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
A Secret Atoms For Peace Track, Roxy Music As ’20s Jazz, More (Wednesday, January 30, 2013) — On this week’s episode, hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton are back with their latest mix, including a hard-to-find track from Thom Yorke’s latest project, Atoms For Peace. The song “What The Eyeballs Did,” doesn’t appear on the band’s upcoming album, Amok. But if you do some digging on the group’s website, you’ll find a hidden link to download it. Also on the show: Bob and Robin travel back in time to hear Bryan Ferry’s Roxy Music re-imagined as ’20s jazz instrumentals. Seriously. No singing. Just swingin’ jazz instrumentals. Plus: A hazy, country-tinged track from Night Beds; the shape-shifting sounds of Unknown Mortal Orchestra; soaring pop from the band Caveman and the crazy-catchy debut album from Ex Cops.
Book Reviews from The New York Times
Book Review Podcast (Friday, February 01, 2013) — This week, Christoph Irmscher discusses the life of the scientist Louis Agassiz; Leslie Kaufman has notes from the field; Timothy Naftali talks about Richard Nixon; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.
Books Podcast from NPR
NPR: 01-31-2013 Books (Thursday, January 31, 2013) — Stories: 1) Jane Austen’s ‘Pride And Prejudice’ At 200 2) E-Readers Track How We Read, But Is The Data Useful To Authors? 3) Watch This: Neil Gaiman’s Imaginative Favorites 4) Rare Robert Frost Collection Surfaces 50 Years After His Death 5) A Colorful Anniversary: The Caldecott Medal Turns 75
Brain Stuff from HowStuffWorks.com
Where did the hamburger get its name? (Friday, February 01, 2013) — The word ‘hamburger’ seems to imply that pork is a main ingredient, but in fact, this famous beef sandwich got its name from a city. Learn more about the origins and spread of the hamburger in this episode of BrainStuff.
How do self-setting clocks work? (Wednesday, January 30, 2013) — Self-setting clocks and watches synchronize themselves with the atomic clock in Colorado with the help of a special radio station. Find out how — and learn more about NIST’s radio station — in this episode.
What gives a Harley its distinctive sound? (Monday, January 28, 2013) — A Harley Davidson motorcycle emits a very distinctive sound because of the unique way its engine works. Find out more in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
The Nazca Lines (Friday, February 01, 2013) — Built around 2,000 years ago in the Nazca desert of Peru, the mysterious Nazca lines form thousands of drawings across the desert floor. Learn more about the Nazca lines — and what makes them so cool — in this video podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.
Culturetopia from NPR
’30 Rock,’ Getting Meta, and The PCHH FAQ (Friday, February 01, 2013) — This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See’s Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Trey Graham and Glen Weldon talk about NBC’s ’30 Rock,’ which just had its series finale. They’ll discuss what the show did particularly well, including being meta — how a comedy show on NBC about a comedy show on NBC worked. They’ll also drum up other examples of metacommentary done well and not so well in TV, film and theater. Finally, they take on listener questions about the Zaxxon rule and more in a Pop Culture Happy Hour FAQ. All that, plus What’s Making Us Happy This Week.
Film Junk
Episode 403: A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (Monday, January 28, 2013) — We take A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III and discuss J.J. Abrams directing a new Star Wars movie plus Promised Land, Undefeated, Robin B Hood, Miami Vice and Babe.
Freakonomics Radio
Would You Let a Coin Toss Decide Your Future? (Wednesday, January 30, 2013) — Levitt and Dubner go deep on “Freakonomics Experiments,” a new research project that lets you take a chance on life.
PopStuff from HowStuffWorks.com
The Parenthood Wars (Wednesday, January 30, 2013) — Parents often feel attacked by proponents of the childfree movement, and childless people become frustrated by insinuations that their lives can’t be fulfilling. What makes this topic as potentially divisive as politics or religion? Tune in to learn more.
Is Pinterest suffocating creativity? (Monday, January 28, 2013) — People freely admit to losing hours on Pinterest, but does all that pinning lead to any actual creating? And how often are pinners just parroting other people’s ideas? Tracy and Holly delve into the good, the bad and the gray areas of Pinterest.
Science Talk from Scientific American
Creativity’s Dark Side: Dan Ariely on Creativity, Rationalization and Dishonesty (Tuesday, December 25, 2012) — Dan Ariely is professor of behavioral economics at Duke University. He talks about the subject of his most recent book, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone–Especially Ourselves.
Sound Opinions
Sound Opinions with Trey Parker & Matt Stone (Sunday, January 27, 2013) — South Park fans rejoice! Trey Parker and Matt Stone – the creative minds behind the TV series and the Tony Award-winning musical Book of Mormon – are live in the Sound Opinions studio talking comedy and music. Later, Jim and Greg review new albums from New Order and Parquet Courts.
Stuff To Blow Your Mind from HowStuffWorks.com
Pineal Optics: My Third Eye (Thursday, January 31, 2013) — Prepare to open that third eye, listeners, because Robert and Julie are taking you on a journey from philosophical ponderings about human spirituality to scientific explorations of the human pineal gland and the extra parietal eye common to other animals.
Undercover Actors and the Shadow Self (Tuesday, January 29, 2013) — Whether you’re an undercover cop, an actor or just playing nice at work, you’ve had experience pretending to be a someone else. But how does it affect the real you? Join Robert and Julie as they delve into the science of personality and the shadow self.
Stuff You Missed in History Class from HowStuffWorks.com
The Booth Conspiracy (Wednesday, January 30, 2013) — Most people know the story of President Lincoln’s assassination, but what happened afterward? In this podcast, we cover John Wilkes Booth’s escape, his co-conspirators’ attacks against other officials and the strange connections between Booth and Lincoln.
Who is D.B. Cooper? (Monday, January 28, 2013) — In 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines flight 305. He received a ransom of $200,000 — and then jumped out in midair. Over the years, the FBI has searched for Cooper with little luck. Tune in to learn more.
Stuff You Should Know from HowStuffWorks.com
How Gold Works (Thursday, January 31, 2013) — Over the course of history, humanity has only mined 161,00 metric tons of gold. Considering about 85 percent of gold is recycled, there’s a chance your jewelry may once have been part of an Incan headdress or Mycenaean face mask. Listen in to learn more.
How Stuntmen (and -women) Work (Tuesday, January 29, 2013) — They get blown up, shot, drowned and thrown out of windows on the silver screen – and we don’t even know their names. Stuntpeople are the unsung heroes of the movie industry. Learn the ins and outs of the stunt world and how one becomes a stunt person.
WNYC’s Radiolab
Shorts: The Bitter End (Tuesday, January 15, 2013) — We turn to doctors to save our lives — to heal us, repair us, and keep us healthy. But when it comes to the critical question of what to do when death is at hand, there seems to be a gap between what we want doctors to do for us, and what doctors want done for themselves.