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Killer Innovation

Hosted by Phil McKinney, Killer Innovation is intent on rekindling workers’ creativity that may be hindered by corporate bureaucracy. After listening to the show, it was obvious that Phil is passionate about the topics the show covers. He gives specific ways to come up with new and innovative ideas to help businesses separate themselves from their competition. While the show is aimed at large corporations with large budgets for project funding, the questions Phil encourages one to ask can be helpful to all business owners and employees. This show did seemed a bit long, however, and could probably be cut down to only 20 minutes. The audio quality is acceptable and Phil ensures that listeners have multiple ways they can reach him by being on Facebook and LinkedIn. Killer Innovation is worth your time if you are looking to break the corporate mold.

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Nature Podcast

Nature Podcast is hosted by Adam Rutherford and Kerri Smith and features journalists Geoff Brumfiel and Mike Hopkin. A note to listeners: The Nature Podcast may be difficult for those without a scientific background to really understand. This is certainly a compliment to the podcast because the information and news covered are reported in a competent and very educated manner. Most of the interviewees are the actual research scientists who have written articles for the Nature Journal. The hosts do a good job of clarifying what the interviewees are saying so that the material covered is more understandable to listeners. Each show has three segments describing three different studies. However, the transitions between these segments are rushed and not always clear, thus making it difficult to know when the show has changed topics. Also, there were some editing errors such as hosts repeating the same phrase twice, much like an audio loop. This was a noticeable distraction that took away from the show’s great content.

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The Bookcast

Hosted by Bill Thompson, The Bookcast is a clever and entertaining show that escorts listeners through interviews with today’s most notable authors. The range of subjects that Bill covers is an astonishing achievement. He interviews a variety of authors, including but certainly not limited to, those who write cookbooks, children’s books, and books with a political theme. Bill has a great blend of interviewing skills and knows what questions will push the author to reveal more, and he understands when it is best to keep quite. We had to count off on the clarity of the recordings due to the numerous locations where the recording take place. The background “noise,” such as public crowds, left us a bit distracted. This 15 minute podcast is a great way to find out about new books that one would be interested in reading.

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Morning Coach

Morning Coach’s mission is “changing the world 15 minutes at a time.” J.B. Glossenger is the very enthusiastic and encouraging host. He genuinely seems to want to help people better themselves. We applaud the encouraging message that is brought daily at 7:45 a.m. Eastern time. Unfortunately, the host tends to repeat himself and speak very quickly. Often times, what J.B. says in 5 minutes could be condensed down to just one minute. The sound production was acceptable; however, the lack of introductory music or audio bumpers to help the transitions of the show does take away from the overall listening quality. The episodes often end rather abruptly as well. With several tweaks and adjustments, the Morning Coach will be able to keep listeners and attract new subscribers.

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Skeptoid

Skeptoid is “dedicated to furthering knowledge by blasting away the widespread pseudosciences that infect popular culture.” Wow! The show does take aim at selected targets of assorted topics and declares war! Brian Dunning is the host of Skeptoid. He does a good job of presenting facts and making logical arguments to support them. Subject material covers various topics including everything from microwave safety to the existence of ghosts. The subjects being discussed will make you chuckle and more importantly, think. Sound production met our standard, but the show would be more enticing with the addition of simple audio effects and musical melodies. Brian Dunning seems to really know his stuff and is fun to listen to.

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Army Wife Talk Radio

The host of Army Wife Talk Radio, Tara Crooks, does a great job addressing issues that are important to army wives as well as women in general. This podcast is recorded weekly and provides a number of ways for listeners to interact during recording through real-time chat rooms, phone calls, and email. The podcast includes public service announcements important for military families, helpful household tips from listeners, and great interviews. The only problem with the podcast seems to be volume levels. Sound quality is drastically reduced by the process of remote recording. Callers and interviewees come in at a lower volume level than does the host. However, Army Wife Talk Radio includes great material and is of great service to the audience to which it caters.

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PodQuiz

PodQuiz is a weekly show that quizzes listeners on simple trivia. PodQuiz is hosted by the Quizmaster. The show uses a combination of music, sound effects and other fun noises to present a fun and entertaining listening environment. This is an enjoyable podcast that will keep those “on the go” entertained and give them a chance to brush up on their trivia. We must count off in the area of “Presentation (Delivery)”. While PodQuiz is very successful in bringing life and animation to the show, the Quizmaster’s tone lacks the animation that has been created so well in the content presented.

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Spycast

Each month, the International Spy Museum offers a new SpyCast featuring interviews and programs with ex-spies, intelligence experts, and espionage scholars. The content of the show is automatically appealing because of our curiosity about secrets and those who protect them. We at That Podcast Show applaud the CIA and those associated with Spycast for bringing the engaging tales of patriotism and espionage. SpyCast is hosted by Peter Ernest, a retired operative of the CIA. Peter brings his own enthusiasm to the program. As an interviewer, Peter may come across as a bit strong with interviewees. However, this does add to the no non-sense attitude of the show. We found the production value of the show to be plagued by background hiss and noise causing the dead sampling of the vocal interactions. SpyCast is able to peel back the stoicism often found in intelligence gatherings and allows us to peak into a world full of human emotion and deep passion. The content is rich and participants are credible thus giving us emotional perspectives that breathe life into the tales of men and woman that serve our country.

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The Latest at Facebook

The Latest at Facebook provides listeners with a way to hear about the latest breaking news from the world of Facebook. Offering “1-minute daily podcast”, The Latest at Facebook is comprised of a large list of episodes. David Lawrence serves as the friendly host for each episode. Audio production is professional and David Lawrence brings an amiable voice to listeners. The content is easily digestible due to the show’s length of time. Though the length of each episode can be a strength, we found it more of a liability in regards to this podcast. Coherency and solid amounts of information just cannot be presented within one short minute. Because of the large audience Facebook attracts, it may serve The Latest at Facebook to either go longer than a minute or begin offering the show on a weekly basis.

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Hometown Tales

As Hometown Tales tells it, “Every Town Has One. Local Legends, Folklore, Ghost Stories. Historic Oddities or maybe just a great greasy-spoon diner specialty.” Recently, Hometown Tales has celebrated their 200th episode. The hosts, Gene and Bryan, have good chemistry and can even finish each other’s sentences. The show forgoes the traditional audio bumps and transitions. However, Gene and Bryan include content such as previous shows for reference, interviews and the occasional mystery hunting expeditions. The audio levels are solid and both hosts provide amiable and articulate voices. The introductions to a few shows grows lengthy at times and the hosts have a tendency to ramble. However, Hometown Tales gets it right and produces a fun show.

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NewsCast Live

NewsCast Live is an established show having 156 episodes as of this writing. Mike James is the enthusiastic host that covers news in several categories. Mike brings a lot of energy to the show but comes across too strong at times, bordering on annoying. Yet, is is better to error on bringing too much rather than too little energy. Mike reads daily news while adding commentary to spin the story in an editorial manner. Audio content, availability and presentation are professional and well paced. The show stumbles on certain stories when Mike stays on the topic too long. Transitions would enhance the listening experience and audio bumpers would help the flow of the show. Overall, however, NewsCast Live adds refreshment to many stories that would otherwise be stale.

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eWeek News and Views

eWeek News and Views is presented by Ziff Davis Media Inc. The podcast does not bothering with much of an introduction. As with previous shows we have reviewed, it is difficult to rate a podcast that is purely informative. The content eWeek News and Views presents is valuable in that it brings many industry leaders together to discuss their company’s view of the market. However, it is disappointing to see such a large company as Ziff Davis produce shows of such poor sound quality. Both the interviewer and interviewee sound as if they were being recorded from a phone call conference. The level of background noise is impossible to ignore and vocal levels kills any tone variation that the hosts may be projecting. We recommend eWeek News and Views for the information that is discussed, but we are very disappointed at the sound quality and lack of professional presentation.
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