk Festival 2012 Preview: Wilco, My Morning Jacket, tUnE-yArDs, More (Tuesday, July 24, 2012) — More than 50 years after it first started, The Newport Folk Festival continues to represent a broad range of American folk music and its many branches. It kicks off this Friday with full concerts by Wilco, Blitzen Trapper and Megafaun, and continues through the weekend with shows by Iron & Wine, Jackson Browne, Alabama Shakes, Conor Oberst and many more. On this edition of All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen talks with festival producer, Jay Sweet about the extraordinary talent that makes the annual music celebration so special.
Book Reviews from The New York Times
Book Review (Thursday, July 26, 2012) — This week, Nicholas Confessore talks about Samuel L. Popkin’s The Candidate; Henry Alford discusses two new books about modern manhood; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.
Books Podcast from NPR
Oslo’s Jagged Edges, Hemingway, Olympic Reads and more (Thursday, July 26, 2012) — Stories in this episode: 1) Jo Nesbo’s Fiction Explores Oslo’s Jagged Edges 2) New Edition Includes 39 Different Farewells To ‘Arms’ 3) ‘In The Attic’: Whips, Witches And A Peculiar Princess 4) Get Revved Up: London Cabbie Picks Olympic Reads
Brain Stuff from HowStuffWorks.com
Where should I sit to get the best ride on a roller coaster? (Wednesday, July 25, 2012) — Each roller coaster car is moved by the cars connected to it, which makes the experience of riding a rollercoaster a bit different in each car. Learn which seat on a roller coaster is best for you, based on science and your personal preferences.
How does your stomach keep from digesting itself? (Monday, July 23, 2012) — The stomach is a hollow, many-layered organ that produces powerful acids to break down food — and another substance to protect the stomach from being digested. Find out what this substance is, and learn more about the stomach, in this episode.
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
Ghost Towns of the American West (Friday, July 27, 2012) — Mining towns thrived at the height of the gold rush in the American West. But as the mines dried up, the towns soon followed. We’ll visit three of the most well-preserved and tell you a bit about their storied histories.
Culturetopia from NPR
Of ‘Dark Knight,’ Summer Games And Such (Friday, July 27, 2012) — This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See’s Trey Graham, Glen Weldon and Stephen Thompson are joined one last time by producer Mike Katzif for a roundtable discussion about ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ — the last in Christopher Nolan’s epic Batman trilogy, and one that sadly arrived with the tragic news of the shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Then, the gang looks toward the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in London and talk about what events or moments they’re looking forward to. All that, plus What’s Making us Happy this week.
Film Junk
Episode 378: The Dark Knight Rises (Monday, July 23, 2012) — We review The Dark Knight Rises and discuss the new Man of Steel teaser trailer, plus the Colorado shooting, a Fred Willard faux pas, Silent House, Shallow Grave, Operation Condor, Lord of War and The Devil’s Double.
PopStuff from HowStuffWorks.com
Don’t Drive Angry (Wednesday, July 25, 2012) — Even the most relaxed person can become irate behind the wheel. Do you or someone you know experience road rage? Tracy and Holly break down the statistics and contemplate the reasons so many people turn furious in their cars.
PopStuff Goes for the Gold (Monday, July 23, 2012) — It’s time for the summer Olympics! Holly has Olympics rabies, whereas Tracy is a more casual viewer. PopStuff examines the appeal of Olympic competition from the spectators’ point of view.
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 Dissects Ziggy Stardust (Sunday, July 22, 2012) — Forty years after its release, David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars gets the Classic Album Dissection treatment. And later in the show, Jim and Greg review the much-anticipated debut by R&B star Frank Ocean.
Stuff To Blow Your Mind from HowStuffWorks.com
There Once Was a Boson Named Higgs (Thursday, July 26, 2012) — If you’re tired of hearing about the Higgs “don’t-call-me-a-god-particle” Boson but still want to know what it is, then this is the podcast episode for you. In this episode, Robert and Julie recount our hunt for the Higgs and what it means for science.
Yoga, Sex and Magic (Tuesday, July 24, 2012) — Sure, you’re no stranger to yoga, but how much do you know about its ancient origins in magical ritual and tantric sex? In this episode, Julie and Robert peer into yoga’s sensual past and consult modern science on what yoga can do for your sex life.
Stuff You Missed in History Class from HowStuffWorks.com
The Strangest Games: The 1900 Paris Olympics (Wednesday, July 25, 2012) — In 1900 Paris Olympics are considered some of the strangest. Some sport historians don’t even consider them true Olympic Games. Many of the events were so under-promoted, the athletes competing in them didn’t know they were even in the Olympics.
The First Olympics, Revisited (Monday, July 23, 2012) — In this episode, we revisit a podcast on the first Olympics. The first Olympics featured familiar events, but also some lethal exhibitions. Married women were barred from watching the games, but victors could sometimes expect to receive meals for life.
Stuff You Should Know from HowStuffWorks.com
Stuff You Should Know, Live at Comic-Con (Thursday, July 26, 2012) — How does time travel work? Could it ever cross the line from science fiction into science fact? Join Josh and Chuck — along with a live audience at the 2012 Comic-Con — as they explore the ins and outs of time travel.
How White-collar Crime Works (Tuesday, July 24, 2012) — White-collar crime often involves fraud and other nonviolent acts. For most people, the term “white-collar crime” conjures up images of CEOs conniving their way to fortune. But what is it, really? Listen in as Josh and Chuck break down the facts.
WNYC’s Radiolab
Shorts: Double Blasted (Monday, July 16, 2012) — In early August of 1945, Tsutomu Yamaguchi had a run of the worst luck imaginable. A double blast of radiation left his future, and the future of his descendants, in doubt. In this short: an utterly amazing survival story that spans … well, 4 billion years when you get down to it.