Lately I've been listening to podcasts on my commute to and from work. My drive is only 20 minutes, so most of the shows I spread over 2 or 3 car trips. When I bought my car (2003 VW Jetta 1.8T), I also bought a
Phatbox 20-Gig MP3 player. The nice thing about this MP3 player is it mounts in the trunk, uses a (custom) laptop harddrive enclosure, and interfaces with the factory stereo as if it were a massive CD changer. It makes podcast consumption very easy. I wrote a custom VB.NET application that puts podcast content into playlists, and once every couple of weeks I grab the drive out of my trunk, hook it up to my PC, and it copies the playlists to the drive. It's the way technology should work - no wires or hookups in the cabin, no FM tuners, and I'm using the car's factory stereo controls to browse for content. I love it.
I've actully been listening to podcasts for about 4 months now, and I'm starting to find some favorites. I've been wanting to recommend some to Karl, so rather than put them in an email, I thought I'd write my recommendations here.
A brief note to podcasters: As a balance to the things I enjoy about these podcasts, I've included a few words in each review of things I don't enjoy. Please don't be offended - I just want to be honest with my very short reviews. You are all immensely more talented than I am, and if you're on this list, I think your podcast is great.
Jeff's Favorite PodcastsBoardgames
Boardgames To Gohttp://boardgamestogo.com/The idea: Mark Johnson talks about a variety of Euro topics, with occasional "all about" shows, guest hosts and session reports.
The good: Mark's podcast is casual, well-produced, and all about Euros. It's a great main course for the Euro gamer. One of my two favorite shows.
The bad: Not much. Some of the guest hosts are only average and the "all about" shows can be skippable if you aren't interested in the game.
Have Games Will Travelhttp://havegameswilltravel.libsyn.com/The idea: Paul Tevis does 20-minute quality shows covering mostly boardgames, but occasionally interesting RPG content.
The good: Paul's podcast is the most professional I listen to. He's well-prepared, informed and brief. It's the cream of the crop, and always the first in my playlist.
The bad: A wee bit short, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The Dice Towerhttp://www.thedicetower.com/thedicetower/index.phpThe idea: Tom Vasel, self-styled "prolific game reviewer" gets super-excited about all kinds of designer games. Regular content from outside contributors adds to the flavor. A well-established format with a weekly top-ten list.
The good: I love Tom's enthusiasm for the hobby, if not necessarily his taste in games. He has a knack for knowing when to move the show along. Since Joe has left, almost the entire hour of the show is dedicated to Euro games. Great outside contributions of gaming news from Moritz Eggert and Rick Thornquist.
The bad: The departure of Joe is a big miss for the show, and I'm not a big fan of the new co-host. (sorry guys!) While the Moritz & Rick segments are great, the show is relying on a lot of outside contributions of varying quality. (In fairness, I'm a few shows behind, and I'm sure it will take a few shows to "settle in" to the post-Joe era)
Boardgame Babylonhttp://www.boardgamebabylon.com/The idea: Eric Burgess (aka Sheylon from BGG) uses his whole podcast to talk about boardgames.
The good: The podcast always sounds great, and is well-prepared. Eric's session reports are always a good listen. Best of all, he usually covers games I'm interested in, which is always a plus. Excellent Euro coverage.
The bad: Podcasting from a script sometimes doesn't work, especially when pre-planned humor is involved. I'd love to see some more spontaneous content.
Boardgame Speakhttp://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamespeak.phpThe idea: Aldie and Derk from Boardgame Geek have fun, talk games, and interview people in the industry.
The good:
I'm biased since I know these guys. But their status in the gaming
community means they get some good interviews. Aldie's a great anchor
for the show, and Derk being a jackass is always good for a laugh.
The bad: Very infrequent updates, and an uncertain future since Derk has moved to NYC.
Role Playing Games
Dice Make Bonkhttp://www.noirchickenstudios.com/Dice_Make_Bonk/The idea:
Two guys named Cameron and Tripp get together and chat about
role-playing experiences - usually their own, from recent games.
The good:
Hearing other people talk about their RPG sessions usually makes my
skin crawl, but for some reason these guys do it in a very
approachable, genial way. It's a lot of fun, and I enjoy hearing them
tell their anecdotes.
The bad: If the idea of listening in on two guys talking about their regular RPG
sessions doesn't sound interesting, skip this. It's not for everyone. Infrequent updates.
All Games Consideredhttp://allgamesconsidered.blogspot.com/The idea: Mark Kinney, Chris Heim and Carol are the hosts. They cover mostly RPG content, but Mark occasionally reviews a boardgame.
The good: I get exposed to a lot of RPG products that I otherwise haven't heard of. The hosts are very personable and fun, and the content never seems scripted.
The bad: The talk sometimes goes on long tangents. A lot of Changeling RPG talk, which doesn't interest me much at all.
Roll 2d6http://www.roll2d6.com/The idea: Adam and Nate produce a casual show about boardgames & RPGs.
The good: This is another podcast with the tone of a gaming conversation between two friends. It's casual and unstructured, which is sometimes nice.
The bad: Updates to this one are averaging about once a month, and I'd really like to hear more.
General Geek Culture
Nuketown Radiohttp://www.nuketown.com/podcast/The idea: Ken Newquist spends a few minutes talking about comics, games, television, movies, music, and various other geeky topics.
The good: Ken's podcast is very personable, and he always mentions something interesting that I haven't heard about yet.
The bad: With a show that covers a little of everything, some of the content might not be of interest.
Comicology
http://www.comicology.net/The idea: Neil Gorman, ultimate comic fanboy, spreads the good word about comics in general.
The good: For someone casually interested in comics like I am, Neil's podcast is just the right amount of detail. It serves both as an introduction for those unfamiliar with the subject matter, but dives deeper for people who already read them.
The bad: If a show covers a topic you're not interested in, you might as well skip the whole episode. In this respect, it's very similar to the "all about" shows that some gaming podcasts produce.
The Rest
In addition to the podcasts above, there are some shows I listen to semi-regularly. If you've enjoyed the above podcasts and are looking for more, these are the others I'd point you to:
Dragon's Landing (RPG)http://www.dragonslanding.com/mambo/The idea: Lonnie and Chuck produce a regular hour-long show devoted to tabletop RPGs.
The Vintage Gamer (Games, various)
http://www.thevintagegamer.net/
The idea: Jim Van Verth fills a very interesting niche when he revisits classic games, RPGs and computer games from the past.
It's Time For Games (Boardgames)
http://itstime4games.com/
The idea: Richard Denning takes a look at gaming life on "the other" side of the pond, from the UK. There's convention news & reports, reviews, and general talk about games, miniatures and RPGs.
The Unlistened
Finally, there are some podcasts I just haven't gotten around to yet. These are podcasts that have either launched recently, or I haven't subscribed to yet. I plan on adding these at some point in the future.
The Spiel (Boardgames)
http://www.thespiel.net/
Into the Gamescape (Boardgames)
http://www.thegamescape.co.uk/
Garrett's Games and Geekiness (Boardgames)
http://web.mac.com/dwgteach/iWeb/Garrett%27s%20Games
%20and%20Geekiness/Podcast/Podcast.html
Point 2 Point (Wargames)
http://point2point.libsyn.com/
Pulp Gamer
http://www.pulpgamer.com/