Podcasts - Pick of the Week

Recently, I became the happy owner of a red 80GB Zune (don't snark at me that it's not an iPod, I had my reasons). After spending quite a bit of time packing it with as much music as I had to lay my hands on - I decided to play with the podcasts directory.

Knowing what podcasts were, and never being terribly interested, I decided to delve a bit deeper. And Holy Mother-of-Audio-Bliss, was I surprised and elated to find a whole world out there of great podcasts. I tend to like stories and commentary, and don't really care to hear the news, or how-to's, world music, interviews, etc.

I grew up in the 70's listening to people read me stories aloud, great radio programs - like NPR's "The Spider's Web" and "A Prairie Home Companion", and I also had a kick-arse collection of records, "Free to Be You and Me" with a ton of folks like Marlo Thomas and Alan Alda, and my prize collection of 12 (read 24 stories) "Let's Pretend" records, which I still own. The latter had stories and fairy tales like "Rumpelstiltskin", "The 12 Dancing Princesses", and "Faithful John". When I discovered that story-time was alive and well in podcasts - a new universe was opened through my Zune. One of cozy moments snuggled up listening to stories - as an ADULT! Okay, a lot of them so far have been cozied up to my glass workbench, but who can be choosey?

I've decided to share my joy by selecting my Podcast Pick-of-the-Week. This week, it's an old favorite:

Garrison Keillor's monologues - News from Lake Wobegon

(from radio show "A Prairie Home Companion)

Approx. 15 minutes each, and just like I remember them.

This seems too easy, but these monologues were just what I needed to start myself out. His perfect low radio voice, his amusing small town anecdotes that wander from here to there and back with perfect synchronicity ... Not to mention, there is some nostalgia in it for me. I didn't listen to PHC for the folksy music when I was a kid - it was to hear about Lake Wobegon.

Podcast training wheels, so to speak! Give it a try.