Edgy Reviews from That Podcast Show: Podcasts Reviews

 

 Edgy Reviews from That Podcast Show Entry 26 [23:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The DNC Show

Category: Unknown

In the tradition of Men in Black, hosts call themselves "D" and "C" in this show that claims it cuts through all the BS out there. This show obviously has the explicit rating, and it should be noted that the hosts do not bother being politically correct. No topic is off limits. Episodes cover things from sex changes to avoiding taxes. Hosts D and C are familiar with one another and do not speak over each other, which is common in many podcasts. We enjoyed the creative "commercial" break parodies that served to vary the pace of The DNC Show. Listeners many find the bantering between the hosts humorous, but these are lude at times. An incredibly glaring omission as of this time is that The DNC Show does not appear in iTunes. The RSS feed on their web site does open in iTunes however. Also, volume levels were low forcing us to turn the volume all the way up to better hear the podcast.

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MSR All In Poker Podcast

Category: Sports & Recreation

Host Jonathan Levvy is coming up on the 200th episode of this poker and gambling podcast. A play-by-play of the "big hands" in the World Poker Tour is discussed in most episodes. Listeners with a working knowledge of poker terminology and the people on the tour will have no trouble understanding this show. Other gambling news and gambling stories from listeners are also included. Listeners who send it stories or pictures of "hot women" are likely to receive MSR Bucks from Levvy, but we are unclear on how these are spent or redeemed. Those with questions can post them on the posting board associated with this podcast. All In Poker Podcast has a catchy introduction and provides solid theme music which helps set the pace and mood for the show. Jonathan keeps the show upbeat and plays to the audience well.

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Mac OS Ken

Category: Tech News

This professional podcast is hosted by the ever-consistent Ken Ray. Apple news is presented five days a week in each 15 minute long episode. While this show is primarily informative, Ray’s wit and sarcasm add to the entertainment value. His love for all things Apple salivates through each show. Mac OS Ken’s catchy title and strong intro are additions to the podcast’s arsenal. Periodically guests are also featured on the show. Ray speaks at a nice pace with good diction, and the sound quality is fantastic. Listeners also have the option of listening to Ken’s 6th day podcast for a fee. We admire Ken for experimenting in monetizing his content. Ken Ray has a show that will entice Apple enthusiasts.

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Technorati Tags: Jonathan Levvy, Ken Ray, Mac OS Ken, MSR All In Poker Podcast, The DNC Show

 

 Edgy Reviews from That Podcast Show Entry 25 [23:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Golf Smarter Tips

Category: Amateur

Host Fred Green interviews various experts on this show that gives listeners golf strategies, exercises, and techniques to better their game. Each episode is only about 10 minutes long but packed with information. Many of the experts have their own books and/or videos that listeners can purchase to learn even more. The guests are well versed and match Fred’s style of conversation. Golf Smarter offers an all-around informative podcast that does not come from the staples of sports podcasting, namely ESPN and Fox. With the abundance of golfing tips and valuable reminders, there is not much to dislike about Golf Smarter.

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The Kunstler Cast

Category: Places & Travel

James Kunstler and Duncan Crary team up to offer The KunstlerCast. A variety of subjects under the category of "suburban blunders" are covered, including modern architecture, green space, and politics. The KunstlerCast is unique in the topics it covers each week. The show is billed as being "about the tragic comedy of surburban sprawl." If listeners find themselves wondering what this means, they are not alone. James and Duncan play to their strengths as Duncan serves as the inquirer, and Kunstler is set to provide direction. The duo do not waste time picking apart the stereotypes and differences between suburbia and urban society. Mr. Kunstler encourages listeners to pay attention to their surroundings and speak up if they do not like what they see. Periodically the subject matter was lost due to rants, but this was infrequent. The podcast is young and is still experimenting to find the best techniques to effectively communicate the ideology of the show.

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PodFlix

Category: TV & Film

Three movie-loving guys, Paul, Willie, and Nish, host this show. The label "explicit" is earned, but the show is funny. The intro is nicely put together and usually followed by about 10 minutes of entertaining conversing between the hosts. Two types of episodes are produced. One is about an hour long and covers a movie recently released to DVD, though the movie may have been made years earlier. The second type of episode is called "miniflix," and only lasts about 15 minutes. In both cases, movies are reviewed. Listeners receive a combination of personal stories, movie reviews (some very insightful) and other content that is highly unpredictable. Paul, Willie, and Nish have a tendency to get off subject and review movies in an unorganized way. In fact, the hosts distract one-another. These tendencies make the show longer than necessary. Episodes ended abruptly at times and sound skipped in a few episodes as well. The entertainment value is high and the sound is acceptable, however PodFlix fell in regards to the show’s running time and delivery.

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Technorati Tags: Fred Green, Golf Smarter Tips, James Kunstler and Duncan Crary, Nish, Paul, Podflix, The Kunstler Cast, Willie

 

 Edgy Reviews from That Podcast Show: Entry 24 [20:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Blog Business Success

Category: Business

Wayne Hurtbert is the host of Blog Business Success. Despite having “blog” in the name, subject material mostly falls in the “small business” sector. Blog Business Success has complimentary information for business owners ranging from marketing, product management, and techniques for running an effective business. Wayne is able to find guest who are well spoken for each episode. It is apparent, however, that Wayne is heavily dependent on the interviewees. If the guest is monotone or uninteresting, then the presentation of the show dives south quickly. The length of the show is too long, while transitions and musical bumpers are begging to be utilized to break up the show. This podcast is produced through Blog Talk Radio, which is notorious for poor sound quality. Blog Business Success is no exception; sound quality makes this show difficult to which to listen.

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.Net Rocks

Category: Software How-To

Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell are the hosts of .Net Rocks. The podcast is a refreshing breeze from many other technology-related shows. .Net Rocks is “pro” Microsoft offering perspectives from developers found in Microsoft Windows. Carl and Richard discuss a broad variety of material involving .Net developers including informative, personal, and political topics. Despite the potentially dry topic, the hosts are very entertaining. Really, they are! Both have great radio voices and play off each other well. The easy transitions from differing subjects aide the show’s fluidity. A startling fact that we disliked involved the use of commercials. Ads were placed in the middle of the podcast without a transition or warning. This disrupted the content that was being discussed. Overall, we are impressed by how versatile .Net Rocks is, even to those not familiar with Microsoft’s .Net.

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The Onion Radio News

Category: Comedy

Doyle Redland hosts The Onion Radio News, a daily podcast featuring a short “news clip” from a national publication known as The Onion. The Onion Radio News is odd. Funny stories, which are completely fiction, are presented in “breaking news” fashion. The style offers an attitude of sarcasm and silliness. The sound quality is well produced with a nice blend of mixing, music, speech, and other audio commentary. Since the show is only one minute in length, listeners must decide quickly if they either love it or hate it. Just as listeners are getting into the presentation style, the show is over. Giving four or five “breaking stories” in each episode would be very beneficial. The podcast is an accurate representation of The Onion. Just remember that while it sounds like a traditional media production, it cannot be taken seriously.

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Technorati Tags: .Net Rocks, Blog Business Success, Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell, Doyle Redland, The Onion Radio News, Wayne Hurtbert

 

 Edgy Reviews From That Podcast Show: Entry 23 [21:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Podcast Academy

Every show is introduced by Michael W. Geoghegan. The podcast consists of a series of shows featuring different speakers in each episode from The New Media Expo. Due to the high quality of presenters, Podcast Academy is full of very resourceful information of which many podcasters need to be aware. Podcast Academy allows those not able to make it to the Expos to hear speakers with great business and motivational skills. As we were listening to Podcast Academy it became apparent that this is a great source of information for those thinking about becoming a podcaster and of strategies for the more seasoned new media producers. The entertainment value for each episode is dependent upon the talent of the chosen speaker. The length of the show often takes away from the value of the content as they can be over an hour. Overall, Podcast Academy is a highly useful show with great sources of information.

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Planet Pulse

Astrology wizards Rick Levine and Jeff Jawer hosts this weekly podcast as a service offered by Tarot.com. Jeff and Rick describe the major astrological patterns of the day and the fact that they affect us, much like the changing weather. The daily shows rarely top five minutes. Specialties include Tarot, Astrology, Numerology and more. Planet Pulse is for knowledgeable listeners who already have an understanding of the topics discussed. The terminology used limits the show’s reach to a wider audience that may be curious. The two enthusiastic hosts caters to those involved in the special niche. Listeners are updated and given the earth’s location in relationship to the other planets and moon. This is supposed to affect our moods and thoughts, however the hosts fail to describe how this is the case. It would be beneficial for listeners to know how these facts apply to them. Sound quality is bombarded by background noise, hiss, and other artifacts making Planet Pulse “difficult on the ears”.

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Typical Mac User

Victor Cajiao

Victor Cajiao is host of the Typical Mac User. The podcast is aimed at Apple users with varying degrees of understanding. Victor uses a one-two punch in the formatting of the shows. One episode, for example, will be reminiscent of a one-on-one tutorial experience. The next show will then be of a more interactive format filled with live calls, guests, and content to help listeners better understand the Mac, iPod, and iPhone required for maximum enjoyment. He shares helpful tips with listeners about Mac software and hardware as well as troubleshooting problems. Victor is honest when a listener asks him a question to which he does not know the answer. Regardless of the format, the sound production is well produced. No doubt this is due to Victor’s admitted need to have the shows “just right.” The length of this show varies; the tutorial episodes run about thirty minutes. These are the easiest to which to listen. Episodes over one hour were too long as it is difficult to take in that much information at once.

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Technorati Tags: Jeff Jawer, Michael Geoghegan, Planet Pulse, Podcast Academy, Rick Levine, Typical Mac User, Victor Cajiao

 

 Edgy Reviews From That Podcast Show: Dan Carlin's Hard Core History, Brains Matter, Business Week: The Welch Way [20:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Dan Carlin’s Hard Core History

Category: History

Dan Carlin shares history with listeners in his storyteller, narrative style. The intro to this show is fantastic! Throughout his many episodes, Dan has covered history from the Bronze Age through World War II. He is very descriptive, and the word “passionate” does not even begin to describe his delivery. In fact, he is quite over-dramatic. Dan’s expressional tone and style would be great at story-telling time around a camp fire. His delivery style is similar to that of a small church preacher. The use of background and vocal effects is helpful by bringing the information alive. These are often played at such a low volume, however, that they sound more like background noise. Dan Carlin’s passion is admirable. However, the length of the podcasts are too long, and this became a distraction for us.

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Brains Matter

Category: Science and Medicine

This show is hosted by the self-proclaimed “Just an Ordinary Guy” or OG. “Science, curiosities, and general knowledge” are the focus of this podcast. Brains Matter mixes-up the shows with “Brain Teasers” along with guest interviews. Most of those interviewed are well spoken and pleasant to listen to. Unfortunately, Brains Matter goes down hill from there. The theme music for the show is used often during the podcast; this gets annoying very quickly. An odd feature that was hard to overlook was the placement of a listener comments section right in the middle of interviews. This seemed very out-of-place and awkward. Brains Matter is plagued by background noise full of hisses and hums. The unruly sounds are similar to high-spinning computer fans. If Brains Matter can make use of a room with less ambient noise and keep the computer from becoming so taxed, sound quality will greatly improve. This will increase the professionalism of the podcast. Despite hard work from the host, Brains Matters is not a memorable show.

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Business Week: The Welch Way

Category: Management and Marketing

Jack and Suzy Welch use this podcast to offer weekly advice that would normally cost corporations a lot of money. Unfamiliar with the history of Jack Welch? Jack was Chairman and CEO of General Electric between 1981 and 2001. During his tenure, GE increased its market capitalization by over US$400 billion. Jack and Suzy Welch are given high marks for being authorities on the subject they discuss. During the podcast, Jack and Suzy field questions from listeners and banter commentary off one another about issues facing the business market. The duo tackle topics such as corruption and misconceptions currently affecting the corporate world. These two recognize the importance of the average employee and encourage management to value these people. Jack and Suzy usually finish the podcast with a general lesson or thought to ponder. With all of this said, the sound production of The Welch Way is surprisingly poor. Jack and Suzy sound as if they are conversing through a recorded telephone connection. The production “flubs” keep us from understanding complete statements from Jack because his voice sounds garbled.

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Technorati Tags: Brains Matter, Business Week: The Welch Way, Dan Carlin's Hard Core History