With the solar eclipse in the United States, and Ireland and the UK getting a partial eclipse, you’re probably sick of Moon coverage, but I would just like to point you to a couple of podcasts you’ll enjoy if you want more. Both shows are great, but if you’re only going to listen to one, listen to The Rest is History, sorry Radiolab. But you should listen to both! If you have even more time to spare, you should listen to the Omega Tau podcast episodes on the Apollo missions I listed in this blog post about Apollo. Fascinating listening. […]
Podcasts
I listen to podcasts
It was nice to hear an Irish voice, Sorcha, on the latest episode, Leif, of Heavyweight. Also, I totally forgot that Pocketcasts has a web player that syncs with the app. So handy! Another great episode of Cautionary Tales I listened to recently: All their episodes are great. You should subscribe. If you watched The Dig on Netflix, you’ll love listening to this episode of the Short History Of… podcast. Even though it’s a “short history”, it has a lot more detail about the dig at Sutton Hoo, the treasures found there and in nearby mounds. I started listening to […]
Podcasts
Dogs are the key to freedom
The most recent episode of the Reply-All podcast was a call-in show. It’s also the second of their shows recorded since the COVID-19 pandemic started and both presenters are recording from their own homes. One of the callers was Zorro, calling from Paris. He’s living with his girlfriend and parents and they’re in lockdown. Nobody is allowed out except in certain circumstances and one of those is to walk the dog. Apparently dogs are getting plenty of walking these days. They’re very popular! 🙂
Podcasts
If you love “13 Minutes to the Moon”
13 Minutes to the Moon is a BBC podcast telling the story of the first Moon landing and all that led up to it and it’s gripping listening featuring recordings from the time, great music and great story telling. However, if you want to dig deeper into the Apollo missions I would recommend the Omega Tau podcast episodes about the Apollo missions. I already blogged about them but it’s worth repeating since there’s probably a whole new audience that will want to hear more! Episode 83 is an interview with W. David Woods about his book How Apollo Flew to […]
Podcasts
The Antarctic Whale Hunters
One of my favourite podcasts is Witness by the BBC World Service. In each episode they talk to people who were there at moments in history. There are some amazing stories in their archive. Each episode is an easy to digest twelve to fourteen minutes long. In the latest episode Gibbie Fraser talks about his time on a whale catcher in the Antarctic in the 1950s and 60s. Other episodes that stand out for me: Â Britain’s Little Blue Disability Car Women Nurses during World War One When Belgium Banned Coca-Cola How I Survived a Fire on a Plane Surviving the […]
Podcasts
The Supernova in the East
The latest episode of Hardcore History is another amazing audio tour through history, even if Dan Carlin himself says he is unqualified and it might not be completely accurate. He’s a great story teller. This one covers the rise of Japan in the early twentieth century and beyond. Dan’s coverage of the Manchurian Incident reminded me I have to re-read the Tintin story, “The Blue Lotus“. Hergé definitely applied his imagination when recounting how the train track was blown up but I’d never have known about that period of time if I had never read that book. And similarly, I wouldn’t […]
Podcasts
Go Listen to Ezra Klein
When I find myself stopping a podcast a minute or so before the end because I want to be reminded to share it, I know I’ve found something that others will enjoy. When I find that it happens more than once I know I should just write a blog post about the podcast and encourage anyone reading to go subscribe. This happened recently with The Ezra Klein Show. I loved his interviews with Andrew Sullivan on his Catholic faith, why he gave up blogging and Donald Trump. There’s also the one with Arianna Huffington who talked about sleep, death and […]
Podcasts
A Conversation with Penn Jillette
This interview with Penn Jillette of “Penn & Teller” fame is fascinating. He really hates psychics, but he loves magic. There’s a world of difference.
Ireland , Podcasts
Sounds of the Irish Smoking Ban
It’s hard to believe that smoking was banned in the workplace in Ireland in 2004. It was a huge change but very welcome (by most) and the best thing a Fianna Fail government ever did. Listen to this Witness podcast on the subject here to be brought back eleven years. Since the ban it became clear that a bunch of dancing sweaty people consuming alcohol are a smelly lot but the increased ventilation that some nightclubs have installed has helped. 🙂
Podcasts
Samy is my Hero
I started listening to the Tim Ferriss podcast after Matt Mullenweg was interviewed by him and I’ve been hooked since. Tim’s interview with Samy Kamkar is really interesting as he’s the guy who launched the Samy computer worm that infected MySpace back in 2005. It was a little chunk of Javascript code that added itself to MySpace profiles, added Samy as a friend and added him as a hero of the visitor. They took down MySpace to clean it out! Since then he’s had a really interesting life and the interview covers many subjects like hacking online dating and opening […]