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Trucker Tom

Category: Society & Culture

Trucker Tom is a founding pioneer in audio podcasting. Each Trucker Tom episode starts with a well produced introduction that is followed by Tom Wile’s audio diary. Tom drives an 18-wheeler across the Midwest in addition to driving towards the incredible 800-episode mark. This man is the epitome of consistency. Recently Tom has incorporated video into his feed as well. He informs listeners about where he is, what he is delivering, where he has eaten, and when he sleeps. The podcasting industry is a rapidly evolving field, and though this show is symbolic of how early podcasts sounded, Trucker Tom is not an entertaining show when compared to many podcasts now offered. Except for family, close friends, and other truckers, it is hard to imagine anyone else finding this podcast entertaining. The volume levels are consistent, but this causes a problem for the listener when Tom coughs and yawns; these sounds are quite loud in the listener’s ear. Also, the length of each show does not work in Tom’s favor. The audio, however, is acceptable, especially for a podcast that is always on the move.

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3 Wine Guys

Category: Food

This podcast has a great topical focus that will attract a specialized niche market. The hosts of this podcast, Terry, Scott, and Steve, have very distinguished palates and review three to seven different wines per episode. We were looking forward to listening to this show to expand our knowledge of the art of wine. The 3 Wine Guys veer off topic through the show however. At times, this added an element of entertainment, but more often than not, the diversions occurred too often and took away credibility from the show. We did enjoy how the guys try to review wines that are readily available at most wine retailers. They also give very good descriptions of the flavors of wines with terms like oak, crisp, herbal, and floral. Harsh language is also used, which includes cursing weaved in with sexuality. Sound quality is below ideal but above adequate and is dominated by higher frequencies. This lends to the high hiss and fuzzy sound. Also, there were numerous “popping P’s” and “slippery S’s.” No doubt, this is the result of the hosts sipping the wine they are describing. The addition of transitions between each wine discussed would also be helpful to listeners. Overall, if you have extra time on your hands and are a wine connoisseur, check out this show.

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Digital Media Cast Experiment

Category: Technology

Digital Media Cast Experiment is a good resource for people who are interested in producing, hosting or just learning about “new media” (blogging, podcasting, webcasting, etc.). Host Michael Carrino does a good job of laying out topics that new media producers need to understand. He is very familiar with a large number of podcasts currently being produced, and he passes his knowledge of sound, live show production, and webcasts on to listeners. Mike varies his voice and is interesting to listen to. Digital Media Cast Experiment has a nice intro and outro in addition to being neatly presented in 15 minutes. As of this writing, we have not seen new content from Digital Media Cast Experiment in seven weeks. This is a critical flaw for a podcast that desires to maintain a listening audience. Additionally, there is language that is not suitable for children and the host frequently uses umms and pauses, which hint at a lack of being fully prepared. Digital Media Cast Experiment can rank more highly if the vital issues stated above are addressed. However, time waits for no one and neither does podcasting. With all this said, Michael is a knowledgeable and experienced veteran in the industry, and Digital Media Cast Experiment has the potential to be very instrumental in the evolution of podcasting.

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Joy of Living Creatively

Arts

This writer-inspired podcast is hosted by Dr. Eric Maisel, an author of over 30 books. This show is usually about 10 minutes long, which is a good length for the material presented. Maisel gives listeners writing tips each week. He serves as an audio coach to help inspire creativity in authors that may be on the fence about the next step in their writing. He does tend to go overboard in his explanation of his tips however. He gives far too many examples, say seven, when three would be more than sufficient to make his point. Also, Dr. Maisel employees a soft tone to bring listeners into a time of quiet and reflection. His mellow voice and slow speaking-pattern is a bit reminiscent of the Mr. Rogers television show from childhood. Joy of Living Creatively has wisdom that is valuable to authors. Audio quality is standard, and the time of each show is well planned.

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The Mac Observer’s Apple Weekly Report

Technology

The Mac Observer’s Apple Weekly Report is hosted by Jeff Gamet and Bryan Chaffin. TMO, as they commonly refer to themselves, takes a look at the most pertinent stories in the world in relation to Apple. The hosts are entertaining and do a good job of not talking over one another. These two are business savvy and like to quote leaders in the industry. Jeff and Bryan often take turns as the “devil’s advocate” to look at all angles of the news of the week. They compliment one another in many ways, but their bantering feels forced at times.This is difficult to discern because it is subtle, but it does detract from the fluidity of the show. The length of each episode varies from about half an hour to an hour. Except for a few Skype technical issues, which are very common in podcasting, the audio is at a consistent level and free of audio artifacts. TMO’s Apple Weekly Report uses simple yet effective audio transitions to progress to the next topic. The podcast varies the pace of the show with segments such as the Context Machine that attempt to place the latest news into context. We recommend that audiences not pass by The Mac Observer’s Apple Weekly Report.

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Nobody’s Listening

Comedy

We reviewed it so someone is listening! This weekly podcast is always hosted by James Kennison, who is, at times, joined by a guest host. James enjoys podcasting as a hobby, which lends to the show’s laid back atmosphere. The premise of the show is simple: telling funny life stories and inviting listeners to do the same. While the show is subjective in that each listener must decide for himself if the stories are funny, many people like the material. James has an active listener base which is an incredible asset to any podcaster. The dynamic lead-in music caught our attention. To compliment the music, Nobody’s Listening also includes an authoritative announcer who introduces of the show. Audio quality and presentation vary by episode and go from being well produced to leaving us wondering,”what in the world is that?”. Nobody’s Listening does not do well with remote guest interviews. Also, the “kryptonite” for Nobody’s Listening is the length of each episode. Unless a podcast is giving out valuable and resourceful information or has an incredibly talented host(s), each show needs to be under an hour. We encourage listeners to check out Nobody’s Listening to judge whether James and crew are for you.

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Scene Unseen

Category: Television and Entertainment

Chris and Jimmy promote their show, Scene Unseen, as being explicit, irreverent and hilarious. The show lives up to this promise. Choice words fly quickly from these two so listeners be aware. If you like to keep up with the latest movies, this podcast is for you. The hosts talk about all things “movie,” from actors and directors, to theaters and movie posters. One of the hosts will have seen the movie while the other has not. These guys have a great rapport with each other. They discuss the acting, directing, producing, special effects, and much more. Our only complaint was that the duration of the show was too long. We realize, though, that it takes a lot of preparation to have a show flow so smoothly with well placed transitions and sound clips. We highly recommend that listeners check out this unusual twist for a movie-review podcast.

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PC Perspective

Category: Technology

This podcast is hosted by Ryan Shrout, Jeremy Hellstrom and Josh Walrath with other guest hosts spread out through the episodes. PC Perspective podcast is an expansion of the editorial articles found on the PC Perspective web site. The hosts do not waste time with a long intro and quickly dive deep into a roundup of PC hardware reviews. PC Perspective gives the good, bad, and ugly about each product and lets you know if it’s worth the price. We all agree that the show will appeal to a select niche audience. Because PC Perspective is a long show, maybe too long, some listeners might not make it all the way through the episodes. We also believe the lack of audio transitions and the hosts’ voices going monotone at times is a liability. The show includes a consistent and noticeable hiss that needs to be removed as well. Additionally, volume levels need to be adjusted so that all of the hosts’ voices are at the same volume. Overall, the show has acceptable production but tweaking the higher and lower frequencies would be a beneficial improvement. Despite these problems, the content is fantastic. This is indicated by the rating.

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Accidental Creative

Category: Careers

The Accidental Creative mission is to change the world by freeing up creative individuals and organizations. This is done by helping those in a “create-on-demand” career sustain creativity long-term. The host, Todd Henry, is a consultant on this topic and has a many ideas and tips to help get the creative juices flowing. The podcast has a nice length of 10 to 15 minutes. Todd gives so much useful information in this time that listeners will be pondering it for the next week. The show does not stray far from its target message, which adds consistency but can also make it bland at times. There are times, however, when Accidental Creative includes interviews from industry leaders, which is a nice addition and brings more interactivity. Accidental Creative also offers premium content (that one must pay for) that includes 3 or more additional episodes per month. We suspect that putting so many episodes together each week has led to an irregular publishing schedule of the free show over past few months. This has left us uncertain as to when we will hear new discoveries from Todd. Never-the-less, this is a podcast worth checking out.

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Flipswitch: The Bipolar and Depression Connection

Category: Health

Hosted by Chris and Ryan. Flipswitch is associated with the site www.depressedteens.com which provides information on mood disorders for teens. There is a great value in the message that Chris and Ryan, Flipswitch’s hosts, are attempting to get across. While some terminology used in the show is defined, the hosts failed to adequately describe what would be happening in the episodes and why. The hosts also fail to give their full names and credentials, if any, in the area of mental health therapy. Given the sensitivity of the subject and the fact that individual’s health is involved, it is extremely important that these hosts are qualified to discuss this material. We fear that the way Flipswitch presents such delicate topics as Psycho dynamic therapy could be harmful. Audio quality is not exceptional but is produced well enough not to take away from the podcast. Oddly, music is played continually throughout all episodes. In one episode in particular, the music was extremely out of place and awkward. Technically, Flipswitch is having a lot of problems with RSS feed which makes it difficult to catch up on past shows. In fact, ee could only find 3 episodes available.

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Interrobang Podcast

Category: Comedy

Interrobang Podcast is hosted by Adam Court and Hannah Lewis. Adam and Hannah are the thrill seekers of podcasting and don’t seem to care where the show will lead them. Listeners should be advised that these two let the language fly and bring sexual references up often. The episodes start with a fun intro and quickly delve into the crazy happenings of Hannah and Adam’s lives. Broadcasting from South Wales, the duo launch into rants and fits that make some episodes very funny, while others didn’t quite tickle our funny bone. The hosts play well off one another with Hannah being the wilder of the two. Hannah goes into unpredictable tangents while Adam serves as an anchor of sorts by bringing some form of organization to the podcast. However, the lack of structure and the quick pace of Interrobang can leave listeners feeling as if they are sitting on the curb, suddenly realizing that they have just missed the bus.

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Science Talk: The Podcast of Scientific American

Category: Science

Hosted by Steve Mirsky, this weekly podcast will quickly catch the attention of listeners curious about the edgy topics in science. Topics vary from the theory of “Dark Matter” to the ethics of climate change and everything in between. Steve has wonderful interviewing skills and goes out of his way to interview fascinating people. Because he interviews people in various locations, sound quality is not always the best due to background noise found in large buildings or gymnasiums. This was distracting on some interviews but was better in others. With this said, Steve does a phenomenal job with what he has to work with. There is also a fun little segment at the end of each episode called “Totally Bogus.” Steve tells of four recent discoveries in science, only three of which are true. Listeners try to guess which is false. Science Talk did a great job of bringing out our curiosity and left us wanting more.

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