MacNoob Weekly Podcast Review: No Agenda
I’ve been fielding a lot of questions about podcasts lately. More specifically, “What’s a podcast?” I know anyone who reads this blog is familiar with podcasts, but sometimes I forget there’s a whole world of Windows users and other computer illiterates who are unfamiliar with the concept of RSS feeds, iTunes and the world of new media. Since this blog is geared toward the new Mac user (i.e. someone intelligent enough to make a proper computer buying decision), I thought it might be a good idea to share some of my experience with netcasts (the brand-neutral term for podcasts).
I’ve been listening to podcasts for about three years now since buying my first iPod in 2006. I have a 30+ minute (one way) commute every day and since discovering on-line media I rarely ever listen to the radio any more. Instead, my drive time is filled with entertaining and educational podcasts that run the gamut from NPR to Diggnation. One of my first discoveries after buying my iPod was just how many hundreds of podcasts there are to choose from, both video and audio only. With big selection comes big confusion and it’s hard to trust reviews in the iTunes store. Believe me, there are some real stinkers out there. Once a week I’ll be reviewing my favorites until I run out. Maybe it will spare you some of the trial and error I went through.
This week’s selection is my absolute favorite, No Agenda [link opens iTunes] with Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak or, as they like to say, Crackpot and The Buzzkill. Adam is an American living in London and is sometimes called the “Podfather” (by whom I don’t know, but it’s in Wikipedia, so it must be true) for his pioneering work in the new medium. John C. Dvorak is a long-time (since the ‘80s) tech journalist and television personality from the early ZDTV (later named TechTV) days based in San Francisco. These two share an amazing chemistry and their conversations about a range of topics make for very entertaining listening. The show’s title is an accurate description of its’ subject matter which can vary from world politics to food and wine and anywhere in between, all with an international perspective tossed in. The nicknames Crackpot and The Buzzkill [which they seem to enjoy] are derived from an only slightly exaggerated description of their personas. Adam’s take on things can sometimes make a conspiracy theorist blush, while John could turn the second coming into an overbooked dinner party. Together, they just work. Each hour and a half show, recorded twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays, is fresh and surprising because you never know what they’re going to talk about. I sometimes wonder if they know before they start recording. I think the impromptu nature of the production is what makes it so entertaining. That, plus the fact that these guys go together like sweet-n-sour. Their very professional combination results in much more than their sums.
One word of caution. I’d have to give No Agenda an “R” rating. Definitely not for the kids, but it is one of a very few shows that can make me drive around the block a couple of times instead of turning into the driveway.
Yesterday’s introduction of “High Definition” (in quotes because there doesn’t seem to be a good definition of the term) movies to the iTunes store leaves no doubt about Apple’s intentions to compete in the movie space the same way it does with music. It was a move they had to make if they want to keep up with the big digital players like DirecTV, Dish, Netflix and Amazon and with physical media.
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