Good Podcasts and Podcatchers?

Chimera512 asks: "I've heard quite a bit about podcasts and software for aggregating podcasts, most of the software I've tried to use have been mediocre at best. where do you find podcasts that are worth listening to? What do you use to aggregate them? Ideally something that allows me to simply copy the stream URL into the program and have it download and/or transfer the file to my MP3 player."

Comments

iTunes?

[GusherJizmac]

iTunes makes it pretty simple, especially if you have an iPod or other MP3 player (yes iTunes will work with other MP3 players, assuming you are just interested in playing mp3s)

Re:iTunes?

[gozar]

Except Apple and iTunes should be shot for having a separate interface to put podcasts into their store that has nothing to do with having them on the web, and isn't compatible with any other podcatcher. At least I haven't yet found a (free) podcast I cared about that was only on iTunes since everyone does the RSS first anyway (and I think iTunes uses the RSS internally). However, I would encourage people not to use iTunes and in particular the ITMS for podcatching for this very reason. Come on, Apple. Open standards, not lock-in. At least for free content. It's not that hard. Apple deserves no credit for their closed-off pseudo-web bullshit.

iTunes uses a website's RSS feed to grab the latest episodes just like every other podcatcher. In fact, you can export your podcast feeds as an opml file to import into any other RSS aggregator. This also works in the reverse, if you start out using Juice receiver and want to move to iTunes, just export your feeds from Juice and import them into iTunes. You can also bypass subscribing from the iTunes music store. Just go to the Advanced menu, select Subscribe to Podcast, and paste in the RSS feed url.

There isn't anything proprietary about the way iTunes works with podcasts... In fact, I would recommend using iTunes for someone starting out. You can always move to something else later.

I subscribe to very few

[bheer]

but Zoe's Radio has got to be one of the better ones, she RJs very well for someone so young:
Podcast feed: http://webjay.org/by/iancr/zoe5c27sradioshow.xml

Then let's not forget the (supershort but funny) Onion Radio News.

When BSG's on air, Ron Moore's podcasts are also good listening.

Hint...

[Otter]

The prefix "pod" gives a clue as to what the ideal software/player combo is...

Re:Hint...

[charlesnw]

Thats suffix

Don't look any farther

[Fitzghon]

Just use iTunes. You can subscribe to podcasts by url, and choose to have them downloaded to your iPod, etc.
In terms of podcasts, though, you really need to find ones you like. I listen to Gaming Steve (http://www.gamingsteve.com/) but that's MY taste. You need to find what you like for yourself.

Fitzghon

Re:Don't look any farther

[OneSeventeen]

While iTunes works well for this, some of us still don't own iPods, and don't like installing a huge program like iTunes just for the podcasting feature.

My current favorite is winamp, although if Democracy Player ever became stable, it would be #1 in my book.

The only Podcast I listen to is The Frequency, dedicated primarily to Christian Music News, reviews, and interviews. (without being super cheesy)

Browse

[Eightyford]

I use this site to browse podcasts. Lots of good ones are there, for all areas of interest.

Word of Mouth and iTunes

[rueger]

In fact, one of the challenges being identified by Public Broadcasters and others is how to let potential listeners know about downloadable/podcasted content.

I'd say that right now it comes down to luck and word of mouth. I'm finding that I tend to stick to content from "professional" broadcasters. So much of the rest of existing podcasts are "produced" by half drunk frat boys being potty mouths and playing indy rock.

As far as clients, iTunes really does podcasts pretty well. iPodder, at least on my old PC seemed to be a resource hog in some fashion.

Juice Receiver formerly iPodder

[UnderScan]

Apple iTunes & iPods are the dominant software & hardware audio players, but not everone has an iPod or wants to use Apple iTunes. If you do not use Apple iTunes, then you might like to check out Juice Receiver [1]. Juice uses RSS feeds to download podcasts to your computer. Juice is platform-independent, so you can use it from virtually any computer and play the files on any MP3 device. If you need assistance with it, then see the Juice FAQ [2] and the Juice User Guide (PDF) [3].

[1] http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/
[2] http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/faq/index.php
[3] http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/docs/JuiceUse rGuide.pdf

Free Talk Live

[ted_nugent]

Free Talk Live is about the only podcast I listen to. Podcast Alley is a pretty decent directory.

Re:Free Talk Live

[GimmeFuel]

FTL rocks.

They're not the normal "hey, let's go buy a $100 microphone and record ourselves talking shit then put it on a webpage" podcast. (You know who you are) They're a syndicated radio show that's been putting their archives up for download completely free since day one, almost three and a half years ago, when these "podcast" things existed, but there wasn't even a bandwagon to jump on yet.

Since they're primarily a radio show, the audio quality and production values are much higher than most other podcasts out there. You don't have to be an audiophile to recognize that most podcasts out there sound like underwater shit. The hosts also know what they're doing, having worked in "real" radio before.

They take calls and e-mails from podcast listeners, live internet stream listeners and radio listeners alike. In fact, podcast and live stream listeners make up the majority of their calls on weekdays, as the majority of their affiliates carry the Saturday show only.

Dammit!

[Rob T Firefly]

My podcast isn't ready yet, so I've missed a perfectly good opportunity to hype it up on Slashdot. Could someone be a pal and dupe this question in another week or so?

Simple, look at your MP3 player, and your interest

[jeaster]

Those two pieces of information will have to be your starting point. My iRiver and Ipodder work just fine together. YMMV. As for podcasts, look for things that interest you. I am a newly converted catholic, and one of my favorite podcasts is from Father Roderick: ( http://www.catholicinsider.com/ ) I enjoy his information, style, and POV. You may not. On the other hand, I enjoy a big breasted potty mouthed chick by the name of Soccergirl (TM). Fun, and the voice/quality is usually pretty good. Also, she has boobies, always a plus. :) ( http://soccergirl.podshow.com/ ) Good luck, there is a lot of stuff out there that *I* find interesting.

Re:Simple, look at your MP3 player, and your inter

[Rude Turnip]

Cool, another fan of Father Roderick! I'm not a Catholic or a Christian in general, but I listen to his Daily Breakfast podcast every day. He's definitely changed my idea of the stereotypical view of a priest. He's a huge fan of things like Star Wars and Harry Potter, and even does specialty podcasts that explore the mythological concepts in both. Among other things, he's a huge fan of the TV shows, "24" and "Lost." He once geeked out for about 10 minutes talking about how cool it was to have the cops chasing him while playing Need For Speed Most Wanted.

The most insightful thing I ever heard him say was a commentary about sex and violence in movies and video games. In general, he's not against it if it's integral to the story at hand. And, to paraphrase him, "Do you realize how much sex and violence there is in the Bible?" He's also very open about the history of the Catholic church and talks about how a lot of its holidays (such as easter and christmas) have pagan origins. Recently, he had a lengthy discussion and criticism about the church regarding all the sex abuse scandals.

All of Fr. Roderick's shows are under the umbrella of his fledgling Starquest Podcast Network, that includes the podcasts of a couple others that he's working with. The web site for SQPN is at www.sqpn.com.

iTunes Agent

[ematic]

For convenient podcast downloads for NON-iPod MP3 players, try iTunes + iTunes Agent.

iTunes
http://www.apple.com/itunes/

iTunes Agent - use any MP3 player with iTunes
http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=54 9637

My Morning Playlist
Nature Podcast (science journal)
http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/

NPR 5-minute News Summary
NPR Health & Science
NPR Technology
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.p hp?type=topic

Democracy NOW! (news - better than NPR in some ways)
http://democracynow.org/podcast_help.shtml#feeds

Diggnation (latest general blog news from digg.com)
http://revision3.com/diggnation

This Week in Tech (weekly tech news)
http://twit.tv/podcastinfo

Security Now! (tech/security news)
http://www.grc.com/SecurityNow.htm

President's Weekly Radio Address (comedy)
http://weeklyradioaddress.com/

and I used to listen to Ricky Gervais (comedy), but he charges $$ now.
http://www.rickygervais.com/podcast.php

Re:meh

[JimmehAH]

I second Google Reader.

I've also found Penn Jillette's podcast to be entertaining, even if I don't agree with everything he says.