Thanks to a strike by local Lorry drivers I had a fairly traffic free drive from Athens airport to Volos last night. Four and a half hours with some good scenery along the way but not much, so my journey was relieved by catching up on podcasts. In this case I had four hours of Melvyn Bragg covering a range of subjects from King Lear and the Greek Myths, to the Multiverse and Ada Loverlace's links to Babbage and the foundation of computing. All 40 minute chat shows with major academic figures, getting into subjects in detail, but also in an understandable way. My journey back tomorrow should yet me through the Norman Yoke (we still suffer from that in Wales), The Dissolution of the Monasteries, Kierkegaard and Materialism. I should also manage Yeats and Irish Politics. If I get bored with the good Lord Bragg of Wigton, well I have the ABC's podcasts on philosophy to catch up on, and fora satirical interlude the BBC's Now Show.
Several things struck me as a drove north through the Greek landscape. Firstly radio remains one of the great mediums to communicate ideas and thinking. It is much more powerful than television. Secondly podcasts, and the willingness of broadcasters to make their material available is providing a wonderful new way to access this material. Thirdly, radio is the last refuge of the generalist and all round thinker, where intellectual is not a dirty word and you can avoid the soundbite culture of the trivial. Radio, combined with podcasts mean that I can listen to the latest on cognitive science as I walk between meetings in London and the wonderful Phil Adams whose views and passions I largely share, can keep me motivated through the most tedious of tube journeys. I just wish the BBC showed the same generosity as the ABC who make all of their material available on line, not just the most recent edition.
Comments (5)
Yes the Yeats and Irish Politics was particularly good. It shed a whole new light on Yeats, his motivations and the politics he lived through.
I just knew that Melvyn was a big fan of 'An Irish Airman.....' - and the story about the origins of the poem were interesting. (Although in a way I wish I had not heard that - as it destroyed the purity of this piece which I had constructed in my mind).
Enjoy!
Posted by David Cronshaw | May 8, 2008 3:23 PM
Posted on May 8, 2008 15:23
The demise of TV by the Web seems to be bringing about the retrieval of the older medium - radio. Radio podcasts are already mainstream. My wife, a non-techie, asked for an iPod so that she could listen to CBC podcasts.
Posted by Harold Jarche | May 8, 2008 3:53 PM
Posted on May 8, 2008 15:53
Yes, I agree with your point about the radio as a medium. It still seems to live in some way that is not easy to define. It was the only link to the greater 'outside' world when I was a kid until 1964 when TV came to the farm. Many of my early memories include listening to ABC radio shows and stories of the time: Biggles, Argonauts, and one I cannot remember the title of was about science fiction aliens and ancient skulls found in the Australian desert.
I still enjoy the radio experience -- and podcasting makes it very convenient for scheduling into my private timetables.
I'm also a regular Adams' listener, and your suggestion about the Philosophy show has reminded me to add that to the morning train journey.
In return I can also suggest the Morning Interview with Margaret Throsby on the ABC's Classic FM has interesting guests sometimes (see: http://www.abc.net.au/classic/throsby/ ) -- although the podcast does not always have the guest's music selections due to copyright restrictions. For example, Monday's Peter Khalil (Defence and security adviser and analyst) was interesting I thought.
Posted by russell_c | May 8, 2008 5:11 PM
Posted on May 8, 2008 17:11
To expand on Harold Jarche, above, the "CBC" is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and their lineup of podcasts just keeps getting better. They have been running an excellent series on the interplay of science and society on Ideas, a one hour "program about contemporary thought" on weekday evenings (www.cbc.ca/ideas). I've just discovered that the complete series is now available as podcasts:
"Ideas: How to Think About Science" at: www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?45#ref14
Enjoy, compliments of Canada!
Posted by Keith Fortowsky | May 8, 2008 9:42 PM
Posted on May 8, 2008 21:42
Hi Dave,
I certainly agree with you. The richness of a podcast, the ability to rewind to catch up on a missed point and the ability to "time-shift" ny listening in one's own time all make this a wonderful change to commercial radio and TV. You add an additional dimension by including slides - thank you.
As for the BBC, I too wish they would allow older episodes but for me the ABC do the best job. Many of their podcasts have just the right mix of depth and context. I recommend that you also search iTunes U which has some great podcasts on philosophy, science and the like although some of these are simply lectures replayed.
Now for the technology to make these gigabytes of data searchable!
Posted by Big Skeptic | May 9, 2008 6:59 AM
Posted on May 9, 2008 06:59