Thursday, April 10, 2008

Like a Blog -- For your ears

I was having a discussion a while ago with a WoW friend and somehow we got on the topic of podcasts. Since my commute is an hour each way, I quite often will have my iPod earphones one. For a good long while, I was listening to audio books. But somehow I found my first podcast.

Podcasts are sort of like bunnies if you have one podcast to listen to, suddenly you have like a thousand. Or maybe they are Lay's Potato Chips and you can't listen to just one. Regardless, my podcast play list soon grew to enough podcasts that I was giving up the audio books in lieu of the podcasts I'd found.

I'm going to share just a few of my favorites out there today on the weird off chance that you all don't know what to listen to.

I struggled a good deal in putting this list up. I think all of the podcasts below are worth listening to and I don't want you to necessarily think those listed first are "better" than the others on the list. So, I actually put each of them on a slip of paper and drew it out randomly. So, there is no actual preference other than that of a God who plays dice.

  • Outlandish Podcast - This is the only EXPLICIT rated podcast on the list, but don't be afraid. Other than the occasional "eff bomb" this isn't all that explicit. In fact, I think they could get away without tagging their 'cast as EXPLICIT. While I like all of this podcast, the commercials are truly the thing that sets this podcast apart.
  • The Instance - This podcast has been described as "the big elephant in the room." It's true, this podcast has been around for over one hundred episodes. They are awesome, the editing and production quality are spot on. If you're a new podcaster, this is the one to beat.
  • Epic Dolls - I recently found this podcast and I'm really digging it. It's done completely (?) by ladies. The new(ish) lore segment is really well done, and quite funny. My only caveat is this one can get a little giggly. Luckily for me, I don't mind.
  • How I Wow - I've just found this podcast and really like it. While it's not strictly about WoW, it is about real people who play WoW. Each episode has a length interview with one person who mixes real life with WoW.
  • Elune's Grace - I found this podcast, which I also love, from iTunes by looking at what people who listen to Epic Dolls also listen to. I think. Anyway another podcast hosted by women and another podcast that's very well done.
What didn't make the list is the WoW Insider podcast or really anthing from WCRadio. I don't find the WoW Insider one as useful as it's really a recap of their posts for the week (and I read the site). Others may find this more useful. I've also listened to both Octale & Hordak vs. the World and Warcraft Anonymous. While they are well done, there's not anything that seemed to reach out and grab me.

So, if you've not, it's time to explore the podcasts that are out there!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooh, thanks for the recommendations!

I love The Instance, but have yet to listen to the others you mentioned (save for one episode of Epic Dolls), so I'll have to check them out. I'm a regular WoW Insider listener, partly because I don't read their posts much anymore and partly because I think Turpster is a riot. :)

I know you said this is a partial list, but I also thought I'd mention World of Warcast here. That's another one that's consistently quite good.

Nibuca said...

In Alphabetic order :) I recommend you also look into:

BlizzCast - It's the official Blizzard podcast. They're only on episode ~3 ... so it's really only just starting up.. but it's interesting to hear it from the horse's mouth (so to speak).

Wow Radio: Casually Hardcore - I really enjoy this show. I think the hosts are lively and entertaining. It can be a bit chatty.. but also very fun to listen to.

Epic dolls and Elune's Grace both suffer from being too gossip-y. It becomes very much about "what did I do this week" and the discussion doesn't tend to move past that. It's interesting the first few times.. but after that.. I want more meaningful discussions.

WoWCast - Beyond Wow. Discussions of the meaning of virtual connectivity in the modern world. I -love- this podcast. It's completely different from the regular "gossip-y" wowcasts.