Disclaimer: This post is about listening and not about the fantastic AlJazeera English programme which deals with social media in the mainstream.
I have been meaning to write this post for a long time. The first great victory of technology in my life happened when I discovered audiobooks and podcasts.
Let me start with audiobooks. I always looked at them with suspicion. Being a non-native speaker, and not having been exposed to much spoken English at the beginning of my language learning career, I never understood how people could listen to recorded stories. Then I went to Kurdistan, and bought a set of iPod speakers which came with a free Audible download. On the ridiculously slow connection I downloaded the first book (Khaled Husseini’s Kite Runner), and I started listening, and then … I didn’t go to bed until it finished – I was hooked. Every month since then, the “let’s-choose-a-book-ceremony” takes place in our little family, and I am always jealous when it’s my wife’s turn to choose.
One of my most recent favourites was Remember Me by Melvyn Bragg (more about him later). A beautiful story an
d extremely well written – I enjoyed every minute of it. It’s not what happens that grabs you, but the way the story is written. There is no suspense as such but the language just takes you all the way from the first to the last moment.
Audiobooks are a great way for me to keep up with literature – usually of a more popular kind.
If there is anything you suggest I should listen to, let me know.
But the revolution to my listening habits came with podcasts.
Here are some of my favourites and a brief explanation of why I love them:
Dan Carlin has to be first I mention. He has two podcasts. One of them, Common Sense
, deals with the United States and the most pressing current issues of this last superpower, which Dan believes should not be a superpower at all. He is passionate, honest, and provocative. Once you get over his sometimes irritating voice, you are in for a real eye-opener about America by an American journalist, who decided to become the voice of nonpartisan America. If you want to understand the USA, you should hear what Dan has to say about it.
Dan’s other podcast, Hardcore History
is one of the most fascinating, passionate and well-informed podcasts on a relatively random selection of topics in history. Dan looks at historical events with a fresh, inquisitive pair of eyes, presents both sides and – although sometimes he gets a bit carried away – he makes his point very clear. His four-part series on the Ostfront was the podcast achievement of 2009. An absolute delight, and like all things good in life, comes in small doses. Never too early and always eagerly expected.
Language Learning:
“Deutsch – warum nicht?”
and “Langsam gesprochenene Nachrichten” are my two new loves, especially the latter one. I am half German but unfortunately I have never had the chance to learn the language properly. I enjoy however, listening to the news in German and trying to figure out the stories as presented by Deutsche Welle. One of the reasons why I started this is to remind myself how difficult learning a foreign language is, even if it’s not that foreign. It’s also very good to get a bit of a look at the world through German eyes. If you’re learning a language, whatever your level, I’m sure you’ll find a podcast that helps you enjoy that language.
Radio Shows:
Radio 4 and ABC Radio National are a constant source of delight and joy.
Melvyn Bragg and Laurie Taylor come up with the most fascinating discussions about relevant, interesting topics. Melvyn sometimes flies high above my head, and I don’t understand a single word of what is being said – like the episode on the music of the spheres – but most of the time the topics are fantastic and both Melvyn and Laurie have a special talent of finding great people to talk about the topics of their expertise. They are funny and clever – what you expect from Radio 4. Great Lives is a recent find and I am very excited about it. A famous person (politician, artist, musician, you name it) is invited to talk about a person they admire, and an expert is invited to fill in the academic details about the person. Fantastic idea and some really good conversations, which have become the number one listening as soon as they are on the iPhone.
The World Book Club is also produced by the BBC and it’s a unique opportunity to have the greatest authors of contemporary literature talk about their work, usually one specific work.
The Aussies are a bit different but equally impressive.
I am a bit behind with my Lingua Franca programmes, although I really enjoy listening to Maria Zijlstra talking to people about language. The sheer diversity of topics she finds is impressive. The people are usually academics but they all have some very interesting things to say about certain aspects of language.
The podcast I never miss however, is the Philosopher’s Zone, where Alan Saunders looks at philosophical issues that are somehow relevant. Great conversations that make you think about important questions we don’t usually have time for.
The iTunes store runs a fantastic series where literary figures get a chance to meet the audience at the Apple Store and talk about literature, books, and apples. The great Stephen Fry did a fantastic job talking about his experiences with the digital age.
Nigel Warburton, author of the fantastic Philosophy: the Classics – also as a Podcast, does something similar but even more engaging with his fantastic series called Philosophy Bites. One guest talks about a person, a question or an issue prompted by real life but interpreted philosophically. The best of contemporary philosophers are invited to talk about issues close to their hearts. Nigel Warburton is on Twitter, too.
Then there is my love of a lifetime: history. There are hundreds of great history recordings. Apart from Dan’s Hardcore history, the History of Rome is an absolute favourite, Mike Duncan knows how to tell a story, when to make funny asides and get even personal. His presentation of an evergreen topic is addictive. Thousands of people download travelling back in time with him.
I loved Lars Brownworth’s fantastic series on the Byzantine Empire and I was very excited to find out from Jim Mowatt, of Historyzine fame, that he has just started a new series on the Normans. After four episodes I can say, that anyone interested in a good yarn should listen to this podcast presented very eloquently, in great and interesting detail.
I mentioned Historyzine. The focus of the podcast is the War of Spanish Succession, which pretty much created the foundations of Europe as we knew it and had far reaching consequences. Jim created a complete history programme, (with a brilliant piece of music to set the mood) great reviews of podcasts, and blogs about history. It also has a great trivia section on the origins of certain English phrases. (The last time, mind you, I disagreed with him on the origin of “put your nose to the grind stone”. While he suggests that it originates from the knife sharpener’s stone, I would rather think it to be a reference to the mules that were tied very close to the grind stones on the flour mills and were made to walk around endlessly. – Does anyone know the answer?) This podcast is a great find. A fascinating topic, great presentation and a wealth of information.
Matt’s Today in History by Matt Datillo is a great short series that has become much less frequent in the last year or so. The idea is great. Matt chooses a day of the week and makes a 10-15-minute very well prepared and presented podcast about an event that took place that day. I enjoy this podcast but I think a series like this should be more regular. However I understand that creating, researching and recording a free downloadable podcast is a very time consuming thing. Matt tried to turn podcasting into his livelihood. It didn’t work out, so it remains a random treat but a treat all the same.
HowStuffWorks.com has some fabulous programmes and a great website, and although I do listen to the episodes of Stuff You Missed in History Class, I have to admit that it is a bit too American for me. The programmes are incredibly well researched, have depth and the commentators’ enthusiasm for their subject is undeniable, but it’s just not my cup of tea – I might have an American History teacher or two to blame for this.
Cameron Reilly, the visionary behind The Podcast Network, produced two great history podcasts together with the American Napoleon buff J. David Markham. The Napoleon series was a fascinating discussion about one of the most controversial and influential characters of European history. The Biography Show never really fulfilled its potential. The 10 episodes were good but lacked the passion, preparation, dedication that made the Napoleon series such a delight despite its incredible length. (54 episodes – over 100 hours.)
Finally, a few words on two fabulous podcasts. Anne Hodgson asks a seemingly straightforward question every week or so and then records her own answers to it. I’m pretty sure that every reader of this blog knows this great little idea. If not, head over there now. The way I do my “Anne Hodgsons”: Step 1. Read the question. Step 2. Think about it for a day. Step 3. Listen to what Anne says. Rarely do I get round to step 4: Leave a comment on her blog, but that’s what I’d love to do. Even better: Between steps 2 and 3: Write down/record my answer to the same question before listening to her answer.
The other podcast from my PLN is by Darren Elliott, the “lives of teachers” is on its way to becoming a very exciting programme where an interesting person talks to other interesting people he happens to meet.
This is rather a lot, you’d think, and I agree. This is about 10 hours of listening a week, on average. Listening to podcasts and audiobooks has pretty much replaced music recently. My drive to and from work is at least 1.5 hours a day, and then there is the treadmill, the pacing up and down the flat with Sophie, the occasional walk to the shops or cooking.
I didn’t talk about iTunesU which is another favourite. It perhaps deserves a whole post, because it’s not only the programmes but the concept that makes it a very interesting phenomenon.
My simple challenge, or rather request: Recommend a Podcast to me (preferably not EFL or technology). By doing this and linking to them we actually support these great people doing great stuff.






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