For going to sleep purposes I Like The Naked Scientist, the proper one, not the little segments.
The Naked Scientist is kinda current science news though, so the back catalogue doesn't really appeal.
Even better is In Our Time (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/episodes/downloads)
It is going to take me some years to get through In Our T' at my present rate of consumption.
I may fall asleep ten minutes in, so next time start tenish minutes in.
No woke zealotry here to keep you awake, grinding your age diminished teeth.
The perfect aid to repose for old white bastards?
Just so.
I've enjoyed The Infinite Monkey Cage (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snr0w) In the daytime but they are much too jovial to be conducive to sleep.
More a video source than podcasts, but I enjoys a lot of this here - even for sleeping purposes;
https://www.youtube.com/@progress-technology
I think I may have plugged this here video before;
Also, I must admit partiality to well-made Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. My current source is Dungeon Dudes. For simplicity, here be a YT link, though other platforms are available. (Currently listening to Dungeons of Drakkenheim, which... Fun and entertaining for we fantasy nerds)
https://www.youtube.com/@DungeonDudes
Not specifically-Atheist, "any" of that, but inoffensive to "our" religious(-less) sensibilities.
Thanks for the recommendation of "In Our Time." I think I'll be enjoying those. As for my own recommendations, I'm afraid I mostly listen to things with less universal appeal.
For rude silliness leavened with trivial information, I listen to Jim Jeffries "I Don't Know About That."
One that is really well-researched and articulate is "Know Your Enemy", but its focus is American (mostly) conservative thought and politics.
I've mentioned "Le Show" from Harry Shearer before.
"Fever Dreams" is again occupied with American conservativism, focusing on the more fringe elements.
Have not tried any atheist podcasts but with this thread in mind, I may give some a try see if any of them are worthwhile. Shearer has a recurring feature ("News of the Godly") which is basically a catalogue of the unsavory capers and self-righteous buffoonery of religious figures. I suppose in the end the discrepancy between the "good" words of the religious and their harmful/destructive policies and behavior is a fairly significant element of atheist polemic.
If Hitchens were still around and were doing a podcast, I suppose I would listen. He had a wonderful way with words, even when declaiming views that I disagreed with. I wonder if he would have tended towards his brother's views in his later years. Perish the thought. :evilgrin:
I've been enjoying "In Our Time." Took a while to tune my ear back to the BBC English intonation (I used to go to sleep listening to BBC 4 but it's been a few years). Especially as delivered in perfect "reedy professor" by Melvyn Bragg. I initially subscribed to "History" and "Science" as well but now realise all that does is duplicate any episodes that qualify. Thanks again for the recommendation, Sir Albert. ;D
Quote from: Recusant on May 28, 2023, 03:24:08 AMThanks again for the recommendation, Sir Albert. ;D
Glad you're enjoying it.
I thought hieroglyphics were symbols that somehow conveyed meaning.
It seems they represent the sounds of language, like our alphabet.
I don't know why I didn't know that.
The Rosetta Stone
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000s2qd (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000s2qd)
I am hooked on the Up and Atom series for science and math bugs. The Aussie woman who delivers the concepts is charming. She manages to make difficult concepts nearly understandable.
Ooh! I knows that one. Is good. :smilenod:
Here, I'll embed a vid for those interested;
I like listening to Anna
Anna Funder and Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life (https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/the-book-show/anna-funder-kerry-taylor/102558416)
Enjoying Behind the Bastards. The host can be terribly annoying, but the shows are well researched, and occasionally pretty funny. Just listened to the six-parter on Henry Kissinger and learned a lot. More niche: I also really enjoy Another Not Guilty, in which the host interviews American public defenders who've had a recent not guilty verdict. The trial stories are great.
Been going through some of the Citations Needed (https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/) episodes. Apparently there is another with a nearly identical name, but with "Citation" singular in its title--completely different. Citations Needed is nominally media criticism though it often is left oriented social and political commentary with a focus on media.
Trying out Tides of History (https://wondery.com/shows/tides-of-history). Just the free episodes of course. I've listened to worse history podcasts. :sidesmile:
Unexplainable (https://www.vox.com/unexplainable)
This item cross-posted (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/index.php/topic,14125.msg434779.html#msg434779) in the Neanderthal thread with an additional item there--relevant for both.
Below a link to an episode of the "Unexplainable" podcast discussing the findings at Grotte Mandrin, a cave in France which appears to have been used by both Neanderthals and modern humans in roughly the same time period.
I've read critiques of "explainer" journalism, of which Vox is a prominent purveyor, but the podcast isn't too bad. The link above goes to the podcast page, which currently features the Neanderthal episode, but that will be supplanted, so here's a relatively permanent link to the episode on another site (https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/unexplainable/where-to-meet-a-neanderthal-2bs-_hYauAd/). Of course can be found through any podcast app as well.
Also a link to a transcript (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qbHXjZ5elIpjq8E1JEsRLxzajoN3Nk1lB6LkeaeJ4T4/edit?tab=t.0) of the episode on Google Drive. Not sure if that link will work, so also a link to the archive (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bMXuLuyy3zTLCnblKVWUBq4Gd84PY8sG) of transcripts.
Will post an article from the Smithsonian magazine on this topic in the Neanderthal thread.
I haven't been following the BBC as closely as I used to, so just heard the Melvyn Bragg is stepping down from being the host of In Our Time. You could hear in his voice in the past year or so that he wasn't in the best of health. Turns out he's been battling cancer and a serious infection of some sort for at least a few years now.
His work on that programme has been superb, in my opinion, and I think the BBC may struggle finding somebody to really take his place. Fortunately there are (as he has reminded us lately) over a thousand episodes available as podcasts. Lately I've been exploring the back catalog a bit, and have not been disappointed.
Bragg says he's recovering well, so good health to him. :cheers: :spock:
I think The Conversation Weekly (https://theconversation.com/the-conversation-weekly-a-new-podcast-from-our-global-network-153606) deserves mention in this thread. I genuinely appreciate their work--regularly cited by me in the Science board here. :)
I'll check it out. A lot of podcasts seem to simply show a portion of a news story, then pausing to reiterate what was said. Don't need the repeat...and I can draw my own conclusions based on what comes from the person's mouth. Usually.
i have never . . . listened . . ? to a podcast?
are they things you listen to, or do you also watch them?
Many podcasts also have a YouTube channel where you can watch, but podcasts in themselves are audio only. There several apps that access the podcast world--currently I use Pocketcast.