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
David Byrne & St. Vincent, Django Django And More (Tuesday, July 31, 2012) — On this week’s All Songs Considered: funny concert memories, one album with a wacky cover and a surprisingly great sound, a bittersweet goodbye and (of course) lots of new music.
Book Reviews from The New York Times
Book Review Podcast (Friday, August 03, 2012) — This week, Liesl Schillinger talks about Lydia Netzer’s first novel, Shine Shine Shine; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; Thomas Edsall discusses Joseph Stiglitz’s new book about economic inequality; 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
Why do people choke under pressure? (Friday, August 03, 2012) — Anyone who watched the Master’s tournament knows that Rory McElroy famously choked under pressure — but what exactly happened? In this podcast, Marshall explores the science behind choking in stressful or intimidating situations
Is it possible to rescue water-soaked electronics? (Wednesday, August 01, 2012) — Is it possible to rescue an electronic device dunked in water? In this episode, Marshall recounts an unfortunate meeting between a GPS device and a dog’s water bowl. Tune in to learn whether or not he was able to fix it.
How does the lighter in a barbeque grill work? (Monday, July 30, 2012) — A barbeque grill has a push-button lighter that relies on piezoelectricity to generate a spark. Learn more about how piezoelectricity works (and the kinds of devices that use piezoelectric materials) in this episode of BrainStuff.
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
Beautiful Banff (and Jasper) (Friday, August 03, 2012) — Our summer tour of North America makes its first stop in Canada: Banff and Jasper are two of the Canadian Rocky Mountain parks that form a UNESCO heritage site. Why are they on the list? What’s so special about the Icefields Parkway? Tune in to find out.
Culturetopia from NPR
When Gossip Invades Art, Plus People We’re Pulling For (Friday, August 03, 2012) — This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR’s Stephen Thompson, Glen Weldon, and guests Matt Thompson and Tanya Ballard Brown talk overexposed celebrities and gossip. Does endless coverage of an entertainer’s personal life affect our enjoyment of said entertainer’s work? Then, a round of ‘People We’re Pulling For’ — including Ben Falcone, Bob Odenkirk, D’Angelo and the world of self-publishing — and What’s Making Us Happy This Week.
Film Junk
Episode 379: The Watch (Monday, July 30, 2012) — We get bromantic with The Watch and discuss the Cloud Atlas trailer plus Bullhead, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Hostel: Part III, Brainstorm, Dick Tracy, Casa de mi Padre and a breakdown of how we rate movies.
PopStuff from HowStuffWorks.com
Why is this PopStuff stuck in my head? (Wednesday, August 01, 2012) — Have you ever had a song stuck in your head? That’s an earworm, and it’s an extremely common phenomenon. Holly and Tracy wonder why our brains latch onto small pieces of information, how you get rid of them, and why it’s important to study this field.
The Tragedy of Comic Sans (Monday, July 30, 2012) — Google “Comic Sans,” and you’ll instantly see a world of ire in the results. Many people just do not like this font, while others defend it as harmless and friendly. Tracy and Holly are wondering how a typeface can make people so very angry.
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 with Lydia Loveless (Sunday, July 29, 2012) — Singer Lydia Loveless writes country songs with punk rock flair. She performs tracks from her latest release, Indestructible Machine, live in the studio. Plus Jim and Greg review new releases from Passion Pit and Mission of Burma.
Stuff To Blow Your Mind from HowStuffWorks.com
I Scream, You Scream (Thursday, August 02, 2012) — From screaming infants to cinematic scream queens, there’s no denying the universal language of yelling. But why do we do it? What are we communicating? In this episode, Julie and Robert explain how a little screaming can do you a world of good.
Fecal Fossils: The Cave of Forgotten Poops (Tuesday, July 31, 2012) — You can learn a lot from an animal’s scat, even if that animal hasn’t walked the Earth since prehistoric times. In this episode, Robert and Julie explore the fascinating world of coprolite and ponder just what ancient humans and creatures ate.
Stuff You Missed in History Class from HowStuffWorks.com
The Nazi Games and Jesse Owens (Wednesday, August 01, 2012) — Most people associate the 1936 Berlin Olympics with African-American sprinter Jesse Owens. Yet the games were successful in terms of Nazi propaganda: More nations than ever participated, and the Olympic torch was used for the first time.
The Match of Death (Monday, July 30, 2012) — After the Nazis invaded Kiev, a bakery owner asked some Ukrainian soccer players to form a team. Their team was pitted against occupying powers. Many say their crucial victory over the Germans led to their deaths. But how much of the story is true?
Stuff You Should Know from HowStuffWorks.com
Can we build an elevator to space? (Thursday, August 02, 2012) — With the end of the shuttle program and an International Space Station still in need of supplies, the aerospace industry is working the kinks of out of a century-old idea to build a service elevator from Earth to outer space.
How the Musketeers Worked (Tuesday, July 31, 2012) — You know and love them as a fluffy chocolate nougat and maybe as a book and a movie, but musketeers were quite real and quite deadly. Visit with Josh and Chuck as they examine the elite special forces of 17th-century France.
WNYC’s Radiolab
Shorts: Argentine Invasion (Monday, July 30, 2012) — From a suburban sidewalk in southern California, Jad and Robert witness the carnage of a gruesome turf war. Though the tiny warriors doing battle clock in at just a fraction of an inch, they have evolved a surprising, successful, and rather unsettling strategy of ironclad loyalty, absolute intolerance, and brutal violence.